financially worth it?

Probably not.

Did it give me brief respites of light against the clawing, ever encroaching abyssal darkness of life and misery?

Yes.

Define "worth it"??

For many, it's a hobby. For many more, it's an adjunct to whatever hobby they do have. Hobby's don't have to save you money; and I'm militantly opposed to monetizing hobbies as a way to "justify" them.

Personally, I'm mostly 3d printing custom components (that I've designed), for R/C aircraft of various sorts. (Like, my cyclogyros, or the flying saucer powered by a 3d printed ducted fan; which is, more or less, a scaled model of the saucer from the OG Day The Earth Stood Still. or the thermal airship using toaster wire that has taken on a lot of different forms, ranging from 20' star destroyers to whale sharks to a robot named Buoyant Bob that hands out candy on Halloween.)

I also enjoy 3d printing as a hobby, in of itself, too. (and spend waaayyyyy too much tinkering on the printer. its fun.) But it doesn't have to save me money, and I feel no need to compare it to other forms of hobbies. It's what I enjoy.

edit: lets put this in perspective. This would be like asking a golfer if they found golf worth it. the only real questions are "Do I enjoy it" and "can I afford it". not "can it save me a buck".

100%. I've printed some cool stuff and some stupid stuff, as well as a bunch of functional parts that have improved my life around my house. More importantly it's given me a huge creative outlet to get more and more outlandish with my CAD designs and push my experience limits, which is great because that helps me be a lot more efficient at work.

Financially it was a total waste of money but that doesn't matter when it's a hobby. A hobby with practical marketable skills, and also the ability to let me prototype some independent ideas I've been brewing for a while to maybe sell for some side cash...

Financially? Definitely not

But it's an enjoyable (and occasionally frustrating) hobby, so I'd say it's worth it.

Hell yes! I make a lot of things and having this ability really expanded on that.

I should point out that anyone interested in anything more than printing trinkets found on the Internet will also have to learn 3d drafting, at least to some extent. Bear that in mind.

My 3D printer does occasionally prove itself useful. I print stuff to help me out in the shop, adapters for shop vacs, tool holders, stuff like that. I could do without it but it is a useful tool to have.

Learn to model things in CAD. That's what is limiting me from getting real use out of my printer. It's fun to print models you find online, but the real value is in printing your own designs.

Yes, in the same way a kayak, PS5, or e-reader are worth it. I learned so much and had a great time learning to use it with my kids. We occasionally made useful items, but never turned a profit or saved a life.

Still totally worth it.

Though, to be fair, we bought a basic Anet machine on Ali followed by a second hand knock-off so it wasn't the thousands you can spend today.

I’m on my third upgrade machine after getting my first printer years ago. Very rewarding hobby, much recommend.

Absolutely. If you learn Freecad.

• Radar detector mount
• Furniture pieces
• Pegboard holders
• Custom vent for indoor fireplace

Just a few of the things I've designed and made recently.

Definitely worth it. Sometimes I make little things, like I got a new tool that has a difficult adjustment, but printing a knob made it comfortable to use. I got a new phone last week and couldn't find a rubberized case I liked, so I designed and printed one this weekend which fits snugly and provides a much better grip. I've made cases for other projects, even built a weather station. The biggest project I've done is a star tracker (OpenAstroTech) which holds my camera, most recently used during the eclipse in April. Sometimes my printer may sit idle for almost a year, sometimes it prints constantly for several weeks, but it is a very useful tool worthy of a permanent location on my workbench.

It's not like I make or save a lot of money from it, but as a hobby it's been amazingly fun. Getting into basic 3D modeling has been really cool too, nothing quite hits like making something entirely unique and designed for a specific purpose, then watching your printer just crank it out in a day or two and your imagined thing is all the sudden real.

I'm sure other hobbies can do that too, but for me it was a really awesome feeling :)

I print figurines, busts, and diorama scenery for my son and I to paint. Sure I've got my share of functional prints but most my print time is spent so I can spend creative time with my son. So very much worth it for me.

I wouldn't buy a printer to try and be profitable per say, I would buy one for the things you cant/don't want to buy. If you can use some 3d modeling software, you can begin to solve problems for almost no money.

Stuff like a vape holder and extended cup holder for my partners car, or a couple little shelf brackets for our IKEA cubes, or replacement closet rod supports. It takes a few minutes in CAD, a couple hours or printing, and 15¢ of plastic, and saves a trip to the store. Making custom, exactly how you want stuff is really nice.

Knick nacks are fun too, but ultimately your house will fill with things you don't particularly want or use.

I think you shouldn't forget that we're here at c/3dprinting, where only enthusiasts join together. Of course everyone here is a huge fan of 3D printers, those who got frustrated and sold their device aren't here anymore.

First of all, I'm very happy about having a printer, but more onto that later.

I had two ones yet, and both sucked.

The first was older, shitty and way too big. I wasted many weekends tinkering with that crap, until I accidentally destroyed it and sold it. My second one is the one I still use. It's a device from China, and the company doesn't exist anymore. So, if I want to buy replacement parts, I can just pray generic ones fit. And the customer support has always been shit, and the whole company and products seem very wonky in hindsight.

If I would have to buy another printer, it would definitely be something popular, like a Prusa one. It should be very small, silent and easily repairable. I don't care anymore about fancy features (maybe except auto leveling), it should just not annoy me.

Having a printer is like having a drill or soldering iron. You don't need it daily, but you're glad that you have it when you need it. And my friends are too! I'm printing more for my family, neighbours and friends than for myself.

