I was thinking about this question today as someone used our work printer for some personal stuff.
As for me, I am printing little things that I would say make it worth it. I’ve printed lens adapters for my camera for example. That’s worth a good 14 to 30 bucks per print. My most favorite photo was with an adapted lens that came from a projector. I also printed IEMs and those things are worth it. Listening to music is second to none on those things. Plus I printed the same shell but for ear protection and again the fit is perfect and sure there’s post processing to get smooth surfaces but in the end it looks like a professional made it. So I think 3d printers are worth it.
financially worth it?
Probably not.
Did it give me brief respites of light against the clawing, ever encroaching abyssal darkness of life and misery?
Yes.
Define “worth it”??
For many, it’s a hobby. For many more, it’s an adjunct to whatever hobby they do have. Hobby’s don’t have to save you money; and I’m militantly opposed to monetizing hobbies as a way to “justify” them.
Personally, I’m mostly 3d printing custom components (that I’ve designed), for R/C aircraft of various sorts. (Like, my cyclogyros, or the flying saucer powered by a 3d printed ducted fan; which is, more or less, a scaled model of the saucer from the OG Day The Earth Stood Still. or the thermal airship using toaster wire that has taken on a lot of different forms, ranging from 20’ star destroyers to whale sharks to a robot named Buoyant Bob that hands out candy on Halloween.)
I also enjoy 3d printing as a hobby, in of itself, too. (and spend waaayyyyy too much tinkering on the printer. its fun.) But it doesn’t have to save me money, and I feel no need to compare it to other forms of hobbies. It’s what I enjoy.
edit: lets put this in perspective. This would be like asking a golfer if they found golf worth it. the only real questions are “Do I enjoy it” and “can I afford it”. not “can it save me a buck”.
Buying a 3d printer and learning CAD is unlocking a super power. You can put something from your brain into the real world. It’s great for hyper specific parts.
This is the crazy part for me. Sometimes I’ll just sit there and stare at a part I designed and printed and just be in awe that this was in my brain a few hours ago and now I’m actually holding it in my hands. Well maybe not this exactly, but as close as I could come to what I was thinking of.
That was blowing my mind the first time I printed a prototype. Still kinda does.
That and sharing models is great. Like I can literally download a physical object. Sure the printing is an extra step, but that’s still amazing to me 10 years after firing up my first printer.
Depends on how you define “worth it.” Have I spent less money on the printer than I would have buying things I printed? Probably not. However, it has been a blast and great learning experience. Most recently printed landing skids and a camera shroud for a friend’s dji drone which is pretty cool.
That sounds pretty cool. I would say the same, it’s a expenditure like any other. We get to have fun from it.
Financially? Definitely not
But it’s an enjoyable (and occasionally frustrating) hobby, so I’d say it’s worth it.
100%. I’ve printed some cool stuff and some stupid stuff, as well as a bunch of functional parts that have improved my life around my house. More importantly it’s given me a huge creative outlet to get more and more outlandish with my CAD designs and push my experience limits, which is great because that helps me be a lot more efficient at work.
Financially it was a total waste of money but that doesn’t matter when it’s a hobby. A hobby with practical marketable skills, and also the ability to let me prototype some independent ideas I’ve been brewing for a while to maybe sell for some side cash…
Hell yes! I make a lot of things and having this ability really expanded on that.
I should point out that anyone interested in anything more than printing trinkets found on the Internet will also have to learn 3d drafting, at least to some extent. Bear that in mind.
Yes. I’ve spent far more money than I will ever save but I’ve had a lot of fun with it.
Also I printed a nerf blaster. Enough said.
Wow! Cool print!
My 3D printer does occasionally prove itself useful. I print stuff to help me out in the shop, adapters for shop vacs, tool holders, stuff like that. I could do without it but it is a useful tool to have.
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This was a “yes or no” question
Fine. Yes.
Learn to model things in CAD. That’s what is limiting me from getting real use out of my printer. It’s fun to print models you find online, but the real value is in printing your own designs.
I got an Ender 3v2 and for two years was trying to just get it to work properly, repairing it, and learning about printing. After all of that I’ve enjoyed having an okay printer, but I’m a bit jealous of everyone starting out now that won’t have to deal with all of the garbage I did. And I’m sure people who started years before me felt the same when the Enders came out. If not for those annoyances, yes it’s been worth it.
I’m in the same situation - started with the same printer, put money and parts into it to get it to be reliable, and now I can just login to Octoprint and send something with 99% of prints just working. I wipe the build plate down, blast it with a few squeezes of canned air, and it just works.
But now these kids and their Bambus and multi-color print abilities…get off my lawn. Seriously, kids, you’re in my light and I’m trying to get this hotend adjusted…
Lol I’ve got an Ender V2 - and my brother just upgraded to a Bambu. He’s such a fucker… I’m jealous.
LOL we got an ender at work too. That thing is so going to be dragged down the freeway one day. It’s gathering dust these days. Yup they keep on coming up with more interest stuff. Like the only reason I got into it was because they came up with water soluble resins. Like no way I’m keeping gallons of alcohol at home.
I’m on my third upgrade machine after getting my first printer years ago. Very rewarding hobby, much recommend.
I print figurines, busts, and diorama scenery for my son and I to paint. Sure I’ve got my share of functional prints but most my print time is spent so I can spend creative time with my son. So very much worth it for me.
Haven’t made any money from mine nor did I ever intend to. Well, the thought has crossed my mind, but I get more of a thrill out of the looks on peoples’ faces when I gift them something off my machine at no cost to them.
My girlfriend has recently been asking for a lot of customized crochet needle hooks for her collection. They’re not hard at all to design and then send off to the printer. She’s so excited and tells everyone about them and how much she adores them. She’s crocheted me a blanket which I adore too.
I have made a lot of practical things for myself. I don’t know if any of it would ever make up for the amount of money I invested into the 3D printer, monetarily speaking, but the amount of time and energy saved has been worth it when I really needed something custom made and on the fly. The creativity and knowledge built up from using this has also been a plus. Been a nice talent to grow and expand upon and a neat thing to bring up to people.
