I just think it’s so cool that anyone can just make custom toys now and sell them.

Yes a lot of stalls just sell the same thing, but yesterday I went to a fair and the 3 big stalls were so unique.

1st stall was all about high precision toys. Like I can’t explain how smooth the toys were. Talking to him he was all about making them as dialed in as possible with these tiny super delicate gears and moving wings on toys, or puzzles that glide like they are oiled off each other. I’m too lazy to go find the thing I bought as I was walking around the house playing with it.

2nd stall was all about large cartoony ones using a printer that can do up to 5 colors! I ended up getting a little dino!

Then the last one was a guy who only printed things he personally designed! With all his pieces being toys that are giant version of lego things like his giant lego light sabers that are straight out of lego star wars

(off his website as I didn’t buy anything from him)

It’s just so cool that these people can build their own little toy factories and make a variety of toys either in special ways, or make their own unique toys. I know it’s not star treck replicators, but it’s still just exciting to me.

I actually owned 3d printers in the past, but the effort to dial them in just wasn’t super worth it to me, since it felt like an all day activity to get my cheap printer to print my little $2 toy. Would much rather spend $5 to get a much better version off of someone else who spends all day working to make the print quality ace and put their own spin on the toys.

  • norimee@lemmy.worldEnglish
    17·
    1 month ago

    My niece wrote a paper for her biology class about certain plants and 3D printed the flowers 1:1 true to nature. She won a regional prize for it and her school is going to use the models in future biology classes.

    I thought that was so freaking cool!

    • ericbomb@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      6·
      1 month ago

      That is so freaking cool!

      Like I’m trying to fathom how I would make an “accurate” one without a 3d printer as a teen and I just don’t see it. Paper machete was the popular choice, but those wouldn’t be accurate, they would be considered decoration. If your parents were master wood workers maybe they could do it that way? But those sound out rageously expensive and if one breaks you’re SOOO sol. Whereas with this once she got all the files she can get a new one made for a trip to the library or $20 order.

      And now instead of a picture with notes or dried flowers they have such wonderful props! Very much the type of thing I’m loving 3d printers for.

      • Seleni@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        1 month ago

        Generally for really lifelike models it was glass. Sad that those techniques have largely been lost, but it is cool that now anyone with a printer can make a flower!

  • dsco@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    4·
    1 month ago

    How long ago did you have a printer? I ask because the newer ones don’t require much dialing-in outside of setting initial Z-offset.

    If you’re building a Voron, then yeah it’s going to need some tinkering. If you’re getting something like a QIDI X-Smart 3, you just unpack it, auto calibrate, and start printing.

    • ericbomb@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      2·
      1 month ago

      Oh it was just the… oh crap it was like 8 years ago. I had a wanhao I3. Time doesn’t feel real.

      Boo are you guys gonna convince me to get a new 3d printer? Then again I know for a fact I won’t be able to make stuff as cool as these guys, and I can get these for a few bucks.

      • wdx@feddit.orgEnglish
        1·
        1 month ago

        I just got a Bambu A1 this Tuesday and have been printing non-stop during the workday.

        Made some Planters, Box for the Hotends, Poop Chute… No issues so far.

        And setup was pretty easy. No need to tinker around. It just works. WiFi Setup was a bit finicky (it wants 2.4GHz and the length of the SSID seems to be restricted?)

        But yeah… friend of mine summarised it perfects:

        if your hobby is printing, get a Bambu A1; if it’s printers, get something like an Ender

      • dsco@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        1·
        1 month ago

        Check out thingiverse or printables for free stuff to print. There’s so much to make!!!

        Also, I’ve messed with Wanhao printers, and the slicer profiles were not great and did require a lot of fine-tuning. New printers either come with their own slicers or a Cura profile.

        • ericbomb@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
          1·
          1 month ago

          Oh yeah I used to look at thingiverse all the time! Looking at it now it’s obvious that the skill of both designers making stuff for 3d printers and the quality of 3d printers has jumped a lot since I joined. Since most of the top stuff for last year have integrated hinges/joints, which are so satisfying.

  • ramenshaman@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    1 month ago

    Printers have progressed quite a bit. I have a Bambu X1 carbon and I have never done any dialing in, just some automated calibrations. It just works. I have two AMS’s so I can theoretically print up to 8 colors, but I rarely do multicolor prints, I just keep it loaded with my most commonly used filaments so I don’t have to bother with manually unloading/loading. If you need more structural parts, it can print polycarbonate or carbon-fiber nylon no problem. Mine has paid for itself a few times over.