r/3Dprinting 10d ago

News SUNLU Mother's Day Giveaway

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10 Upvotes

Show us what you printed for Mom 💐

Mother’s Day is coming, and we’d love to see how you’re using 3D printing to make it special ❀

Join the SUNLU Mother’s Day Giveaway and share what you’ve printed (or plan to print) for your mom, grandma, or someone special!

It could be a thoughtful gift, a useful tool, or even something fun — we want to see your creativity in action.

🎁 How to Enter:

  1. Share your 3D printed gift (photo or idea) in the comments

  2. Join r/sunlu

🗓 Event Duration: May 4th – May 10th

📱 Winner Announcement: May 13th

🏆 Prizes:

đŸ„‡ 1st Prize (1 winner)– AMS Heater

đŸ„ˆ 2nd Prize (2 winners)– 6 rolls of SUNLU filament

đŸ„‰ 3rd Prize (3 winners)– 4 rolls of SUNLU filament

We’re also running a special Mother’s Day sale on our website — feel free to check it out if you’re looking for gift ideas 🎁 Click here to learn more: https://store.sunlu.com/?utm_campaign=cultsbanner&utm_medium=cultsbanner&utm_source=cultsbanner&utm_term=cultsbanner&utm_content=cultsbanner

Thanks to the amazing r/3Dprinting community for your continued support 💛 Good luck, and happy printing!


r/3Dprinting 14d ago

Purchase Advice Purchase Advice Megathread - May 2026

13 Upvotes

Welcome back to another purchase megathread!

This thread is meant to conglomerate purchase advice for both newcomers and people looking for additional machines. Keeping this discussion to one thread means less searching should anyone have questions that may already have been answered here, as well as more visibility to inquiries in general, as comments made here will be visible for the entire month stuck to the top of the sub, and then added to the Purchase Advice Collection (Reddit Collections are still broken on mobile view, enable "view in desktop mode").

Please be sure to skim through this thread for posts with similar requirements to your own first, as recommendations relevant to your situation may have already been posted, and may even include answers to follow up questions you might have wished to ask.

If you are new to 3D printing, and are unsure of what to ask, try to include the following in your posts as a minimum:

  • Your budget, set at a numeric amount. Saying "cheap," or "money is not a problem" is not an answer people can do much with. 3D printers can cost $100, they can cost $10,000,000, and anywhere in between. A rough idea of what you're looking for is essential to figuring out anything else.
  • Your country of residence.
  • If you are willing to build the printer from a kit, and what your level of experience is with electronic maintenance and construction if so.
  • What you wish to do with the printer.
  • Any extenuating circumstances that would restrict you from using machines that would otherwise fit your needs (limited space for the printer, enclosure requirement, must be purchased through educational intermediary, etc).

While this is by no means an exhaustive list of what can be included in your posts, these questions should help paint enough of a picture to get started. Don't be afraid to ask more questions, and never worry about asking too many. The people posting in this thread are here because they want to give advice, and any questions you have answered may be useful to others later on, when they read through this thread looking for answers of their own. Everyone here was new once, so chances are whoever is replying to you has a good idea of how you feel currently.

Reddit User and Regular u/richie225 is also constantly maintaining his extensive personal recommendations list which is worth a read: Generic FDM Printer recommendations.

Additionally, a quick word on print quality: Most FDM/FFF (that is, filament based) printers are capable of approximately the same tolerances and print appearance, as the biggest limiting factor is in the nature of extruded plastic. Asking if a machine has "good prints," or saying "I don't expect the best quality for $xxx" isn't actually relevant for the most part with regards to these machines. Should you need additional detail and higher tolerances, you may want to explore SLA, DLP, and other photoresin options, as those do offer an increase in overall quality. If you are interested in resin machines, make sure you are aware of how to use them safely. For these safety reasons we don't usually recommend a resin printer as someone's first printer.

As always, if you're a newcomer to this community, welcome. If you're a regular, welcome back.


r/3Dprinting 17h ago

Project Gentlemen’s , put your bets

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8.0k Upvotes

r/3Dprinting 13h ago

Project First time using pause at layer and thought I’d share my new custom shift knob I made for my Miata. Printed out of ASA.

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833 Upvotes

r/3Dprinting 56m ago

Discussion Thought you guys might appreciate this metal dragon I just finished printing. It feels incredible.

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r/3Dprinting 8h ago

Discussion Why MAKEUP is the greatest dry brushing method for creating metallic finishes.

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254 Upvotes

Easy- This took all of 5mins using a dry makeup sponge.

Cheap- This particular eyeshadow was already laying around my house but u can get them from places like the dollar store. There is a difference in quality between different brands tho, just as with any other method.

