Don’t buy an Ender 3 or Prusa until you watch this video

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What do you think of my dual camera setup? Does it provide some needed visual variety? While this is the sort of video I would usually do while doing a repair or unboxing a new printer, I decided to put aside distractions and just focus on the topic at hand. So I felt that experimenting with multiple cameras would be necessary to keep it interesting.

Plus, I kinda enjoyed making that fake YouTube screen for this video. It’s got a number of Easter eggs that I hope some people appreciate.

This is one of those videos that I put together because I got tired of typing the same thing in facebook comments over and over again. And yet, somehow, it’s still more than 10 minutes of video. I sure can ramble. And I was really hesitant to put this video out, knowing that I was going to call out 2 of the most popular, and powerful, companies in 3D printing. So I hope I managed to strike th the right tone and they’ll forgive me for a click-baity title.

It’s getting to be the season where grandmas are wanting to make their favorite grandkids happy, and one of those new fangled 3D printer thingies is what the kid wants, so that’s what she’s gonna get them. And, to be sure, I’ve seen a number of very bright young men who have done amazing things with 3D printer bought under these very circumstances, and most of them were Creality machines. So I know that it’s possible that an Ender 3 is good advice at times. But, like I said in the video, I’ve also seen a ton of these machines just sitting around doing nothing, and I don’t like that. The problem, as I see it, isn’t the people. It’s that many 3D printers are basically a gauntlet of fail points. Survive, and you’re one of the elite. But we don’t need 3D printing to be a series of tests. We don’t need the elite. More of these fail points that we can identify and eliminate, the more people, and more different types of people, will be able to get into 3D printing until 3D printing is as ubiquitous as an inkjet printer. And that’s a win-win for everyone.

Here’s the 3D printer fail points I’ve identified:

  • Assembly
  • Filament loading
  • Confusing UX
  • Bed leveling
  • Slicing
  • SD card adapters
  • Finding community
  • Nozzle clogs
  • Getting materials settings right
  • Getting the right material
  • Removing prints without damaging the bed
  • Printer break downs

What 3D printer fail points can you think of?