A pragmatic mini-guide to professional 3D modeling & printing
It has been 4 years since I started toying around at work-related stuff with 3D modeling and 3D printing to solve problems that other people wouldn't even consider fixing. Since then, I learnt so much and achieved some personal milestones that I want to share with other people to help them figure out quickly and be pragmatic about the outcomes of what a 3D printer can actually help in their day to day and work lives.
Before we start
Let's start from the beginning: for me, it's very important (like almost the other way I wouldn't even consider it) that, when considering to buy and start using a 3D printer, you focus first on making sure that you have an actual problem to solve; be it workwise, house projects, hobbies etc. This, especially because when diving face-first in this new field you need to always keep in mind that you're here for a reason; not to 3D print fidget toys or phone holders for all your friends, or to doomscroll on Thingiverse or MakerWorld for solutions searching for a problem, or to fix problems only at 70% because the ones you find online that are acceptable are slightly off of what you were looking for but you don't have the means to make it to 100% and you would be then left unsatisfied with the results.
When you finally come to terms that 3D modeling is like 80%, and the other 20% is the 3D printing parts coming off your new shiny tool, you frame your mind on actually building useful stuff and tools and have a greater feeling of accomplishment and gratitude to yourself, which is key (in my honest opinion) of what makes this hobby, passion, work (you call it!) worth the effort in time and money.
There is not a single, definitive way of doing this
The smooth brain I have in custody for this lifetime initially would suggest you, my precious reader scrolling this post, that there is only one good, easy way to start: just install Shapr3D and start with the basic free version of it and start building tons of stuff, ticking off small problems in your house to build confidence in this tool and its awesome tutorials and integrations.
But, in the real world we live in, just pick whatever is your favourite, and in enough time it will come from yourself what tool you will like more by just finding out online and trying new things out, be it Blender, Plasticity, Fusion360, SolidWorks, FreeCAD... and so many more! So just pick one and start this wonderful journey!
Let's talk budget and technology
In all fields of life, I consider myself as a try-it-all-out due to me being a very fucking curious monkey. I tried all sorts of 3D printers and materials, and have come to the conclusion that:
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If you spend more time on researching what you will do (tools, figures, machinery), what size will the result print be (tiny, small, big, even multipiece big!), and what is the target audience (just yourself, your family, very tolerant customers or very picky ones) the earlier, the better: just come to terms with yourself, set a limit in quality of results needed and stick with it. Usually, it will help decide if you're more willing to go with something rather than the other.
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You need to decide wether you have the space for a 3D printer in your garage or inside your house, with proper ventilation: it's very much easier to go with a filament 3D printer rather than a resin one just for that alone.
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You need to decide a budget for the printer and materials, and then double it and accept it as a rule of thumb. It's very easy to spend money on accessories, and still try to spend as little as possible on the printer itself... when you could have bought a better printer in the first place with the same amount!
For the technology of 3D printers, I'd stick with 80% filament 3D printer and 20% resin 3D printer, or as an easy rule "if you need something very very stylistic and precise and small, go resin, otherwise stick with filament 3D printing".
I'll probably come out as a dumbass rich kid, but not so much in the last two years because both options I would usually reccomend for newcomers are actually rather cheap for starting out (and easy to sell if it scales well with yourself!):
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If you go with filament 3D printers, go with a BambuLab A1
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If you go resin 3D printers, go with a Phrozen 8KS Mini
If you think of having other users aswell using the 3D printer, and especially with cumbersome people or kids, just trust me and stick 100% with a filament 3D printer, don't risk other live's health just because you don't have the time to be besides them during usage of the tools you just bought. Remember, they are tools, not toys to play around, so act accordingly.
Materials, materials, materials!
For resin 3D printing, just try them out from reputable brands, preferably ones with already made profiles and find your cup of tea. For filament 3D printing, BambuLab especially has a sort of Apple-like walled garden aura that is both very scary (but I finally accepted that as my fate) and yet very compelling, especially for a newbie. They almost literally patented a method like "Buy, slice, print, repeat" as effortless as saying that, and their website is full of information about materials, printing suggestions and so on: it's very difficult to make bad things with their printers and materials.
My general rule of thumb for materials goes as follows, based on what I tried so far workwise and for personal things:
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Use -CF counterparts if possible, they are very easy to print compared to standard unloaded materials
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Spend a little more, trouble way less
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Don't be shy to try things out, still!
My jujitsu belt has fought battles with those ones especially, and based on that I say:
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PLA Silk+ is absolute fucking disgusting garbage (sorry for the slang, but...) and it self-breaks easily even by watching it with a side-eye, stay away from it! 0/10
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PLA Matte is a perfect material for indoor use and untouched items and furniture, not capable for tools making, but still 9.5/10
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PLA-CF is a better material than PLA Matte, but doesn't get much better usage personally compared to that. 9/10
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PETG-CF is very very good indeed, but sticks a little too well to the rugged plate. Outdoor usage is limited due to chemical non-resistance and warping at low temps. 8.5/10
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ASA-CF is a very very very very very good material for the price especially, resists UV and chemicals and have a good temperature resistance and warping resistance too! 9.5/10
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PET-CF is the last one I tried, it seems very capable and should be a big jump in technical filaments and resistance to what I usually build with those 3D printers, but for the price I say 9/10
Printing settings
I'll tell it quick: 4% gyroid infill, 0.20mm layer height for prototyping; 4% to 30% gyroid infill, 0.20mm layer height for production usage. Simple as that. Enjoy!
Conclusions
This new hobby of mine, later transformed as an actual professional job skill under my work belt, is undeniably one of the most cool, awesome, fun and enjoying part of my personal journey, spacing from cars to automations to house appliances and so on: it's quite literally a drug almost! My main clients usually laugh at me whenever I jump at my chair during software development while listening to a problem solvable with 10 minutes of modeling and 45 minutes of print time, just by saying "LET'S MAKE A 3D PRINT SHALL WE!?!?!?!"... they are always exited about that side of me, and that should tell you that it is a very powerful tool that gains trust in all fields it's tried on, and makes you build a skillset worth considering, be you 10 years old or 85!
Thanks for reading, see you next time!