Are 3D Printers Worth It: Expensive Hobby Or Profitable Investment?

3D printing is awesome but it’s just not worth it for everyone.

When all they need to do is outsource a few parts, many people spend a large sum of money on 3D printers.

Even worse, some buyers of 3D printers later discover they don’t enjoy using them.

This objective is to give you a realistic assessment of whether you should get your own 3D printer before you shell out the big bucks.

Advantages Of Owning A 3d Printer

It Improves Your Creativity

Although it might eventually start to get the creative juices flowing, a 3D printer won’t make you more creative; instead, it will allow you to turn your ideas into something tangible.

New concepts will occur to you as you gain experience using this tool. You’ll eventually discover that a 3D printer can produce intricate pieces that conventional modeling cannot, and you can use this knowledge to make prototypes, fascinating and detailed 3D models, or simply print replacement parts for damaged items around your house like gears.

It’s Fun

Something hypnotic happens just by watching a 3D printer operate. The way the extruder moves across the bed, the “futuristic machine” sounds, the electronic parts with sparkling lights… Each person’s first experience with a 3D printer is unique.

Just try it, and you’ll understand what I mean if you haven’t seen one in action yet.

This is one of the reasons I chose to purchase one in addition to the fact that it is actually useful. I also did so because I enjoy watching it print and you learn a lot (more on this later because you will need to know more than you probably think).

You Can Save Time And Money

Particular spare parts may be very costly. Sometimes they come in a pack, so replacing one requires purchasing parts you don’t need. With a 3D printer, you can quickly and cheaply print exactly what you need.

A small piece can be printed in under an hour if you aren’t too concerned with the print’s aesthetics.

Now, when I say that it can save you money, I don’t mean “go out and buy a printer just to stop buying a couple of replacement parts at the hardware store”, since this wouldn’t make much financial sense, but over time, since you can fix so many things that might break at home or in your car, it may end up paying for itself.

It Could Help You Develop A Profitable Venture

By offering your prints for sale, you can launch your own business. Find out what’s needed in your community and fill it. You could also open an online store or an Etsy shop; the options are virtually limitless. Decorative items, toys, lamps, keychains, and dog tags are just a few examples.

Many people have achieved success by developing unique ideas to sell. You can print whatever someone orders instead of sticking with products that no one wants to buy since you don’t necessarily need to have them in stock.

Enable And Expand Other Hobbies And Skills

3D printing can be leveraged to bolster and enable other hobbies, making it an extremely versatile addition to any maker’s tool kit. One of the best reasons to purchase a 3D printer is the endless ways in which it encourages other pastimes.

For instance, you can create an endless supply of figurines or terrain if you enjoy playing tabletop games. A 3D printer can produce customized models if you like to show off your love for various pop culture icons, from Marvel characters to your preferred anime.

Personal Satisfaction

3D printing rubs shoulders with the likes of woodworking and pottery as one of the most rewarding hands-on hobbies.

There is real satisfaction in striving for the perfect print, developing skills, and becoming knowledgeable about your 3D printer from setting up the machine to firing off the first print and everything in between.

Few hobbies offer as much personal satisfaction as 3D printing if you’re the kind of person who enjoys learning and self-directed discovery.

Disadvantages Of Owning A 3D Printer

3d Printers Take Up A Lot Of Space

Each printer requires at least 60 cm2 of clear space on a sturdy desk or other pieces of furniture that is only used for printing. Finding a suitable location for your brand-new 3D printer in a small apartment will be extremely challenging.

Additionally, since some plastics, like ABS or Nylon, release fumes and toxic gases when heated, it is not advisable to use them in a space where you or anyone else will be present.

They Are Noisy

A working 3D printer produces sound at a level of about 60 dB when you are sitting next to one. Similar to a vacuum cleaner, that.

Sometimes you’ll need to print large items that take ten or more hours to complete, so you’ll probably find yourself using the printer at night. If your partner doesn’t share your enthusiasm, you’ll soon need to move, along with your new 3D printer.

Important Note: Some printers, such as my own Prusa Mini, are much less loud than some of the others. You’ll find yourself checking the recently released Elegoo Neptune quite frequently because you’ll assume it has stopped printing because it barely makes any noise.

You Can’t Print Creativity

3d printers are the perfect tool for creative people. Most people who purchase printers do not know what to print; instead, they set them up on a rigid, stable base.

Even if you had a ton of ideas, you’ll eventually need to come up with something original if you don’t want your 3D printer to end up as an expensive paperweight.

A 3D printer will be very helpful and enjoyable for you if you have any design or CAD software experience.

You Will Have To Learn More About 3d Printing Than You Initially Thought

Even the most expensive 3D printers require you to spend some time learning the fundamentals. There is no “plug and play” in 3d printing: you must get over the “learning curve” before getting started.

Obviously, purchasing a printer at a very low cost will only make matters more difficult. For this reason, occasionally purchasing a printer with a few extra features, such as automatic bed leveling, can make life much simpler.

That is why I purchased the Ender 3 v2—it is simple to assemble, and the slicer software’s default settings are optimized for this printer—so you can quickly get started printing after assembling it. The fact that this printer is among the most well-liked entry-level devices is not by accident.

Since many people end up selling their printers after one or two months of futile attempts, if you are not handy, I would advise spending a little more and getting one that will get you printing quickly.

The 3D printing community, which is enormous and filled with kind individuals, will, fortunately, assist you in getting through this early learning phase.

They Increase The Risk Of Fire At Home

3d printers and pets, small children, or even a curtain, are bad combinations. If you don’t watch over your printer, the combination of moving parts and high temperatures could result in a fire.

