r/3Dprinting • • 16d ago

Purchase Advice Purchase Advice Megathread - October 2026

10 Upvotes

Welcome back to another purchase megathread!

This thread is meant to conglomerate purchase advice for both newcomers and people looking for additional machines. Keeping this discussion to one thread means less searching should anyone have questions that may already have been answered here, as well as more visibility to inquiries in general, as comments made here will be visible for the entire month stuck to the top of the sub, and then added to the Purchase Advice Collection (Reddit Collections are still broken on mobile view, enable "view in desktop mode").

Please be sure to skim through this thread for posts with similar requirements to your own first, as recommendations relevant to your situation may have already been posted, and may even include answers to follow up questions you might have wished to ask.

If you are new to 3D printing, and are unsure of what to ask, try to include the following in your posts as a minimum:

  • Your budget, set at a numeric amount. Saying "cheap," or "money is not a problem" is not an answer people can do much with. 3D printers can cost $100, they can cost $10,000,000, and anywhere in between. A rough idea of what you're looking for is essential to figuring out anything else.
  • Your country of residence.
  • If you are willing to build the printer from a kit, and what your level of experience is with electronic maintenance and construction if so.
  • What you wish to do with the printer.
  • Any extenuating circumstances that would restrict you from using machines that would otherwise fit your needs (limited space for the printer, enclosure requirement, must be purchased through educational intermediary, etc).

While this is by no means an exhaustive list of what can be included in your posts, these questions should help paint enough of a picture to get started. Don't be afraid to ask more questions, and never worry about asking too many. The people posting in this thread are here because they want to give advice, and any questions you have answered may be useful to others later on, when they read through this thread looking for answers of their own. Everyone here was new once, so chances are whoever is replying to you has a good idea of how you feel currently.

Reddit User and Regular u/richie225 is also constantly maintaining his extensive personal recommendations list which is worth a read: Generic FDM Printer recommendations.

Additionally, a quick word on print quality: Most FDM/FFF (that is, filament based) printers are capable of approximately the same tolerances and print appearance, as the biggest limiting factor is in the nature of extruded plastic. Asking if a machine has "good prints," or saying "I don't expect the best quality for $xxx" isn't actually relevant for the most part with regards to these machines. Should you need additional detail and higher tolerances, you may want to explore SLA, DLP, and other photoresin options, as those do offer an increase in overall quality. If you are interested in resin machines, make sure you are aware of how to use them safely. For these safety reasons we don't usually recommend a resin printer as someone's first printer.

As always, if you're a newcomer to this community, welcome. If you're a regular, welcome back.


r/3Dprinting • • 4h ago

Free Model Free to a good home. Local pickup

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254 Upvotes

I have a bunch of used rolls that I'm not going to use. Free to pickup. Located in Oklahoma City, OK.

Update: Claimed


r/3Dprinting • • 3h ago

Discussion Amazon’s New Filament Swap Program 💀

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152 Upvotes

Ordered Polymaker Marble White PLA from Amazon. Cracked open the box and found an unsealed spool of ELEGOO Matte Navy Blue staring back at me.

Apparently, some cheap bastard figured out Amazon’s return policy is a self-service filament upgrade program.

Amazon has billions invested in robotics, AI, and logistics, but apparently nobody can tell the difference between white and fucking blue. 💀


r/3Dprinting • • 13h ago

Project Halloween Print - Realistic enough?

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578 Upvotes

I decided to do a spooky Halloween print that beats the crappy store bought ones. So I decided to make a 16inch Australian Huntsman spider.

When it was black and in two halves it wasn’t scary at all.

One 30 min paint job later and it’s horrifying.

I will put it on the side wall of our front door so you don’t see it until you turn around to leave. Should get some nice ring camera footage.


r/3Dprinting • • 3h ago

Project 3D printed QR cities

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80 Upvotes

Hey 3D printing fans!

For the last two months I have put tremendous effort in building a unique 3D model generator. It turns any QR code into a 3D mini city to be 3D printed!

I have made it free, save (runs locally on your device) and hope I can inspire others to print some.

www.urban-qr.com

Please share your creations and feedback, looking to improve where possible!

Feel free to repost on other sub-reddits, and tag me! 🤓


r/3Dprinting • • 5h ago

Print (model not provided) I designed pumpkin cupcake foodles for Halloween!

