Aloha,
I got an Elegoo Carbon FDM coreXY printer and a roll of PLA from the same brand. I’ve read that some filament brands are better than others but I figured I’d start easy.
I’ve taken STLs to the library to print, but I’ve not done my own before. What’s all this slicer stuff? What other software and tools do I need? Thanks!
The kids want to print (what is in my eyes) random junk. I’ll try to make some brackets and holders for stuff, which should be a fun challenge.
Thank you for the tips! I’ve listened in on a bunch of threads here, and I’ve learned a bunch of terms but have no experience. should be fun!
I stopped printing toys. They kids loved to watch them being printed, but they are usually not fun to play. Single-color, low detail, low durability, really not what you want for kids toys.
They usually play with a print for a few minutes and then toss it into their box of toys, never to be played with again. It’s a waste of plastic. It’s literally printing junk.
That was my main reason for voting “no”, but I was outvoted by my wife.
Hey, if the wife supports the 3D printing hobby, I think that’s worth printing a bit of garbage.
It wasn’t going to be MY hobby, but I can tell I’ll be tech support.
Once you get the hang of the basics, the “Articulated” models of various creatures are lots of fun for kids. A lot of them have already seen them at school. Surprisingly easy to print. You may need to use a brim or raft on some of them to make sure the small contact patch on each of the segments gets enough bed adhesion, but other than that, they print-in-place with no assembly required.
We have a few octopodes and things like that around the house from the library. They’re big fans!