cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/5265624
I made this about a year ago and it’s one of my favorite creations. Even though I made a mistake in measuring the bottom and had to cut out some slots. One day I’ll print it again, but it used a ton of filament and took forever last time.
Now I want to 3d print, just to make one for my house!
If you are interested at all, the hobby has never been cheaper to get into. <$200 gets you a printer and several spools of filament to learn with.
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That’s resin printing that you need good ventilation for. I think there are some that are safer than others but for fdm which is the melting plastic and extruding it in lines there is no issue being indoors.
You can also make enclosures for them though so they are isolated
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It’s very much not something you can just use like a printer. It’s a hobby in and of itself
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No need to wait, you are in perfect place to pay for a printing service. Its quite cheap and available everywhere if you can provide 3D model. OP’s model is huge so that one might be more expensive
I think understanding printing would definitely help designs so you can make them in ways that are easier to print too
Old article but I’m sure the science hasn’t changed: https://hackaday.com/2016/02/01/3d-printing-fumes-new-science/
Basically, if you are printing with PLA you are probably pretty safe. But I still don’t think I would sit in a tiny closet and hotbox with my printer. An open window or carbon filters on your HVAC are probably more than sufficient. And PLA is the most popular type of filament, so you aren’t limited much there. Unless you need higher temperature parts to withstand sun or car interiors. Then you are getting into materials you want to start looking into better ventilation for.
Yeah, I mostly print PLA, and occasional PETG. My printers are in enclosures as well and while I don’t have any dedicated ventellation system, they are by a window that has a fan blowing outside. I’m not too worried about it.
Even that, I’ve got a center console organizer in my car made of pla and it hasn’t deformed at all. So as long as it’s not in the direct sunlight
I have two Ender 3’s and they are good printers. It can take some tweaking to get things to print right but it has been a good printer for the stuff I’ve printed. Once you get your settings right most print jobs print without issue. It’s an easy hobby to get into without going broke and with some patients you can print lots of stuff for the house. I’ve print coat hooks and a hook to go over my shower door to hold a towel so I no longer have to get my towel wet. We’ve also printed party favors for kids birthdays. Also finding stuff to print has never been an issue lots of stuff is free and the files that do cost are always super cheap. Most of the stuff we bought was 1-3 dollars and you can print it as many times as you want so TCO is really low.
Do it! My favorite hobby by far. Highly recommend Prusa but they are pricey for a beginner and definitely take some tinkering sometimes, but that’s a plus for me. If you want to get in cheap, you can though, like the other commenter said. If you live near a Microcenter, they often have one of the Creality printers on sale for $100 or so.
Now I want to 3d print, just to make my house!