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5 expensive hobbies where owning a 3D printer actually saves you money

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5 expensive hobbies where owning a 3D printer actually saves you money

How owning a 3D printer can save you some big cash in your hobbies

NASA's 3D printers hosted on the International Space Station (ISS) print tools and replacement parts on demand. Here on Earth, 3D printers can sometimes make expensive components and accessories for a more affordable price than you can find in stores. However, does that make one worth buying?

3D printing (sometimes called additive manufacturing) uses computer-aided design (CAD) models sourced online or created by you to build three-dimensional objects. Entry-level printers like the Creality Ender-3 V3 SE cost from about $170, while more advanced systems reach $700 or more. The most common 3D printers use filament, which costs from around $20 per kilogram. If you make 50 $10 items from a kilo of filament on a $170 machine, you save money. Combine the cost of materials and hardware to calculate the cost to identify where you may save. You may not even need to own a printer as some libraries and maker spaces provide access, while online services will print for a price.

Most home printers use FDM (fused deposition modeling) , where plastic filament, usually polylactic acid (PLA), is pushed through a heated nozzle to make something. More expensive 3D printers use resin (SLA/DLP, resin-based stereolithography and digital light processing, respectively) or polymer powder (SLS, selective laser sintering). The following ideas focus on how FDM printers save you money within a series of popular hobbies, but you'll want to upgrade to SLA printers where fine detail matters to you.


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