Best 3D Printing Buys

TECHNICAL NOTES

Conversation-specific knowledge extracted from the best 3d printing buys discussion.

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QUESTION / CONTEXT: Best things to buy for 3d printing

1. Good filament dryer — 1 purchase. Especially worthwhile for your TPU, PETG and PETG-CF. I'd get a 2-spool dryer, probably the Creality Space Pi Plus. It reaches 70°C and lets you print directly from it. If you want to go bigger, the SUNLU S4 holds four spools. [embedded media omitted]
2. Heat-set insert setup. This is one of the biggest upgrades for the kind of parts you design. Instead of threading plastic or using nuts, design a hole into the model and melt a brass threaded insert into it. Suddenly printed brackets, housings, jigs and assemblies can use proper M3/M4/M5 bolts. A b…
3. Quality digital calipers. Particularly useful with the 3D scanner you're looking at: measure real part → scan → CAD → print → measure finished part. I'd actually buy a decent Mitutoyo or iGaging rather than the $10 ones bundled with printer kits. Calipers are consistently one of the most-used print…
4. Filament storage system. Dryer + vacuum bags + rechargeable silica is much better than continually redrying everything. This eSUN kit is $22.99 currently. [embedded media omitted]
5. Deburring tool + small files + flush cutters. A deburring tool in particular is fantastic for cleaning brims, elephant foot and sharp printed edges. [embedded media omitted]
6. Pin vise/mini hand drill with ~1–5 mm bits. Print a 4 mm hole slightly undersized, then actually finish it to 4 mm. This makes printed mechanical assemblies considerably nicer.
7. Threaded hardware assortment. M2/M2.5/M3/M4/M5 socket-head screws, washers, nuts and heat-set inserts. I'd get organized assortment boxes rather than buying individual sizes.
8. Small neodymium magnet assortment. Given the magnet-embedded prints you've already been doing, stock several standardized sizes—something like 5×2, 6×2, 8×2 and 10×3 mm—and design around those sizes.

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