It happened to every 3D printer hobbyist I know of; after ordering our first machine online, we impatiently waited for days and days for it to arrive. Finally, one day our doorbell rings, and no, it is not our annoying aunt, but the printer we have been waiting for so long. Now, we desperat

Tree supports are essential when printing complex 3D models, and if you’re using Cura, then you should know how to work with tree supports and what settings to use for optimal printing quality. In this article, I will provide you with a basic overview of what supports are, and more spe

It happened to me when I got started in 3D printing, so it may as well be happening to you. You think you found those golden settings on your slicer that just output nice-looking prints and you get the feeling that you may be a printing genius. Perhaps, you think, you should buy twenty more

Currently, most 3d printers are built with a Cartesian construction, which basically means that they are sold without an enclosure. Popular printers like the Anet A8, Prusa I3, or Ender 3 are some examples of this. Since they are open, your print will be exposed to various factors, like

Have you ever looked at your 3D printer and asked yourself what that micro-USB port is for and why you always end up printing using the provided SD card? Well, in this article I will be going over how to use said USB port to print your 3D models just like you would when using an SD card.

If there’s one thing that’s hard to get right when first getting into the world of 3D printing, it’s leveling the bed. Luckily, there’s printers out there that feature built-in automatic bed leveling capabilities, and the best thing about it is that they don’t necessarily cost more than any oth

Leveling a 3D printer is probably the hardest thing you have to learn when you first get your hands on one, and it takes more than a couple days to get the process right, at least it did for me. However, this is when you level it using a piece of paper to feel how much friction there is betw

Extruders are a key part of the printer. They are responsible for pushing the filament through the nozzle. Together with the hotend they make up the extrusion system. Though there are many designs, the most common one is comprised of a motor, a drive gear, and an idler wheel or a second gear (i

If you pay attention when booting up a fresh print, you’ve probably noticed that your 3D printer will make a small outline around the part you are printing. This is called a skirt, and it is meant to initiate the printing process and make sure it runs smoothly. Now you might be wondering why it

Printing a detailed model on a 3d printer can take a lot of time: depending on your own printer and your model’s requirements, a single print can take more than 24 hours. So, why is it taking so long? What’s holding this technology from making models in minutes? And what can you do to spe

Silicone is a versatile polymer with many practical applications. Advancements in 3D technology have made 3D printing with silicone possible through a variety of techniques. However, the practice remains expensive and inaccessibl

You might have read and researched a little bit about 3d printing even up to the point where you are about to buy your first one. Among many of the questions you have, safety and comfort are not to be taken lightly, and one issue that could be annoying, is having your 3d printer working in your

In many ways, 3D printing is limited only by your imagination. Sometimes, however, the limitations of the technology can easily catch up to you. One of the most present limiting factors on an ambitious print job is the physical dimensions of your 3D printer. Printing huge statues or parts fo

To ensure that you’re getting the most bang for your buck when using 3D printing technology, sometimes, calculating printing costs will be needed, especially if the aim is to market the printed pieces. The printer’s price can vary a lot because of the wide range of applications that ex

If you are a maker or a 3D printing enthusiast having fun printing cool models you find on the internet, there will inevitably come a time when you want to change a design to meet a specific requirement of yours or just create a new one from scratch. You will soon find out there is a big li

There is a lot of talk around the type of computer that is required to successfully run a 3d printing operation. Much of this debate is based on the (false) idea that all 3D-related fields do need considerable processing power. You may be interested in getting your hands on your first 3D pri

I decided to test how well my Ender 3 can print PETG and printed multiple 20mm cubes and even a vase. In this article, I will share with you my findings, what settings worked as well as which ones didn’t, and more! I will also include a couple pictures of the models I created so that you

Changing the filament on your 3D printer is absolutely essential to learn if you want to be able to use different colors, or if your spool just ran out of filament. In this article, I will go over how to do this on an Ender 3, but it’s generally the same process with other similar machines,

Are you looking to create your own designs for 3D printing? If so, then you probably found out there are a lot of programs you can use to bring your ideas to life and might be asking yourself if ZBrush is the right one for you. Look no further! In this article, I will cover ZBrush’s most import

PLA and PETG are two fairly common filaments that also print in a similar way and you don’t need to buy a fancy new machine to be able to print PETG, like would be the case with Polycarbonate, for example. However, there are some clear differences between the two as far as print quality, str