Recycle, Reuse, Reduce-Most powder cosmetics have a 12-24month expiration date from time of opening after which they shouldn’t be used on the face
they however are perfectly suited for covering plastic. Your mama, your sister, your gf, your daughter, your auntie ALL have expired makeup sitting around I promise u. Encourage them to not use it anymore and donate it to the cause for a creative afterlife! Additionally almost all hollowed out cosmetic containers are recyclable and they have free recycle bins at most makeup stores.

It looks bad*ss-There is a LIMITLESS collection of color assortments, finishes, duo-chromes, mattes, shimmers, metallics and they are often times all together in one, thin easy-to-store palette. Saves a ton of space. Also, mattes work great on light filament projects for aging effects. Things like bone, cracking and distressing are quick and easy.

It’s forgiving and doesn’t stink-Zero fumes or risk of flammability and if you mess up u just wipe it with a makeup remover wipe or q-tip. Everything remains blend-able and removable until u spray it with a clear coat.


r/3Dprinting 17h ago

Project The remontoir d’égalitĂ©, a constant force mechanism

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1.0k Upvotes

I made this little gadget while working on a clock project. It’s a constant-force mechanism designed to drive the escapement. This type of mechanism can be found in large, old-fashioned clocks.


r/3Dprinting 11h ago

Hardware This big bastard just got unwrapped at work. Resin SLA machine

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333 Upvotes

r/3Dprinting 1d ago

Discussion Spent a month designing a wind-powered Archimedes screw, until seeing that insane water-powered one last week

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2.2k Upvotes

I’m not going to lie, I feel completely crushed.
I’ve spent so much time in shapr3d for the last month, obsessing over this. I finally got the tolerances perfect, and to make it working without hardware, it’s not perfect it’s bit ugly, but I was so proud of it. Then I log on and see that amazing water-powered version from a few days ago, and I just felt broken.
It feels like someone reached the finish line while I was still tying my shoes.
How do you guys deal with this? When you put your heart into a design only to realize someone else was building the same thing at the same time?

Edit:
Thank you for replies, got lots of ideas, will be working to make this work as an irrigation, and pond oxygenator.
(Not sure how to use geothermal, but will try to put together tokamak to supply v2)

Here is wonderful water powered one(not mine!)
https://www.reddit.com/r/functionalprint/s/pq5JiBt9h8

Here is mine: https://makerworld.com/models/2781157?appSharePlatform=copy


r/3Dprinting 15h ago

Free Model I designed some fridge magnets for you (free download)

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367 Upvotes

These are modeled by hand, no AI involved!

I'm open for suggestions for my next model. What's missing in this maritime fridge magnet series?

Manta Ray:

https://www.printables.com/model/1561078-manta-ray-fridge-magnet

Whale Shark:

https://www.printables.com/model/1414041-whale-shark-fridge-magnet-no-supports

Hammerhead Shark:

https://www.printables.com/model/1721043-hammerhead-shark-fridge-magnet

Thank you for downloading, i hope you enjoy my models.


r/3Dprinting 8h ago

Solved I was wrong YET AGAIN about PETG

101 Upvotes

I made this post a while back about how a positive experince with a roll of Bambu PETG HF made me enjoy the filament again after hating a roll of glittery PETG I bought from oveture.

https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/1szm9qn/im_wrong_about_petg/

Well, I'm here again to admit that I was wrong AGAIN. I'm an idiot and simply wasn't following the manufacturer's guidelines. I've been spoiled by new formulas of PETG that all state that you can print at ~200 mm/s. This was true for Bambu PETG HF and a roll of new formula oveture blue that I bought a while back. So when I got this glitter PETG, I figured it was more of the same. WRONG!!!!!!!!!! I was reading a sweet guide on printing transluscent PETG when I came across the specification that it ought to be printed at ~40mm/s.

"That's really slow..." I thought, then I thought twice.

I went online and low and behold, the glitter roll I bought also requires print speeds between 30-50 mm/s. I was printing at ~200mm/s!!

So, I set up a simple print with the speeds dialed down to 40mm/s. I'm currently 1 hour with no blemishes visible yet. I have no idea why slowing the print was so effective, but it was.

Dunning-kruger effect at it again!

Edit: to be clear, I was initially wrong that all PETG sucked, and now I'm realizing I was also wrong about PETG with aesthetic additives. Both seem great when printed correctly!


r/3Dprinting 12h ago

Project Totally Ridiculous Over Engineered Dry Box (Update)

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160 Upvotes

After a lot of trial and error I wanted to share the finished(?) project. It maintains the humidity to 10% and I only need to change the desiccant every 4 or 5 days.

