I like 3d printers because they allow me to make my mechanical contraptions extremely fast and with ease comparing to, say, cutting them from wood. None of the stuff I make is going to revolutionize the world, but that was never the goal for me.
this post was submitted on 04 May 2025
326 points (92.0% liked)
196
3128 readers
1664 users here now
Community Rules
You must post before you leave
Be nice. Assume others have good intent (within reason).
Block or ignore posts, comments, and users that irritate you in some way rather than engaging. Report if they are actually breaking community rules.
Use content warnings and/or mark as NSFW when appropriate. Most posts with content warnings likely need to be marked NSFW.
Most 196 posts are memes, shitposts, cute images, or even just recent things that happened, etc. There is no real theme, but try to avoid posts that are very inflammatory, offensive, very low quality, or very "off topic".
Bigotry is not allowed, this includes (but is not limited to): Homophobia, Transphobia, Racism, Sexism, Abelism, Classism, or discrimination based on things like Ethnicity, Nationality, Language, or Religion.
Avoid shilling for corporations, posting advertisements, or promoting exploitation of workers.
Proselytization, support, or defense of authoritarianism is not welcome. This includes but is not limited to: imperialism, nationalism, genocide denial, ethnic or racial supremacy, fascism, Nazism, Marxism-Leninism, Maoism, etc.
Avoid AI generated content.
Avoid misinformation.
Avoid incomprehensible posts.
No threats or personal attacks.
No spam.
Moderator Guidelines
Moderator Guidelines
- Don’t be mean to users. Be gentle or neutral.
- Most moderator actions which have a modlog message should include your username.
- When in doubt about whether or not a user is problematic, send them a DM.
- Don’t waste time debating/arguing with problematic users.
- Assume the best, but don’t tolerate sealioning/just asking questions/concern trolling.
- Ask another mod to take over cases you struggle with, if you get tired, or when things get personal.
- Ask the other mods for advice when things get complicated.
- Share everything you do in the mod matrix, both so several mods aren't unknowingly handling the same issues, but also so you can receive feedback on what you intend to do.
- Don't rush mod actions. If a case doesn't need to be handled right away, consider taking a short break before getting to it. This is to say, cool down and make room for feedback.
- Don’t perform too much moderation in the comments, except if you want a verdict to be public or to ask people to dial a convo down/stop. Single comment warnings are okay.
- Send users concise DMs about verdicts about them, such as bans etc, except in cases where it is clear we don’t want them at all, such as obvious transphobes. No need to notify someone they haven’t been banned of course.
- Explain to a user why their behavior is problematic and how it is distressing others rather than engage with whatever they are saying. Ask them to avoid this in the future and send them packing if they do not comply.
- First warn users, then temp ban them, then finally perma ban them when they break the rules or act inappropriately. Skip steps if necessary.
- Use neutral statements like “this statement can be considered transphobic” rather than “you are being transphobic”.
- No large decisions or actions without community input (polls or meta posts f.ex.).
- Large internal decisions (such as ousting a mod) might require a vote, needing more than 50% of the votes to pass. Also consider asking the community for feedback.
- Remember you are a voluntary moderator. You don’t get paid. Take a break when you need one. Perhaps ask another moderator to step in if necessary.
founded 3 months ago
MODERATORS
I don’t think the 3d printers out there are a significant producer of plastic waste in the grand scheme of things. They can actually prevent a lot of waste by making replacement parts or fixing something to meet a new use case.
But the narrative that they were going to revolutionize everything comes out of this idea that things are generally improved by the production of more stuff, more niche gizmos and doodads. It is a facet of the thinking behind over consumption.
Often that kind of thinking even gets in the way of implementing solutions to real problems. Much easier to sell people on an ineffective solution based in more stuff than a solution that requires them to alter their life style or accept a little inconvenience.
3d printers are just tools, but the idea that new tools are all that is needed to solve issues is a huge problem.
Most of the guys I know who have 3d printers are so eager to have someone ask them to make a specific thing for them on the 3d printer, and it's always really practical makes.
That’s me. Sort of. Don’t get me wrong, my wife is rapidly running out of room in her office for all the cute animals I have printed for her (that she didn’t ask for, I just surprise her with them sometimes 😅).
But I’ve rapidly reached the stage where I want to print but have covered most of my own needs for printed stuff. So any time anyone asks if I can print something, I’m thrilled.
I mean, making cute animals is part of most hobbies. I have created more little animals with crochet than I can count, and I don't necessarily see 3d printing as anymore wasteful than crochet
Yeah I've done a couple prints for friends or relatives. My most recent print is a simple miny peg-chess set so I can learn from my chess books with a physical board and pieces.
Not exactly practical, but still useful.
I've successfully solved several real life problems with my printer, and it's always nice to find something practical to make or fix.
Is there a reason the board is 3 colours?
IDK, but it certainly looks aesthetically pleasing, to me at least.
For 3D chess?
It's tools and behavior that will produce change. If we have the tools but fail to change consumer behavior, overall change will be negligible.