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116 Upvotes

I’ve been working on a series of food themed fidgets to try to sell in local coffee shops and bakeries. These are my Halloween versions of the corkscrew cupcake foodle! Haven’t really shared my work online yet, curious what people think.


r/3Dprinting • • 20h ago

Project ScryScanner - Card Scanner (3D Print Files in Comments)

1.5k Upvotes

r/3Dprinting • • 5h ago

Project Reduce purge waste and print time when printing with a single nozzle multi-color setup

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91 Upvotes

When printing multicolor with a single nozzle, traditional methods require at least one purge for every layer that uses more than one filament. Multiply that by the number of colors and layers in your print, and you'll quickly fill up your poop bin.

I had a thought: most print heads have some clearance between the nozzle and the build plate. Why not use that space to print several layers of one color at a time, then backfill the gaps with another color?

Turns out, someone actually wrote a research paper on this exact concept a few years ago, but as far as I could tell, it never made it into a practical tool.

Well, I couldn't leave it at that. After burning some tokens, I put together a post-processing tool that attempts to do exactly this. I'm calling it ColorStack.

The workflow is simple:

  1. Slice your model as usual.
  2. Open the sliced file in ColorStack.
  3. Process and export it.
  4. Send the modified file to your printer.

Full instructions are available on GitHub.

In an ideal, best-case test print, I was able to reduce filament purges from 49 to just 9. Since filament changes on a single-nozzle printer can be pretty slow, that also cut the print time for my test model from 1 hour 10 minutes to just 30 minutes.

Obviously, this isn't going to work equally well for every model, but I've found that most multicolor models offer at least some marginal benefit.

Ideally, this would be a built-in slicer feature, but I'm not really equipped to implement that myself. So I'm releasing ColorStack for anyone to freely use, copy, modify, and hopefully improve.

I'm sharing it here because I don't want the idea to sit forgotten in my GitHub repo and disappear into the void.


r/3Dprinting • • 6h ago

Paid Model Custom 3d model: first customer order🥳

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80 Upvotes

r/3Dprinting • • 1h ago

Project Halo Reach Sniper 100% in Nylon Carbon Fiber

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• Upvotes

Had a customer commission this from me and he wanted to blacked out and said to use Carbon Fiber. That stuff is super tricky top print in.


r/3Dprinting • • 3h ago

Free Model Woodworkers first 3D printed mug coaster

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45 Upvotes

I usually make my coasters out of oak, but last night I came up with this optical design idea, so printed it (my neighbors wouldn't have liked it if I turned on the CNC in the middle of the night 😂 )


r/3Dprinting • • 18h ago

Hardware Spotted at Semicon West conference

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558 Upvotes

Probably too expensive, but imagine never having to home, realtime resonances and accuracy feedback, and never losing steps.


r/3Dprinting • • 1h ago

Project Mordecai, The Fleshweaver

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• Upvotes

I designed, printed, painted and assembled this life size prop for my Halloween display. Total height is adjustable, but maxes out at about 6’ 8” before it starts looking goofy. Right now, I have him sitting at about 6’ 2”.

The arms articulate at the elbows using rotating pivot joints that I designed for this build.

The legs articulate at the joints, as well as pivoting where they connect to the base.

There are two slots left on the base for future add-ons… I’m going to give him a pincher arm and a spinning saw blade arm.

Oh, and his mechanical eye is painted with three shades of blacklight reactive paint, for a little extra funsies.


r/3Dprinting • • 11h ago

Project Portal gun

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94 Upvotes

Hi! I made a portal gun, it’s still missing cables but I hope you like it!

The model was created by Evarate and is available on thingiverse. I used the V2 version but replaced the arduino with esp32 and added sound effects.


r/3Dprinting • • 7h ago

Paid Model The Coffee Shop- Miniture Storage Container

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43 Upvotes

This is my miniature coffee shop container to add a little spice to your decor! :)

You can store almost anything in it, coffee beans, coffee capsules, or anything else that fits.

It comes with a few different printing options and lettering choices.

It’s designed with both multicolor and single-color printers in mind.

I’ve made it with a removable storage insert for easy cleaning and replacement.

BE AWARE!
If you’re using it for unpackaged food, such as loose coffee beans, extra precautions are needed.
Food-safe filament alone doesn’t guarantee a food-safe print. The printing process must also be suitable for food contact.
The storage insert should be cleaned regularly and replaced periodically, as residue and bacteria can build up over time.
A certified food-safe liner is the safer option for direct food contact.

Sealed or packaged food, such as coffee capsules, can be stored without the storage insert using normal filament, as long as the food remains protected by its packaging.

