Fix it in hardware


3D printing is fun, but there's some snags. Had a couple of misprints yesterday because of new filament getting entangled. Turns out I'm not the only one with that problem, and the community has designed several fixes for the problem.

People with a new printer always end up first printing a couple of accessories for their printer. Would the printer have been better if this wasn't necessary? Of course. But the fact that you can customise your own printer is really cool.

It reminds me of the ideals behind free/open source software: you can customise it, fix issues in software. It rarely works out that way in practice, because often the software is too complicated to fix it quickly like that, but it's really cool that with 3D printers, you can fix issues in hardware.

Als Antwort auf Martijn Vos

There's a category of stuff modified with name/initials, like engraved jeweley, some clothing, etc. I don't feel like that fits your intent, though.

I might add musical instruments. I know several people who've modified guitars, for example (not so many brass instruments).

The tabletop gaming scene is heavily customized. Miniature painting, terrain, game accessories, and the like. Custom miniatures have embraced resin printing for the high resolution. I could argue this is in the category of hobby, which by its nature is often about creating things.

Als Antwort auf Andreas G

@Andreas G

That's definitely true. But people don't modify the high temperature printing nozzle of their 3D printers either, and other household equipment has plenty of parts that aren't in contact with high voltage, heavy rotating parts or scalding hot water. (Although washing machines aren't all that hot anymore these days.)

I've been trying to find a model for a broken clip of an but otherwise excellent Bose speaker so I can print a replacement, but I can't find anything. This is exactly the kind of thing for which home printing would be perfect, but I can't find dimensions for what I need to print.