If I use a 3d printer to print all the replacement parts I would have had to order specially otherwise, I am benefitting from the tool. But if those facilities keep making the parts I used to order, and the market overall focuses on ordering rather than making, not much environmental benefit is made from me not having things shipped to my door.
That doesn't condemn the tool or the market, but the problem is this technology can't have greater impact unless it changes consumer behavior at a critical mass, rather than just hobbyists.
What's that glove thingy good for?
It's a cast for injuries.
Now you tell me what the bottom thing is supposed to be.
It's an impossibly large gearbox. Even smaller ones would take decades of turning the first cog to move the last one.
Are you saying you move the first one and it takes years before the last one moves? Meanwhile all the ones in between are moving the whole time? That sounds impossible!
It's because of gear ratios. For each movement of the first gear , the second only moves a fraction of that, let's say 1/20th. If the first gear moves at 1 full rotation a second, the next gear moves 1 rotation every 20 seconds, the next 1 every 400 seconds, and so forth. It adds up quite quickly, the tenth gear would take 16,235 years to make a full rotation in my example.
The picture above may or may not need more time than could exist in the universe to see any moment in that last gear.
I wonder how planck length affects a gearbox like that (but obviously the tolerances will come into play a lot sooner for a 3d printed gearbox)
No, you'd turn the first one then the second would only move a fraction of the amount, and the third would only move a fraction of that amount, and so on.
Until friction and tolerances cancel out any kind of movement. A gearbox with as many stages as the one in the picture, the torque required to start moving the last gear is bigger than the first gear can handle.
This seems a bit strawman to me, no? The people who are doing crazy builds with hundreds of parts are often doing it specifically for your social media impression. Most of the stuff I print on my Prusa is small parts for my bikes or my car. Little missing pieces of fixtures around the house. If I'm ever printing something feckless it's because a friend really wanted a 3d articulated slug. I will say though, the waste plastic from edges, supports, failed builds, etc adds up over time and it's dead-end waste like most other plastic. I have several paper grocery bags full of the stuff. But that's exactly why I don't like printing feckless crap.
I've seen a video of someone experimentally recycling that into new filament. Unfortunately, there's probably not a commercial product for that.
Also, if I recall correctly, they had an issue with keeping it at constant width.
There are a couple of commercial solutions out there, and the fancier ones have sensors that measure the width and makes adjustments on the fly
They are quite pricey though, the cheapest one i found (a couple of years ago) was priced at like 10k$
load more comments
(1 replies)
I did a little reading up on it. Apparently it's hard to make it work unless all the pieces you're melting are the same size, and any impurity, even dust, can cause issues. And that's before you even get to the point where you're trying to extrude a perfectly sized filament.
Also, given how cheap the filament is, there probably isn't enough incentive to do this on a commercial scale. Otherwise someone could design a machine that could be sold to shops that sold 3d-printing stuff so they could recycle filament for their customers.
I don't hate 3d printers I think they're an awesome technology, but enthusiasts sure love printing bullshit
It's easier to print bullshit than to learn cad. I'm learning to model by printing gridfinity organizers. It's easy and practical. I waste less time searching for junk and waste more time modeling the bins. 👍
I think at least 80% of my printing is organizers.
It's beautiful 😍
I think using 3d printing as a way of learning CAD is great! Definitely a great learning tool for kids and students and such and also adults
I think I just view people who print other people's designs for silly reasons in the same way that I view GenAI prompters who call themselves artists unironically. Like, my guy, you just pressed enter and something else did all the work. Use it as a tool to extend your creativity if you want, not as a substitute! You're not a bad person if you use it as a substitute, it's just confusing to me and seems like a waste of time and resources
But then again, I'm basically just saying "stop having fun" so I don't really think it's that much of an issue
I feel really uncomfortable in the online maker space at times. It's filled with crypto bros and zionists. One of the most downloaded prints one week was one of Trump assassination attempt. Can't tell if it's to grift or keep. Unnerving community.
You know, I finally got into 3D printing after putting it off for years, and I think you’re right. Part of why I was hesitant to start was that all tech is just expensive here in Lebanon, and it’s not always easy to source good filament that hasn’t been slurping moisture in a shop for five years.
I was watching a video by a (seemingly American) channel I wasn’t very familiar with, and he just dropped a “here in Israel, due to the war, we haven’t been able to…” very casually before complaining about something “war-related” that I experience all the time. Maybe electrical blackouts, or interrupted shipping, or lack of parts, or whatever. But he was still showing new products, was still getting free stuff from sponsors… huh. I don’t necessarily have anything against him as a person, but it was weird to see how easy it was for him. Most online shops don’t ship here. I know from some friends who do YouTube as a side thing that even shitty little scam sponsors won’t touch you if you send them wire instructions for a Lebanese bank. So, I don’t know. I frankly don’t think it’s that bad, I haven’t seen too many (vocal) genocide fans. There might just be a proportionally large 3D printing scene there.
