Should I buy a 3D Printer?

The question many ponder while scrolling Amazon. Simply having the discussion near your phone with certain Meta products will put ads in your face enticing you with various machines.

3D printers, like friends, come in all shapes, sizes, and varying degrees of quality and cost. More than that, maybe a 3D printer is unnecessary, if you simply need a few items.

So let's dive into some of the nuances of 3D Printer ownership, and outline some aspects of the decision making process.

When making any purchase, even small ones, a brief subroutine runs through our minds, do I really need this? Can I wait a little longer? Which one do I want? How long until the next one? Is that a reasonable price for it? The apocalypse of thought can be so loud that many will avoid making the choice entirely.

If you're one the many who can't decided whether or not 3D printing is something they should invest their time, money, and energy in, then there are some options to help you, depending on your locale.

Very often colleges, community centers, and even businesses will open a small space with several 3D printers, filament, with reasonable prices, so those who do not have the space or meet the power requirements, etc, can still print what they need. "Maker spaces".

Alternatively, there are dozens of companies that offer tailored 3D prints, with various materials, including metal, for a small markup. If you aren't trying to sell the parts you need printed, and need them for a project, repairs, etc, then this may suit you nicely.

And finally, there are 3D Printer rentals, but they are costly. If you do not already have a market for the parts you'll be printing, you may find yourself in the red. Printer rentals come with strings attached. IP related strings. If you wish to keep your designs proprietary, and don't want just anyone copying your work, then renting a printer may be a bad idea. Especially the more advanced printers, such as Bambu Lab printers, which, allegedly, seem to cache a copy of your gcode and maybe even the STL. (I'm not insinuating nefariousness, but some IP is under strict rules, and even allowing the data to be cached would violate certain agreements, maybe even laws).

If you have the regular need for 3D printed parts, whether to sell them, or use them as components of a product, or just need one for things around the house, there are still things to consider.

For starters, the size of the printed parts. If you are printing large parts, your printer will have scaled power requirements accordingly. Larger printers (starting with the Magneto X and moving upward) tend to require most of what a standard outlet can offer. Modix printers (prints a whole bumper) may require more than the standard wall plug can offer. 32 amps, and/or a 240v plug.

But even with smaller printers, you will still need some considerations. Such as power supply. Stabilizing your printer with an UPS (APC/Cyberpower etc) can make a marked difference in the quality and reliability of your print jobs. Especially if you live in an area where power outages/brownouts are fairly common.

And then you also have the power usage itself to measure. Your power usage will exponentially increase with the number of printers you have running concurrently. It's not so bad, if you only have one or two. If they are running all the time, you will very likely notice when the bill comes due. So the initial cost of the printer, filament, accessories, AND power, should be considered. You'll also run into structural limitations. GFI outlets will trip with 3-4 printers on them (15 amps) and a 20 amp breaker can support up to 5 Prusa i3 MK3s+ if you stagger their starts. (initial heating). Or a single Magneto X.

There will also be an impact on your air conditioning. Heating and cooling will play a part in the quality of your prints, the moisture of your filament, which takes time and energy to dehydrate, and the cost of your AC constantly countering your 3D printer(s) thermal bloom will be reflected on your energy bill. Although, the impact is usually very small and manageable.

The "sunk cost fallacy" comes into play when you have discussions with 3DP enthusiasts, who have ran out of ways to make their printers useful, and instead of getting out while they could, doubled down. Instead of trying to sell you 3D printed items, they would rather convince you to buy your own printer(s).

Then you run into the same problems they did. You'll burn time, energy, money calibrating and tuning your printers, finally print what you need, then a few things you want, then a few things just for fun....then your printer(s) will sit idle for months, years even. Collecting dust. You may have spent hundreds or thousands of dollars on those printers, but you can't find a reason to keep using them.

With some of us, it turns into filament addiction. We collect dozens or hundreds of spools of filament, of all colors and kinds, knowing full well we will never be able to use it all, and by the time we've used any significant amount, we've already ordered more.

You're in it now. You're hooked. There's no light at the end of the tunnel. There's just a tunnel, and you're 3D printing your way out of it.

And most of us wouldn't want it to. 3D printers are immensely useful, and not even just for 3D printing. There are a lot of useful projects that convert an old, dated, but still somewhat functional 3D printer into a filament-making machine. Pulltrusion, chopped filament extrusion, EDM machines, the list goes on. 3D printers were originally engineered from common hardware, so it makes sense that hardware can be repurposed for a host of applications.

But if we just stick to 3D Printing, how do we keep it relevant?

When you own your own home, you realize how much good land lords do for you. Your maintenance guy / leasing office is responsible for basic repairs, painting, etc. If you have ever had a cleaning service, general contractor, any of the 100 or so people that have odd jobs to maintain your residence, you know there are a lot of little plastic parts, and some parts that could be made out of plastic, that go into it all.

A 3D printer might make a real difference in how you approach home repair, appliance repair, computer repair, etc. Even watchmakers have started using 3D printers to create small devices to assist in repairs.

Winding jigs, cutting jigs, painting stencils and brush cleaners, there are literally millions of downloadable files across dozens of websites like Printables, Thangs, Cults, etc.

Even if you never learn CAD, never spend time with gcode, never do anything beyond download, slice, and print files from the internet, you can get years of use out of any 3D printer.

But if you learn CAD (or at least, Blender) then anything you can't find, you can make yourself. Then, the world is your oyster.

There might be a period, albeit typically brief, where you run down a rabbithole of printing upgrades for your printer. Many makers do this, it's perfectly normal.

But if you manage to climb out of that hole quickly, get your hands on Fusion360, Plasticity, Blender, etc... learn the ropes, you can quickly open up a lot of doors for yourself. Everything from chocolate molding to jewelry making, screen printing to resin art, home repairs, appliance repairs, gaming, and storage. There are so many applications to 3D printing, it's near endless.

So, should you own a 3D printer?

Yes.

Without a doubt, the benefits outweigh the costs, and risks (what few there are).
Remember, a printer is a tool, and very often, they are the right tool for the job. But sometimes, they aren't.

Please look up information on food safety. Buy and large, FDM 3D printers can't produce a food-safe print. Even if you print from -generally- food-safe plastics, the print will have very small areas just big enough for bacteria and mold to fester. And it is nearly impossible to clean. Most printable items can't be run through a dish washer, and even if you could, even if you hit them with UV, you still can't get them clean enough to be considered food-safe.

It's best to avoid it entirely, and go a different route.

Caveat, there are food-safe resins. If you apply a resin to the outer surface of a print, you can seal it making it food-safe and viable to at least hand-wash. But if you're going to go the resin route, just take your printed part and make a mold out of it.

Apply wax to the outside of the print, turning all of the layer lines smooth. You could even do a bit of sanding and paint/priming. Then create a silicone mold with your printed part. remove the print, pour your resin in, and make proper food-safe items you can hand-wash. If you get the right resin they might even be dishwasher safe, but that falls outside of the scope of this article.

The long and short of it is, there is almost no end to the things 3D printing can help you tackle, but as part of the workflow, not the entire workflow.

How do you tackle life with 3D printing? I would love to know what wonderful things you've cooked up.