What are 3D Printers?

A 3D printer is a machine that through the melting of filament material, creates a three-dimensional object. The filament is melted through the nozzle of the printhead and is squeezed out by gears pushing it from behind. At first, the melted filament is oozed out on the heated bed of the printer, and then after the first layer, the printhead raises slightly and builds the next layer on top of the last one. This continues and repeats until the object is completed.

What can the ordinary person do with one?

Printers can come in all different shapes and sizes. Some are even equipped with different tools to print different things. So, depending on which printer you get, you can print pretty much anything that you can come up with. There are millions of designing software online and there are also websites where people can upload their already completed designs for you to download and print. I have discovered that the most difficult problem with owning a 3D printer is deciding what to print out of all the options.

What are some of the initial steps to getting started?

Well, personally I researched for hours on the internet and on YouTube just trying to wrap my head around how this works. To save you the struggle though, what I did first, is think about what you are going to want to print, and then based on that start looking at possible options of what printers to purchase.

What is the Typical Price to Start?

This really depends on how much you are comfortable with spending. A beginner printer can start at around $170 and one of the fancier options could be about $350. As with all things in life, there are the lesser options to help you get started and then there are the super nice ones that are more expensive.

Where Can I Buy One?

You can get a 3D printer at some stores, but they are mostly purchased online. There are a couple of good beginner brands like Creality and Prusa, and you can also find them on Amazon or another shopping website.

What Are Some Things That You Have Printed?

Well, let me just start this with if you are in need of a cool little something to go with your gift for mothers day, this is perfect! From one angle, this piece says “MOM”, but if you spin it the other way, it says “I Love You”.

Secondly, I have printed a ton of these little boats. These boats serve as a great test to see if your calibrations to the printer have worked, or if you need to keep working on them. This is a good test because it has overhangs with curves to see if you are printing at the correct temperature for that filament, it has smaller details like the little holes in the front to see if your printer is precise enough, and there are many more tests all in this one small print.

Third, I printed this just as a joke originally, but my siblings ended up playing with it for hours and demanded that I print more of them so they could have their own. These fidget toys are surprisingly addictive. They are just simple cubes all combined together with hinges and will infinitely rotate around.

What Can a Novice Person Look to for Help?

With all 3D printers, there are an infinite amount of support videos on the internet. From putting the printer together and starting your first print, to completing the massive print that you have been stuck fixing for days. Although I will warn you, sometimes fixing a problem could be the smallest change in settings, and requires a heavy amount of patience.