3D printing is a very interesting hobby, mostly because of the unlimited range of things to make,  the new technology of today, and the ability to do it at home. But sometimes it can be hard to begin. So because of that, you may be confused on whether or not to begin. And that is why I have made this article, to help you decide on if you should or shouldn’t begin the hobby of 3D printing.

How to 3D Print

3D printing is when a 3D model is printed in three dimensions out of plastic or resin from a machine that heats up the plastic and moves around on a platform to make objects of ranging capability. The process to print something is to make a model or download one off of a website, then slice it in slicer software, then to save it to a drive and put the drive into the printer. The final step is to heat up the printer and begin the printing process. Most slicer software shows you the time your print will take to construct. When that time is up, cooldown the platform and nozzle, and remove your print from the platform using tools provided by the manufacturer of your printer.

Prices of Printing

To buy a hobby 3D printer, the average cost is around $200 according to Amazon and Monoprice. A professional 3D printer costs around $1,500 on Amazon. To buy 1kg of filament costs about $20 in ranging colors and plastic types. But you may decide to sell some designs you made and get some money back or even pay off the money you spent on your printer and gain money to buy another 3D printer.

Simplicity of Printing

As said by 7th grade student Mikal Gerrick, “I do think that 3D Printing is simple and easy because of the technology we have now such as automated systems and computers”. As said by Mikal, 3D Printing is quite simple except for certain stages, which may be a bit more complicated, but not by much. The most complicated step you could get would be slicing your model because of all the different settings you must go over. Other than that difficulty, 3D Printing is very simple and easy to do.

To sum things up, 3D Printing is when plastic is laid out by a machine to make something, the price to begin with is around $200, and 3D Printing is very simple except for the slightest of difficult parts. So, if you want to start, make a decision and start printing