Having a printer without CAD skills is nonsense. But once you can create your own stuff, you have endless capabilities.

I couldn't live without one by now.

Yes, being able to design something and have it in my hands it a few hours definitely makes it worth it. With 3D printing services it takes days or weeks and they get expensive fast.

I didn't ultimately get around to completing the two projects that I initially had in mind, and the amount of tweaking and troubleshooting required for basic functionality was pretty substantial.

On the other hand, I did enjoy learning about the state of the technology, even if it wasn't very productive.

So, as a tool, no. It wasn't worth it.

As a hobby? Eh, it was okay.

Yes absolutely. I'm sure the hobby hasn't paid for itself, but I never expected it to. It has been worth it because of the amount of happiness I have spread with personalized gifts and a feeling of satisfaction when I make a print to fix something around the house or make life a little easier or more convenient. The little toys and doo-dads are great and the kids love them too.

For the first 3 years I had fun designing things in CAD. I fixed up or enhanced loads of the things around the house, designed some doodads and widgets, and published the ones that I though other people might have use for. And I had fun earning Prusa meters, participating in forums, and all that kind of stuff.

Then one day, I just ran out of things to fix and inspiration for new doohickeys. That was about a year ago. I tried to print a replacement keyboard foot a week ago and found my printers not working anymore. I haven't found the motivation to do anything about it yet.

For me, absolutely.

It's probably made up its worth in repairs, which is one of the main reasons I bought it. Haven't had to buy new things or overpriced repair parts. Also making fun presents for family, friends, teachers, or kids. For the relatively cheap price I got mine for, totally worth it.

Literally use it every day for a year now but It's also an extensions for My other hobby. Also Great way to make presents for people. Before I got a printer I made a list of things I planned to make for it. I suggest doing the same before buying one. That way is can help figure out the size you want too.

For me yes definitely, I've used it to fix a half a dozen things around the house, people love 3D printed tchotchkes, seasonal decorations, and just yesterday I actually ended up printing some stuff out for my RC rock crawler.

I built my own because they were quite expensive, lots of fun but very little real use at all. I'm planning on reviving it because it's lots of fun to tinker with.

I print warhammer for friends for money. So that plus the money I saved on models for myself, I'd say it's worth it.

But it's also a hobby, learning how the things work and how to model is a lot of fun!

We made quite a few plant pots and other stuff. It's paid for itself.

I'd say definitely. The first useful thing I printed was during the pandemic where all the paper towels you could get were those z fold ones you see in office building bathrooms. Suffice to say, most people don't have a container at home for those types of paper towels, so I mocked one up that was like a home tissue box and printed it out. Saved myself 80+$ on making one instead of buying one on Amazon (also they're all wall mounted and I didn't want to do that)

Since then I've printed toilet paper roll holders, plant pots, catch all bowls, insulated drink holders, tie racks, jewelry racks and boxes, all manner of things I use almost every day, and I've learned about 3d modeling as a result (not really good yet but still) so win win.

Edit: I'd say at this point I've definitely printed more than how much the printer costed in terms of things I use. Printing mini figures and scenery for tabletop games alone has exceeded the cost it would have been to buy that stuff.

Yes I have an fdm and a resin printer, but they've both got a lot of good use and yes absolutely worth it.

I would put it in the same class as lathes or mills you probably aren't saving money by buying one but it may open more avenues for you.

I will say though with the price of printers vs mills & etc, a cheap printer will get you much closer to breaking even. You might save more than you spend if you can use an Ender 3 judicially but overall it's mostly for those odd projects or when a custom part is needed.

So my printer (elegoo neptune 4 pro) is 300-400 I think and the filament is nearing $200 now. Printers are cheap, filament cost accumulates.

The trick is to justify buying one for your business, and then using it yourself after hours.

As a business asset, it has paid for itself fivefold in less than a year. As an employee of said business, i have unlimited access to a machine that I could never personally justify the expense of.

Financially yes. I pretty much only print functional things. I probably have saved enough money just in printing chip clips to buy two printers.

It would be worth it if I had an actual decent printer. As it stands now, I feel like I just wasted money because all I can print small, pla objects, after days of trial and error and adjusting settings. Saving up for a prusa, hopefully will make it worth it.

Honestly I don't really know, and don't really care. I enjoy sporadically using it, and I've enjoyed making both useful, and some useless things.

Trust me, I've spent far more on dumber shit that I use half as often.

Yep. So much so that we have 3. One cheap resin, one older FDM, and a Bambu FDM. The only regret…sorta…is the resin. Shoulda got a better one. I mean, it works, but it is super fiddly and finicky. I think a better model would have been worth spending on. We print costume parts, but I also design and print all sorts of stuff for things like headset hangers, cup holders, toolbox organizers, parts bins, etc.

I print all kinds of usefull stuff.
Custom installation panel for after market navigator/media center for my car, upholstery fasteners for the same, custom panels for usb button box, cable organizers for lan cabling, newspaper reading stand, you name it.
Might not be financially feasible, but it's fun.

Yes, I just finished printing a rudder core for my sailboat.

For all the headache its caused, its also saved me from several trips to the store to find cable ties, chip clips, a hair dryer holder, pencil cups, spice racks, etc.

Absolutely. The experience has been a blast, but I also print miniatures for tabletop games and the printers have paid for themselves multiple times over if I had bought all the minis I have printed. Granted, I wouldn't have bought that many, but that's not important.

I bought a Makerbot, so emphatically NO it was not worth it. Never buy one of these shitty printers.