This year you need to buy a 3D printer. If you haven’t bought one yet, you should buy one. I have a great article on the top 3D printers to buy and you should check it out if you are debating on what 3D printer you should buy. This article I am going to share the reasons why you need a 3D printer. I only came up with 8 reasons. I was going for 10, but these are are GREAT reasons to buy a 3D printer.
Reason #1: You can print cool gifts
Many cool things can be printed for free. Check out all my posts on cool things to print. It is honestly so nice to be able to print a custom gift for someone. Thingiverse has so many free 3D files for download. Once you are set up and rolling you can print some really nice things for cheap.
Reason #2: You can print things to organize your life
This was my inspiration to buy a 3d printer. I honestly love custom organizers. I have so many items I have wanted to organize and organizers for them just don’t exist. My favorite item I made recently was an organizer to hold my a Pampered Chef spatulas and scrappers. Even my husband was excited about that design.
Reason #3: Feeling of accomplishment
I have wanted to drop kick my printers many times, but I have learned so much. I can make designs in 3D and print them. Also, when my printer fails I know can confidently fix it. I do sometimes get into some trouble and need more advice, but that is when I turn to Reddit (or my husband)
Reason #4: Usefulness
I know this is a pretty generic reason buy a 3d printer, but hear me out. Let me tell you a quick short story. I was painting my cabinets on a Sunday night during Covid and I needed something to hold my cabinets. They sell these little tripods on amazon, but I needed these sooner and Home Depot was closed. I found this file on Thingiverse and voila- an hour later I had my little tripods. Something silly and small, but honestly it saved us a trip to the store and I could start my project sooner.
Reason #5: Ignites Creativity
Another story for you. While I thought my spatula organizer was pretty sweet I have another creative idea I had to print. My daughter hates needles. She was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. We designed and made this little spiky thing that goes around where she gives herself the short. The pinches are not super sharp, but they distracted her when she would give the shot and couldn’t feel the needle. There are no words to describe how cool it is to make something you imagined and that actually helped.
Reason #6: Environmentally friendly
This reason to buy a 3d printer is probably a little debatable. I use my printer all the time to make use of trash. For example we designed and made oui Lid Caps so we can reuse our Oui yogurt jars. PLA is the material we mostly use and home use 3D printing couldn’t even compare to the carbon foot print of an injection molded plastic. I am trying to reduce PLA shipping by buying in bulk and locally when I can. You can buy PLA not on spools for your basic colors and that helps. While there is a lot of waste, I don’t think it even compares to purchasing an already made item imported from another country.
Reason #7: Kids love it
If you have kids you really invest in a 3D printer. All the reasons to purchase a 3D printer work for kids too. My daughter picked out a unique gift for her friend and we printed it for him. We printed tags for her Girl Scout troop. It’s really a great way to introduce your kids into engineering and get them interested in creative designs. This is engineering? YES!
Check out these really cool things to 3D print for kids.
Reason #8: People will think you are cool
Okay, maybe this reason is a stretch, but honestly when I bring a 3D print to a friend they are always impressed. My friend asked me to make her a skull planter. I found a 3D file and printed it for her. She loved it!
I hope I convinced you to get a 3D printer. If you have ideas for reason #9 and 10, please let me know!
Happy Printing!
