Joe asked for an update on my 3D printing activities. 3D printing for me still is a solution in search of a problem. Before COVID, I used to play a lot of Dungeons & Dragons with friends gathered around a table. And because we like the tactical combat aspects of D&D, we needed miniatures. That was a perfect application for a 3D printer: Small print runs, it doesn't matter if the quality isn't ultra-high, and as long as you don't count the cost of the printer itself, printing a miniature is much cheaper than buying one. Services like Hero Forge allow you to create models for roleplaying heroes, and some talented people have created STL files for every creature in the monster manual.

Then the pandemic struck, and we moved our D&D games online, to Roll20. Suddenly I didn't need 3D miniatures anymore, I needed just token images. As a result I quickly ran out of ideas on what to actually use my 3D printers for. I occasionally print some small household item I need, but the applications are limited. I also sometimes print something for my board game hobby, like for example a token tray. But you can buy small bead storage boxes made out of polypropylene from Amazon, for about a dollar each, and they are much better than anything I can print.

So these days I am using my 3D printers rarely. Unfortunately, if you don't use your printer for some time, you can run into problems later: Some of the plastic filaments used tend to absorb humidity slowly from the air, and degrade. Or I need to oil some gears, calibrate the build plate, etc. Lots of work for very little printing. I would really recommend anybody who thinks of buying a 3D printer to first think what sustained application he has for it. Otherwise it is just a toy.

- posted by Tobold @ 7:22 AM Permanent Link