Now the crypto bro stuff… That’s a whole thing. Right as crypto was becoming something my parents would ask me about, a lot of non-technical people around me were taking up roles in fintech. Think CS graduates you’d expect to work in technical but not super difficult job. This was in the middle of an economic abyss here so you know people were getting taken advantage of and getting paid in “digital assets” or whatever. And these guys would proudly call themselves Web3 professionals or founders etc. These were the same guys who should know better because they understand what crypto actually is, but they were (or at least pretended to be) drinking the Kool-Aid. And that terrified me - and it also helped me understand the clear distinction between a “tech bro” and an actual “tech person” (and actual “bros” in tech - which do exist and don’t suck ass!)
This was also around the time I started reading a bit of HN, where I also found these tech-related takes that were very different from how I saw the world. The folks around me in tech that I was friends with tended to be more anarchist-flavored. I don’t use HN at all now.
One thing I despise about the 3D printing “scene” now is the huge volume of print farm slop. I’ll be watching a video on YouTube about something basic like how to counteract ringing on my printer. The algorithm then doesn’t just suggest more beginner tuning and cool experimental stuff, oh no. It suggests videos about print farms, often run by people who are clearly not technical/enthusiasts. They just have walls of machines pumping out objects I couldn’t fathom anyone buying. Like I’ve used a commercial 3D printing service before for prototyping, print farms have a place (especially if I want to print in a material that would be risky or hard to print at home), but like generic looking little vases? Why? There’s also all the low quality models people pump out, and apparently maker fairs are having trouble with people selling generic prints and undercutting handmade stuff… Like maybe if you’re there to model stuff for someone, that’s great, but this isn’t it.
This is why I was sure I found the right instance when one of the key things that resonated with me in the signup process was something about not wanting to monetize hobbies. And I think that’s what separates those people from me. I can enjoy things because I enjoy them. My hobbies belong to me.
So fuck the vultures because those people are always going to suck the marrow out of any good tech. The grifters will always be there before you, any time something new becomes useful. I’ve also found that the 3D printing community has also been very diligent in making sure companies contribute to open source ever since the RepRap big bang of modern printing, and that most people you meet tend to be cool folks who print cool stuff. There’s a lot of good, too.
load more comments
(1 replies)
but enthusiasts sure love printing bullshit
Back in my day, 3D printing enthusiasts printed stuff to tweak their 3D printers. 3D printers print prints for printer printer's printers.
A lot of them are, but this kind of bullshit is the kind of thing that will have a lot more visibility than the rest because it is usually what gets shared and shown.
The vast majority of what I've printed I never bothered sharing because it is custom made so specifically that nobody else would find a use for it. Or it is something that is so boring that even though I'm happy to have printed it instead of buying it, it is still a boring household object that nobody would care about.
what's the bullshit gear thing in the bottom example?
Many reduction gears, so each turn of one is a fraction of the turn of the one next to it. Pretty pointless.
load more comments
(1 replies)
I like 3d modeling cute lil creatures and printing them ;_;
I MUST see a video of those gears running
Iirc thats a device that exponentially turns slower and slower. Something like gear 1 turns every second and the last gear will move 1 tooth every 100 billion years or something stupid like that
Conversely, turn the gear at the other end and see the first one move at warp speed for a second before it all comes undone or friction welds itself in place.
the most useful things I've made with 3d printers are tiny, I feel like there are better tools for making larger things
People often use biodegradabble printing substances so that's not that big of an issue. (Sometimes)
I thought for a long time that PLA was biodegradable, but turns out it isnt really. It doesnt compost in nature, it just breaks apart into microplastic. It needs active heated industrial composting to actually degrade into something harmless.
Yes, almost all store bought items that are "bio-degradable" will not degrade in nature and require industrial compost facilities. You'll often see warnings like:
Biodegradable^*^
^*where^ ^facilities^ ^exist^
For additional "reading" on the topic, makersmuse has a good video about this: https://youtu.be/jCsnVp6mEbk
For this reason, I started looking into trying out PHA (allPHA from colorfabb I think) which supposedly fully biodegrades. I nabbed a spool but haven't gotten around to printing with it since I print pretty infrequently. If it goes well, I'd like to make it my default prototyping filament. (Currently I use rPLA which is just post industrial recycled, and algae fill PLA for non-mechanical stuff).
This is a common misconception. PLA is technically compostable industrially, but it will be very slow to break down naturally if you just leave it outside. It can take about 80 years, which is a lot better than other plastics, but it's a bit misleading that it's called biodegradable. There are true biodegradable filaments like PHA, but they're a lot less common.
That being said, 3D printing is actually really useful, and not a significant part of the plastic waste problem.
PLA microplastics take three years. That 80-years figure you've got in your brain is for PET:
(BTW: That study is brand new! From a few days ago.)
There's some confusion about how PLA breaks down because there's remnants after the 3-5 years where it's not detectable anymore. Those remnants are not microplastics at that point. They're just the base components (e.g. lactic acid) that can last a little bit longer.
Some colorants can last a really long time but I haven't looked into those as much as I have plastics.
BTW: The "sparkly bits" in "silk" filament is just mica powder (iron). It looks like it might be harmful but it's not.
load more comments
(2 replies)
Seems to me like the second thing is a foot massager roller.
No it'a a clock where the golden wheel makes one turn every gogol years or something stupid like that. It's just a bunch of reduction gears
view more: next ›