Summary
I was intimidated by 3D printers for a long time, and I didn’t know what I would actuallydowith one. Then, I impulsively bought a 3D printer on a whim, and I realized my fears were unwarranted. A simple, affordable 3D printer is a very useful tool to have in your home; no fancy modeling software is required.
The question of what I would do with a 3D printer if I got one was maybe even a bigger concern than how to use it. I’d seen lots of people print cool things with 3D printers, but much of it was more novelty than practical. Spending a few hundred bucks on a gadget to print plastic trinkets wasn’t appealing to me. Still, I was interested, and late one night, I clicked buy now on an Anycubic Kobra on sale for $200. Oops.
The Kobra is now discontinued, but you canbuy the Anycubic Kobra 2if you’d like to follow in my impulse purchase footsteps.
Getting Started is Not as Hard as You Think
Before I show off some of my practical home and life improvement prints, a couple of notes on the self-imposed barriers you may have in your head about 3D printing.
My particular 3D printer took about an hour to assemble, and it has a self-leveling program, which makes getting started super easy. After I was done setting it up, I popped in the included microSD card and printed the sample model. To my surprise, it came out pretty good.
Is this a perfectly smooth, immaculate print? Heck no. But did the printer successfully produce a solid figure that is clearly an owl? Yes, and that is really all you need for most things.
That little owl is a perfect example of how easy 3D printing can be. It required zero configuration, and I didn’t do a thing with the 3D model. I simply loaded in the filament and pressed “Print.”
But 3D printing isn’t just printing owls or novel little trinkets (though that’s naturally a lot of fun). It’s also really useful. you’re able to find 3D models for all manner of useful things on big 3D model sites likeThingeverse. I’d encourage you to browse through there to see all the potential things you could solve with a 3D print.
You don’t have to take my word that you’re able to 3D print useful stuff, though. Let’s take a look at some things I’ve 3D printed around my house. Without further ado, here are some examples of how free, downloadable 3D models can solve very specific day-to-day problems in your home.
IKEA Milsbo Shelf Supports
A 3D Printer is the Ultimate Problem Solver
You’ll find many freely available 3D models that solve many common problems people have with everyday things, including printing headphone hooks, phone stands, and other accessories we highlighted in a roundup offun and useful 3D printable accessories. However, with very minimal 3D modeling, you can take matters into your own hands.
Here are a few examples of things I’ve modeled myself inFusion 360to solve problems in my own home. (You can check outother 3D modeling apps, too, but Fusions 360 is a bit of a staple and a good place to start.)
You might not think you’ll jump right into making your own prints, but it’s not as daunting as it seems! I may not have created the world’s most intricate 3D models, but in the “practical prints” category, I was able to easily make the things seen in the gallery above, like a coffee basket holder, closet rod support, plant trip dray, and a curtain ring ramp to keep the shower curtain from catching.
You may not think of a 3D printer along the same lines as a drill or a hammer, but it can be just as useful for DIY projects around your home. Even an affordable printer can spit out serviceable prints with very little fuss. You won’t need to rely on Amazon shopping to solve problems anymore.
