2025-09-22
Last weekend, I bought a second-hand 3D printer.
My daughter and I were walking through fall festival booths checking out various locally crafted things, when we came upon one of her favorites: the 3D printing booth. There are dragons, cute animals, fidget toys, âmystery eggsâ, robots⌠so many cool toys for her to check out. While she was browsing, I talked with the owner to see if he would custom print something for me. As an owner of a Framework Desktop, I have the option to put in custom tiles on the front plate of the machine. He said he would print so for me AND that if I wanted to print them myself, he was selling two of his older 3D printers. I was intrigued. I got his card, sent him my files, and he replied with a quote of $150 for an Elegoo Nuptune X. I had no idea what that was or if that was a good price but the guy was kind and I thought he was trustworthy. After talking with my wife, we decided to buy it. Within 24 hours, I had the tiles and a 3D printer in my home. My daughter was thrilled. With the ownerâs support, we were able to basically âplug-and-playâ with the settings and filament that he provided. My daughter and I printed a tiny dinosaur the first night. Since then, Iâve been learning the different filament types, how to tune the printer settings for better builds, and how to set up the software for quality prints/slices.
I thought 3D printing was much more expensive, technical, and out-of-reach. I was wrong. I am glad I met with the owner that evening. My daughter and I are having so much fun with this thing.
