What do you do with your printer?

What do you do with your 3D printer? Obviously I know printing thing. How do you incorporate your printer into other hobbies?

Nice post. I have always wondered about that too.

I've built the printer primarily to support my Reef Aquarium + Electronics hobby and potentially build an aquarium controller that can be commercialized. It turns out that 3D printing became a hobby in itself.

---

Cheers,
Franklin Dattein

I've mostly used it for printing more printers, but also a lot of stuff I need around the house. It's an awesome tool to have available.

---

--
-Nudel
Blog with RepRap Comic

So far I am working on printing a cool cell case, as soon as I get through my issues I have been having.

I am working on an improvement to the wind vane on my weather station.

Andy

... I'm busy with testing and developing 'all-material' printing/fabbing methodes around laser-assisted local curing, melting/fusing and sintering - with high accuracies (0.01mm actually) and a broader range of materials (plastic, lignin, glass, ceramic, metal, ...) I'm aiming on a "make anything" approach

---

Viktor
--------
Aufruf zum Projekt "Müll-freie Meere" - [reprap.org] -- Deutsche Facebook-Gruppe - [www.facebook.com]

Call for the project "garbage-free seas" - [reprap.org]

I'm treating it like another tool in my workshop. Whenever I have a problem at the house that needs fixing, I think of the printer. For example, after I recently installed a new sink faucet, I found it was a little to wobbly. This was due to the lower quality of the replacement faucet over the original. But a few measurements and a trip to the printer later, a new custom bracket was made and the faucet was fixed. Plus the wife was impressed.

Purple Kerbie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Plus the wife was
> impressed.

Always a good thing!

Thanks for the replies Keep them comming. I'm still in the process of building my printer. I'll probably use it for robotics projects.

So far, having had my Mendel90 built for 5 days, I've been mostly trying random prints to dial in the settings. Along the way I've made a fan guard, two herringbone gears which I designed, the small planetary gear set from thingiverse (which isn't quite fine enough quality to be able to assemble... yet), Several 10mm test cubes of varying success, a bearing / leadscrew bracket I designed for another project and a couple of androids. I'm having a lot of fun so I guess the printer itself is my hobby.

I originally discovered 3D Printing when looking for various gears for another project. I bought it so I can print off as many as I like, along with brackets, bearing holders and a multitude of other custom components I'd have no other economic way of making.

I have to say, I'm hooked on it so I'll be here a while!

I've been printing things for people in other open source projects lately. Cases mostly. Just trying to help people out, but making a few bucks as well to cover my hobby expenses.

---

- akhlut

Just remember - Iterate, Iterate, Iterate!

[myhomelessmind.blogspot.com]

Printer parts.
A plant pot for my wife. More of a tray really, but it was by far the largest thing I've printed. It barely fit inside 200 x 200.
A few random brackets for things on the motorcycle.
An adjustable rig for a laser scanner.
Phone stands.
Other things I've forgotten.

It's mostly a tool for me.Sometimes it sits unused for months. Sometimes I'm busy with it for a few weeks. Every time I come back to it I'm in a hurry to get something done, so my software is neglected. I think it's all more than a year old. I really need to update Marlin, and I hear Slic3r is nice...

I've been loosing my hair ever since I got mine built baby sitting failed prints

naked ladies, printer upgrades, gears

I've printed lots of useful thing for the garden. Though after a full summer, some have proved a little fragile. My latest lot of thread is impact modified, so should last longer.

Printing small parts for equipment I make for a living. Repair parts for things around the house. iPhone docks so I don't have to buy them and jewelry for family and friends.

Electronics enclosures.
Brackets to hold various stuff.
A few tablet stands so I don't have to carry them from one place to the other.
And Octopusses. As good a method of checking settings with a new roll of plastic as any.. And I can compare the quality of a fairly complex shape with an earlier print fairly easily.

I got my printer primarily because I was going nuts trying to find some method of boxing my electronics projects. You know how it is.. If it ain't black ABS or die cast, nobody seems to want to know. And repurposing stuff only goes so far.
As good an excuse as any eh?

Now.. Any shape, any size..

And my first enclosure was..

A plain rectangular box..

In fairness, it did have a custom fin on the bottom to bolt onto the top bars of my RepRap, and hold my fan controller. So it is custom.. ish. And it was white, not black.

I have my rostock Max ordered, but I plan on making laser tagger bodies for my laser tag business. The ones I have now are about 5lbs each. I want lighter plastic options for the younger players. Oh ya, I will save about $400 on each one too...

Inquisitor Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I've printed lots of useful thing for the garden.
> Though after a full summer, some have proved a
> little fragile. My latest lot of thread is impact
> modified, so should last longer.


Inquisitor, may I ask what you mean when you say your new thread is 'impact modified'?

... this 'impact modification' of surfaces is mostly made by sand-blasting with hard microspheres - it's virtually 'hammered' with myriads of small balls, that enhance the density of the surface and average/smooth surface-impurities ...

---

Viktor
--------
Aufruf zum Projekt "Müll-freie Meere" - [reprap.org] -- Deutsche Facebook-Gruppe - [www.facebook.com]

Call for the project "garbage-free seas" - [reprap.org]

VDX Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ... this 'impact modification' of surfaces is
> mostly made by sand-blasting with hard
> microspheres - it's virtually 'hammered' with
> myriads of small balls, that enhance the density
> of the surface and average/smooth
> surface-impurities ...

Couldn't he, judging from context, referred to process of enhancing impact resistance of material mostly done by adding some additive to base polymer?