How weird it is, that some things that happens in life, that shouldn't have a big impact, changes everything? For me a birthday present was The Beginning
A couple of years ago I received a huge present, wrapped in golden paper and with a huge red ribbon. The birthday present was from my fiancee (since many many years), and contained my first 3D printer, a FlashForge Finder. Since then I have been completely sold on my new hobby and have had more fun than I ever would have imagined.
My birthday is close to Christmas and there was a lot to do, as usual that time of year, so it actually took a while before the printer was set up. I didn't even print the first thing myself, my fiancee had that honour, since I was stressing over some Christmas preparations.
Getting started
After Christmas, with some time off work and being more secure in how to print things from Thingiverse, I learnt how to change size on items to fit in the kids dollhouse and dads train diorama. Some things kept breaking when scaling them down, maybe it was a twig on an apple or a handle on a snowmobile that became too thin, so I started to do some modifications on the items I downloaded from Thingiverse.
Soon it wasn't enough to just modify things, I wanted to create my own from scratch. I started out in Microsoft 3D Builder since it was what I had available at that time. It is a very intuitive and easy to use program for a beginner. I had some earlier experience from programs like Povray, Bryce and similar. However, in the past I was aiming for realistic renders, while now I wanted printability, so I am not sure my previous experience was of much use.
First design
My very first design, in 3D Builder, was a dog house in 1:87 H0 scale for my dads model train diorama. It was a good first design, it only contained cubes in different sizes and a hole made by a combined cube and cylinder. I more or less reused that design and created an outdoor toilet, beehives and a birdhouse from it later.
Soon it wasn't enough to make things made of basic shapes, so I started exploring other programs to be able to make rounded corners, free form modeling and other slightly more complex designs.
Now
After a tiny accident and some "bad luck when thinking", which involved wood filament, I found myself in need of a new printer. I had really been satisfied with the Flashforge Finder but this time I decided to go for a Prusa. It was "love at first print" so I don't think I will switch any time soon. My proudest moment so far is when Joseph Prusa showed off his SL1 printer on Twitter by holding a freshly printed bike of my design in his hand!
That's where I am today, many hours spent, a new house with room for everyone's hobbies and a lot of fun a long the way. I have been sharing my designs on Thingiverse but I would also like to share my things here, in this blog. My hope is that someone who hasn't really dared to buy a 3D printer yet, gets inspired and sees that it is easy to use and gives you an incredibly fun hobby.
For me the printer was The Beginning of finding something that is "mine" but that I at the same time can share with my family. Before this hobby I was quite stressed and had nowhere to pour the stress into. I am still quite stressed but now I have a space where I can zoom out and focus on one thing, one line here, one stroke there.