What to Do With My 3D Printer? Unlocking the Full Potential of 3D Printing

The Reality Check

I’m going to take a wild guess. You’re either contemplating buying your first 3D printer or you’ve recently bought one. If you’ve already bought your printer, you’ve probably experienced the initial thrill of printing fun objects, filling your space with trinkets, and even practical household gadgets that sparked your interest. You might find yourself running out of free online models to print and your desk might be cluttered with a growing army of dust-collecting prints. You might have little to no 3D modeling experience to create the custom items you need, and perhaps your friends are getting a little tired of the gag gifts you’ve been giving them. Now, as the novelty wears off, you’re staring at your new machine, wondering what to do next.

If this sounds like you, don’t worry—you’re not alone. This is a common experience for many new 3D printer owners. The good news is that there’s a simple and rewarding way to use your 3D printer, especially if you’re a hobbyist or a DIY enthusiast.

Our Journey

I’ve been 3D printing for a few years now, and I’ve seen firsthand the potential this technology has. My partner and I first got into 3D printing with the dream of selling an extremely niche product based on an idea he had. Inspired by a childhood contraption he used to make out of modified Pop-Tart boxes, my partner had always wanted to create a cricket slow feeder —named 'Cricket Hotel'— to feed his bearded dragon, something that didn’t exist on the market. We thought we were onto something big. We spent months designing and printing our product, convinced we’d hit the jackpot with our concept, but reality hit hard.

In the first four months, we sold exactly two units. On paper, it was a failure. But in reality, it was the beginning of something much more important. We learned a lot —not just about how to print, but about how to make our printing process efficient, how to work with different materials, and, most importantly, how to use our 3D printer to solve problems. This experience led us to discover what 3D printing is truly about: solving specific problems related to your hobbies and daily life.

Unlocking the True Potential of 3D Printing

A 3D printer isn’t meant for making things you could easily buy at Target or Amazon; it’s a resource to enhance what you already own and to help you tackle projects in ways that would otherwise be impossible. For DIY enthusiasts, a 3D printer is a dream come true. It enables you to solve those unique problems that are specific to your life, your projects, and your hobbies.

For example, let’s say you’re an aquarium hobbyist. You might struggle to find a filter holder that fits your setup perfectly. Or perhaps you’re a plant enthusiast who needs a specific trellis size that doesn’t exist in stores. Maybe you’re into tabletop gaming and want custom accessories that reflect your personal style. Whatever your passion, there’s a good chance that you’ve faced a problem that doesn’t have a ready-made solution. That’s where a 3D printer shines.

Yes, you’ll need some basic 3D modeling skills to solve your niche problems, but the good news is that it’s not as difficult as it might seem. The 3D modeling software, Tinkercad, is free and easy-to-use, making modeling accessible for beginners. You don’t always have to design from scratch. You can download existing models on sites like Printables, Sketchfab, or Thingiverse that are similar to what you need and modify them in Tinkercad to fit your requirements. This makes it easier to overcome the initial hurdles of 3D modeling, allowing you to focus on creating solutions instead of learning complicated software.

Real-Life 3D Printed Solutions

Here are some examples of how I’ve used my 3D printer to solve everyday problems around the house and within my hobbies. As you’ll notice, the complexity of the models increases as we progress, showing that, like any skill, you improve with practice.

One of the first custom things I printed was a simple set of curtain hooks. They’re essentially just a “U” shape with a screw hole, but they do the job and blend in nicely. Sure, I could have bought some curtain hooks, but why do that when I could print exactly what I needed?

Another early project was a fish tank filter corral. I have a lot of floating plants in my tank, and they were constantly getting pushed underwater and clogging the filter. With the help of a friend who’s skilled in CAD, we designed a simple track and corral that adjusts with the water level, keeping the plants away from the stream of the filter. Check it out here!

As my duckweed began to rapidly grow, I noticed my betta fish was struggling to find spots to breach for air. To solve this, I designed a fish tank portal, giving him a clear spot in the tank to breach and eat from. You can check them out here!

I’ve been collecting Philips Hue lightbulbs for a few years now, and nearly every lamp in my house is fitted with one. We also have a smart thermostat, a robot vacuum, and a Wi-Fi-connected washer and dryer. Since everything can be controlled via an app, we needed a centralized smart home hub. So, with the help of our friend again, we designed a mount to repurpose an old iPad as our smart home hub. Check it out here!

When I swapped out the vanity in our bathroom, I realized the hole in the vanity top was too wide for the sink faucet I had purchased. Our 3D printer came to the rescue as we designed and printed an adapter to make the hole smaller, saving us from having to buy either a new vanity top or a new faucet. We’ve also printed a plug for a hole in our wall to invisibly route wires to our mounted TV, replacement covers for a crushed coaxial wall plate, and even a cutting jig for baseboards to achieve crisp 45º angles with an oscillating Dremel.

These are just a few examples of how a 3D printer can help you create custom solutions for problems that might otherwise have gone unanswered, or cost more time and money than expected. Yes, some of these problems could be solved with other methods; sometimes equally polished, sometimes more makeshift. Many of the solutions I’ve created were once janky fixes that eventually got upgraded to more permanent, manageable 3D-printed parts.

You don’t have to keep your ideas to yourself. If you’ve created something particularly useful or clever, you can share your designs with the community —we share on Prusa’s Printables— or even sell them online for those who don’t have a 3D printer. You might just help someone else solve a problem they didn’t know how to tackle and a little extra pocket change never hurt anyone.

Endless Possibilities

3D printers are great for people who love to tinker and who enjoy using what they already have to complete a project rather than buying something new. They’re ideal for hobbyists who take pride in their DIY skills and enjoy solving problems with their creativity. Each hobby comes with its own set of challenges; often problems that are so specific that no solution exists. Whether you’re into building furniture, caring for plants, or creating gadgets for around the house, a 3D printer can help you create custom solutions that fit your exact needs.

The beauty of 3D printing lies in its ability to empower you to create something uniquely suited to your needs; something that meets your unique requirements, no matter how niche they might be. It’s not only about replicating items you could easily buy; it’s about using creativity and technology to custom-tailor solutions that matter to you.

So, if you’re sitting there wondering what to do with your 3D printer, think about the specific problems you’ve encountered in your hobbies or daily life. These are the opportunities where your 3D printer truly shines and makes a difference. The possibilities are endless, and the solutions you create will be one-of-a-kind, just like the problems they solve.