this post was submitted on 10 Mar 2025
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3DPrinting

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Would love to see some of your prints on here! When I was younger my dad and I built a 3D printer, and I loved it. Since then I haven't had the funds/time/space to get back into it but as that was like 12 years ago, I know 3D printing has gotten much higher tech.

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

I mostly use mine for functional stuff, odd shaped brackets, pipe adaptors, electronics enclosures, so not very photogenic, but my two favourite things were a replacement door latch for the microwave, saved the cost of buying a new one, and a very nerdy bit of wall art 🖖

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

I'm guessing a version with the Enterprise J doesn't fit on the print bed.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

The wall art is gorgeous! How did you get that smooth final metallic look? Or is that just how it looks on picture?

Honestly that's one of the coolest things about 3D printing - being able to create highly specific parts that could be impossible or impractical to source.

I've heard that 3D printers are used to repair those terrifying "iron lungs" that some people are still depending on to survive. This is because some of the parts that break on them are literally not produced anymore!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

It's not really smooth up close haha just standard sorta 0.2mm layer height, sanded down a little, then I spray painted them gold which hid some of the rough spots

And yeah I'm a big believer in repairable tech, 3d printers are huge in terms of being able to replace the kind of custom shaped plastic parts that the manufacturer doesn't sell spares of and the appliance is completely unusable without (as I'm sure is the intention 🙄 planned obsolescence is truly one of the worst things we've ever come up with)