Gina Trapani: The joy of making stuff with a 3D printer. I’ve always been a little 3D printer-curious and this looks like a good resource to start with.
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One tip for overcoming the activation barrier: as someone who likes 3D printing original designs but is too impatient to deal with the CAD program learning curve, I've found LLMs are surprisingly good at turning graph paper drawings into STL files.
Fun! I have a very similar experience. Also bought a P1S with AMS last year, and use the 3D printer as a problem solver for a bunch of things I never even thought of. Makerworld is full of great designs done by a lot of smart and nice people.
Custom drawer organizers! This may just do it for me. The other day I was trying to find a simple mounting bracket for a motorcycle handlebar. I couldn't find what I needed until I stumbled on a website with downloadable plans for 3D printers. Brackets aplenty! This one-off stuff is just perfect for a 3D printer, and the fact that plans can be shared for use is awesome.
Really enjoyed following the myriad of links related to this website and associated "rabbit holes" of creativity.
I will say that the current generation of "good" consumer 3D printers have graduated to being boring appliances, rather than a contraption that becomes a hobby in and of itself.
In some cases, I totally empathize that this is a bit of a loss. Working on earlier 3d printers probably kindled something akin to the excitement of working on an old car, and hearing it roar to life!
I'm glad people are still building their own weird printers, but... I haven't been bitten by that particular bug.
In my case, I'm pretty glad I waited until entering the world of 3D printing until I did (6 months ago). It's unlocked a lot of DIY and hobby stuff without becoming a major distraction in and of itself. (Okay, so... the CAD part is an unavoidable distraction, but the printer itself basically "Just Works," and I like that about it)
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