Now, this is a promotion for my model, and I do hope I’ve managed to get some of you interested! You can find my print on Printables.

My profile/coffee shop print:
https://www.printables.com/model/1880390-the-coffee-shop-miniture-storage-container


r/3Dprinting • • 1d ago

Project Make a clearer “jewel” for my daughter’s Halloween crown

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1.0k Upvotes

So I tried looking up some information regarding how to make PETG more transparent, when printing. I couldn’t find a ton of info. I tried reducing my speed, turning off fans and I got a giant mess. This is the jewel I designed and printed at full speed. I used this as a fit test. I’m happy with the diffused light. But want tips on making clearer crystals and parts out of this transparent PETG?


r/3Dprinting • • 1d ago

Project My Iron Man Prime Suit

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768 Upvotes

Haven’t posted in a while because I haven’t really had anything new. Just crunched finishing Prime right before New York comic con. I’ve had the suit printed and halfway test fitted for over a year. But about three weeks before NYCC I decided to rush and finish it.

Luckily, 95% of it was printed in ASA so between being able to vapor smooth half of the parts and the other half being unbelievably easy to sand, I was able to cross through it super fast. Not a single filament I have ever tested Sands as easily and smooth as ASA. Literally one pass of 220 gritt and it’s ready for prime (ha)

The first time I wore, the entire suit was at New York comicon on Saturday. And luckily, seven years of trial and error in hindsight, and seeing how all of my friends and other builders make suits and the failure points of them help me avoid account for any thing that could go wrong.

The entire cod piece and neck is TPU and eventually the abs section will be as well.

Files by Walsh3d

Printed mostly on Bambu lab machines.

Printed mostly in Polymaker filament.


r/3Dprinting • • 5h ago

Paid Model I made some Anatomical Models made for Educational purposes and Display Model in Hospital and Clinics

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17 Upvotes

I designed and 3D printed these anatomical models myself using Blender. I have small 3D printing studio

These were made for clients who needed physical models for teaching and demonstration. I worked on the models from the 3D design stage through printing and finishing.

I've been experimenting with different anatomical models, including:

• Heart

• Brain

• Kidney cross-sections

• Pelvis

• Lumbar spine (LST) models

• Blood vessel / clot models

• Patient-specific anatomical models from DICOM data

• Bird and animal anatomy

• Microscopic / educational models

The models shown here are around 175 mm and 245 mm, but I can produce them at different scales depending on the intended use.

I'm particularly interested in making models that are useful for medical education, anatomy teaching and demonstrations rather than just decorative prints.

I'm still a small home-based 3D printing business, so I'm trying to learn what medical students, educators and professionals actually find useful.

If there's an anatomical model you've wanted to have as a physical 3D print but couldn't find, I'd genuinely be interested to hear what it is.

I also take custom model requests, along with bulk orders.

Website: pegasusprintsbharat.com

Get a 10% off using this code at checkout

XW9E06VFJN6D


r/3Dprinting • • 15h ago

Free Model Einkaufswagenchip mit Zettelklammer

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96 Upvotes

Ein Einkaufswagenchip mit Klammer für Einkaufszettel. Verwendbar in Einkaufswagen mit Schlitz (Euro).

https://makerworld.com/models/3448039?appSharePlatform=copy


r/3Dprinting • • 17h ago

Question Who wants to be the first to put their hand in there? Also, this is half speed.

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156 Upvotes

r/3Dprinting • • 3h ago

Project 3D Printed UV Cube Lamp

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10 Upvotes

r/3Dprinting • • 1d ago

Project Better skin tones with Dual wall Dithering (DWD) & CMYK

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466 Upvotes

r/3Dprinting • • 3h ago

Project Stackville – My modular 3D printed building project

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7 Upvotes

Let me know your thoughts!


r/3Dprinting • • 1d ago

Project Anti-supports — Experiment to remove warping on wave overhangs

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847 Upvotes

r/3Dprinting • • 19h ago

Project Created this floating apollo themed cupholder

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103 Upvotes

I designed this Apollo themed floating cupholder. I wanted to try and find a way to add a "scorched" look to the outside, but nothing really seemed like a great option, bic lighter did a little something but just wiped right away, so I went ahead and started painting with acrylic instead. Still have some fun details to add but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, not having a ton of experience in hand painting models! What do you guys think? I think this might force me to buy and learn how to use an airbrush if anybody has suggestions/tips?