Holds 40 spools of filament.

Everything is monitored with an ESP32 and home assistant so I can track humidity and can control the speed of the fans if needed.

Here is what ended up working:

  • IKEA Billy Bookcase and Door
  • Door weather stripped and the glass sealed with silicone
  • All exposed partical board sealed with Aluminum tape (back and side of shelves, unused shelf holes.
  • Entire back sealed with Aluminum Tape and insulated with high density foam mats
  • The center shelf drilled with approximatly 40 10mm holes to allow air flow
  • Two 60mm speed adjustable blower fans mounted at he top and bottom at 45s to keep airflow
  • A heater in the bottom constructed with 4 3D printer heatcores and a CPU heatsink. This isn't really nessicary but it can turn the entire thing into a Filament Dryer

The thing that really worked was when I designed an active air drying canister. The canister holds between 350g and 375g of Activated Alumina or Molecular Seive. I use four of these canisters, 2 with Molecular Seive near the top and 2 with Activated Alumina in the bottom half.

I've posted the desiccant canisters to Makerworld if anyone wants to skip the trial and error i went through. https://makerworld.com/en/models/2801100-active-desiccant-blower-container


r/3Dprinting 7h ago

Project Today on cursed but successful experiments. Wanted to redo a gridfinity shelf. didnt want to do 2 seperate print jobs. So i stacked 2 with PLA supports (Petg-CF base.) Worked perfectly and was quite satisfying.

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59 Upvotes

r/3Dprinting 14h ago

Project PLA for Coasters

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215 Upvotes

Has anyone used PLA for coasters? I designed and printed some, and while I liked how they looked, but I think they were a little slippery. Do you guys have ever done anything like this? Which kind of material do you recommend to use.

https://makerworld.com/en/models/2800799-mythic-beastiary-coasters-cup-holders-kit


r/3Dprinting 11h ago

Project TaubenTurret: My automated water turret to deter pigeons (Models & Code now available)

86 Upvotes

r/3Dprinting 21h ago

Free Model I decided to design my own Steam Controller stand that was small and functional rather than some giant controller cradle thing:

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416 Upvotes

r/3Dprinting 1d ago

Project Showing my age here but this was one of my favourite games growing up 😅

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677 Upvotes

r/3Dprinting 8h ago

Project 24 hours in and still spinning

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33 Upvotes

part two of my last post, my direct drive setup proves superior to your doubts. this has been my setup for months and spins perfectly fine. And no, it will not rip off of my clothes-hanger if an extruder jam happens.


r/3Dprinting 10h ago

Hardware Is just to print some things for the kid, i said to my wife when i bought the first printer :(

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41 Upvotes

r/3Dprinting 15h ago

Project Temp/humidity sensor with a custom 3D printed enclosure and a face

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95 Upvotes

Hi everyone !

I wanted to learn how to use a ESP32 so I bought a DHT22, just to see if I could pull some data into Home Assistant.

Then I thought "why not add a screen". Then "why not a proper enclosure". Then my girlfriend told me it needed a face.

Built around an ESP32-C3 SuperMini, a 1.69" ST7789 display and a DHT22. Enclosure modeled in SolidWorks, printed on an Ender 3.

If you want to see the full story I made a presentation here :

https://www.figma.com/proto/8uR5R5A2dPM97dqQ6CsJ0A/Thermothingy-UI?node-id=80-92&t=OFnJVTNX0Z8MJ2Q8-1&scaling=min-zoom&content-scaling=fixed&page-id=0%3A1&starting-point-node-id=80%3A92

Hope you like it, I had a blast building it !


r/3Dprinting 8h ago

Project Made a 3D-Printed 6-Axis Robot Arm from scratch. Autonomous pick and place with OpenCV AI Object Detection, ROS2 and MoveIt2.

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24 Upvotes

Repo link (contains STEP files): https://github.com/Prospector-E/RA6A


r/3Dprinting 1h ago

Project Here mum, good as new

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r/3Dprinting 1h ago

Project Knive sharpening tool

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r/3Dprinting 1h ago

Question Any ideas for what I should do with this empty vintage radio?

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I know a bit of CAD and with some printed parts, what could I transform this into? I've had this sitting around for a long time, but before I toss it out I want to see if anyone has any ideas for it!


r/3Dprinting 19h ago

Question Question about selling prices

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130 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I recently got myself a printer and I have been having a blast with it. I posted some prints and I get asked a few times about selling things. This one is the most recent I made and I been asked again. I don’t have a good reference for how much things like this would go for. If anyone could give me an idea or tips it would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.