The most common reasons for accidents involving 3D printers are improper assembly or a lack of fire protection.

You should keep your kids and pets as far away from the printer as you can because they could hurt themselves, break the printer, ruin the filament, etc. in addition to the fire risk.

Time Consuming

3D printing eats up your time with lengthy print times for simple projects, not to mention enormous 24-hour or longer sessions for larger parts, as well as hours spent browsing forums and watching YouTube tutorials due to constant slicer tweaking.

There’s no getting around the fact that you’ll need to invest a significant amount of time to get the most out of your machine, aside from occasionally using your 3D printer every few months, in which case you might want to consider whether it was worth buying in the first place.

It simply isn’t feasible to devote this much time to yet another activity, especially one that will be firmly classified as a hobby for the majority of people, given how quickly life already moves. It’s probably for this reason that used 3D printers are so common on Craig’s List, Facebook Marketplace, and eBay.

Expensive

3D printing is expensive, and the costs continue to mount the more you print. You’ll quickly run out of filament after spool after print fails. There will be failures and replacement needs for parts. There is also, of course, the printer’s initial cost.

However, a $20 1kg spool of PLA contains enough material to make dozens or even hundreds of models, which would cost you much more money if you were to purchase them at a store.

If you’re replacing an expensive purchasing habit, 3D printing can be a very affordable hobby in that regard.

Misunderstandings Of 3D Printers

You Can Make Anything.

Technically, this is correct, but without a team to work with or a lot of 3D modeling expertise, it may as well be impossible.

Starting out, you’ll probably download other people’s designs if you don’t know how to create your own items.

3D Printing Will Save You Money.

Although this is a long-term possibility, the total benefit won’t be great. Additionally, rather than spending hours trying to make most things you need around the house, it is probably better to spend a little more money to buy them.

For instance, many vendors of 3D printers might claim that printing common household items in 3D can help you save hundreds of dollars.

Like any hobby, 3D printing requires an initial investment, ongoing maintenance, and time commitment, so you will actually spend much more than you save.

Another important point is that 3D printing can become a chore rather than a fun hobby if a 3D printer is purchased only to save money.

You Can 3D Print Various Materials.

The reality is that the majority of 3D printers can only print plastic, but that’s usually enough. You’ll need to shell out a little more money if you want to print metals.

3D printers are only capable of depositing materials that have a melting point, so don’t expect to be able to make flowers and leather clothing.

You Can Just Download Things From Thingiverse.

While this is true, I still included it because simply downloading and printing information can quickly become monotonous.

The purpose of a 3D printer is to support your own projects, and occasionally to download materials from the internet.

However, what typically happens is that people visit Thingiverse and browse the seemingly endless collection of STLs (free 3D printing files) made by the Thingiverse community without having any intention of making their own things.

Despite the initial excitement, this will probably end in boredom. You will eventually grow weary of 3D printing after printing 10 useless things that you really don’t need. Not to mention that you will have a lot of unnecessary items lying around.

Technical Difficulties Of 3D Printing

Can You Design?

3D printing isn’t necessarily easy to get into, but neither are most hobbies. Before it can be fruitful, it will require some patience, commitment, and perhaps some frustration.

Can you use the software effectively? Do you have a natural talent for it? 3D modeling or computer hardware programs are important aspects of 3D printing.

Do you intend to become proficient in 3D modeling? Many people dislike learning new technologies, and before printing your first object, you have to learn a lot about 3D printing technology.

You should eventually start 3D modeling things on your own to get the most out of this hobby. To begin with, every 3D printable object requires a 3D model.

Learning how to use tools like Solidworks, Inventor, Blender, and other 3D modeling software takes time and effort.

General Computer Skills Required

After creating the model, you must understand how to export it in the appropriate file format or which slicer to use to send the code to the printer.

Don’t be afraid to learn because it can be very rewarding even though this may seem difficult. Many people give up easily because they become frustrated.

The bottom line is that 3D printing is probably not for you if you lack design skills and are unwilling to acquire them.

Can You Troubleshoot?

While 3D printing, many things could go wrong. You’re going to need to troubleshoot at some point, whether it’s because your devices are set up incorrectly or because the filament is jamming in the nozzle.

To avoid mistakes and enhance the quality of their 3D printer, some makers treat this as a hobby and prioritize machine upgrades first.

The Anet A8 is a fairly subpar and unreliable 3D printer, but it’s also quite popular because it’s inexpensive, and people who buy it typically like to improve it.

Can You Do Simple Maths For 3D Printing?

Although there is no need for complicated calculations, it is frequently necessary to do some when designing to ensure that the product is made to the highest possible standard.

You might not be equipped to handle the inevitable problems that will arise if you don’t enjoy solving problems (school did make math boring sometimes).

But let’s see if you’re willing to pay the price of using 3D printers if you’re interested and able to handle technical challenges.

How Do I Know If I Should Buy A 3D Printer?

There are 4 Key Things you need to consider to make an informed decision:

• Various interests and pastimes you have.
• the 3D printing’s technical difficulties.
• The costs related to 3D printing.
• Your career and how much money it will bring in.

Conclusion: It Depends.

Purchasing a 3D printer is definitely worthwhile if your interests or line of work are related to 3D printing and you are willing to put up with the costs and technical challenges involved.

You could always look for a maker space close by if you want to test it out first. Check out some 3D printers when you feel you are ready.

Purchase a 3D printer, if so. Comment below and tell me whether you agree or disagree.

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