From Figurines to Tools: My 3D Printing Journey

When my friend bought a 3D printer, I helped with the setup. Since then, I occasionally used it, but only for simple prints—it was one of the early models. Over time, 3D printing technology advanced significantly: printers became more reliable, higher quality, and more affordable.

I decided to buy one myself. My original goal was to print figurines and cosplay parts, but I found myself printing more practical household tools than expected. I wanted a printer with good print quality, decent price, and a large print volume. After considering some Elegoo models, I went with the Ender 3 V3 Plus from Creality.

Before printing anything, you need to prepare a G-code file from a 3D model. I’d heard of various slicer programs and ended up using Creality Print. It turned out to be surprisingly full-featured and met all my needs.

These slicers offer a massive range of settings that influence the final print—millions of combinations. Most users rely on presets from printer or software manufacturers. But if you want to print something complex or unusual, you often have to experiment.

That’s what happened when I tried printing highly detailed miniatures. I found a Reddit post with example settings and painting tips. I also had to buy a smaller 0.2mm nozzle, which was easy and cheap to find from Chinese marketplaces.

Choosing the right filament is important. Since most of my prints stay indoors and don’t require high durability, I mostly use PLA. It’s affordable and beginner-friendly.

Because 3D printing can be noisy and produce fumes, I set up the printer in my garage. I don’t need to stay nearby—it's connected to a camera and my local network, allowing me to monitor progress via the Creality Print app.

When designing simple household items like storage boxes with exact dimensions, I used Tinkercad, a browser-based tool great for beginners. More recently, I discovered that ChatGPT can even generate basic 3D models.