If you’ve been following the 3D printing community over the last few years, you’ve probably noticed how much it has grown. What was once considered a niche hobby is now being used by students, hobbyists, engineers, and even small businesses for everyday projects.
One thing I’ve noticed is that the quality of desktop printers has improved quite a bit. Features that used to be available only on expensive machines—like automatic bed leveling, faster printing, and better filament compatibility—are now becoming much more common.
At the same time, there are still plenty of challenges. Nozzle clogs, layer shifting, bed adhesion problems, and calibration issues are things that almost everyone runs into sooner or later. The good thing is that most of these problems can usually be solved with a bit of patience and regular maintenance.
It’s interesting to see that this isn’t just a community trend either. According to Market Research Future, the 3D printing market is expected to grow from around USD 15.9 billion in 2025 to more than USD 92 billion by 2035, which reflects how rapidly the technology is being adopted across industries as well as by hobbyists.
Personally, I think one of the biggest reasons more people are buying 3D printers is the ability to create exactly what they need without waiting for replacement parts or custom components to arrive. Even simple household fixes can become good learning projects.
For those who have been printing for a while:
What made you buy your first 3D printer?
Do you mainly print practical parts or hobby projects?
What was the first problem you had to troubleshoot, and how did you solve it?
I’d be interested to hear what got everyone into 3D printing and whether your reasons have changed over time.
The important bit of that is that there are many more things to fail on printers now. Things like automatic bed levelling and auto Z offset, which are suppose to make our lives easier, don’t always seem to work as good as they should.
Why I bought my first printer is very different from why I now own a 3D printer.
My professional background is in electronics. I bought a printer for rapid prototyping mounts and enclosures for the electronics I designed and built.
Over time, I branched out to a plethora of toys and functional prints for friends and families. Then I started a side hustle, offering print services.
The prototypes are long gone. Today I own an Anycubic Kobra X, so that I can produce multi-color prints (still for friends and family and my side hustle).
My first printer was an original Ender 3, with it’s “wonderful” manual bed levelling and plethora of calibration issues. I’m technical enough I figured it out. My third printer was an Ender 3 V3 SE and beyond the initial calibration, it was wonderful (compared to the first).
I do have to question, however, if the industry projections are correct. If the United States is the center of the 3D printing universe and so many states implementing laws to thwart printing capabilities, if we won’t see a shift from unit sales to print farms. After all, you don’t have to have a printer to make widgets.
You nailed it with the printer-quality point. A few years ago, getting a clean first layer felt like a bit of a dark art — now auto bed leveling and the faster machines handle a lot of that for you, which is a big reason people stick with it instead of bouncing off in the first week.
For me it’s always been a mix. It usually starts with something practical — a replacement part, a little organizer for the desk — and then before you know it you’re printing something just to see if you can. The practical stuff keeps it useful; the “because I can” projects keep it fun.
And yeah, bed adhesion and clogs are basically everyone’s initiation. The fix is almost never one magic setting — it’s the boring habits: clean the plate, dial in your Z-offset and temps, keep the filament dry. Once those are second nature, most of the headaches quietly disappear.
Good questions to kick things off — curious to see what got everyone else started.
It seems it is. I pre-ordered a new printer this spring and Americans got theirs before anyone else (including retail sales before pre-orders were delivered in Europe).
A number of US states are passing legislation to force manufacturers to equip their printers with cloud approval before you can print. I figured China would say “no way” and just ditch American sales, but no, they are indicating they will comply and the rest of the world will just have to accept this.
Hell, even Prusa is setting up a US factory to bypass tariffs.
Absent of verifiable sales figures, I think this all says the US is the center of the 3D printing universe.
Sionce the US is but a small portion of the world, even these stats indicate there is more happening outside the US than inside, specifically consumer grade:
“China exported ~5.03 million consumer 3D printers in 2025, and the United States imported ~1.95 million of them, making it the single largest destination market.”
That doesn’t make it the centre of the universe, although a good chunk of it. Given the desire to kill off consumer 3D printing there, I suspect it will drop off.
I think more people are getting into 3D printing because it’s much easier and more practical than before. Desktop printers are cheaper, better, and more user-friendly now, so students, hobbyists, and small businesses can all use them for real projects. Another big reason is the freedom to make custom parts, replacement pieces, and creative designs without waiting on outside suppliers. Even though troubleshooting is still part of the process, that learning curve is also what makes the hobby interesting and rewarding.
I make custom parts, jigs for machining, patterns for casting and stand alone items that are needed around my house and shop. Things that can be done in other ways but 3D printing makes them with less effort and more flexibility.
Now 3D printing is the hobby, previously the 3D-printer itself was the hobby.
Ease of use has gone up (I personally think auto bed leveling was major) and prices have plummeted (an ender3 v3-se can be had for €160, a bambulab A1 with AMS for €370, a high end printer can be had for well under €1000 and budget PLA can be found for less than €10/kg, €22 for the more quility filaments.)
There are vast libraries of ready made models. Kids see fun prints at fairs and schools and see how easily you can download a model and effortlessly print it. It’s not uncommon for a 9yo to own a 3D printer. And even basic modelling has become super easy. with no prior experience you can make a personalize key-chain for your grandma in an afternoon.
And there is the dream of making money with your prints, whether it’s a kid wanting to make a few euro’s selling a 3D printer dino to a classmate, or an adult thinking of starting a print farm.
I got into 3D printing mainly because of the freedom to make custom parts whenever I need them. At first I was just printing for fun, but eventually started making a few things for other people too, so it’s nice when the hobby pays for some of the filament. Still spend half the time troubleshooting failed prints though.
I’m not a miniature fan, or art. I like to use mine to print fidget toys for the special needs school near by. I tend to print useful items for my garage, or I’ll use tinkercad to make replacement parts for tools, toys, household things. I find I use it as a tool, instead of a toy. That said, I do like to play.
I started two years ago and it was solely because I wanted to build pop culture props for myself and my children. Now I’m printing things for the children of my friends too. But slowly it’s starting to evolve more in the functional problem solving area. I find myself more often trying to find solutions to pain points in everyday life and that’s a fun new space as I get to develop my creativity.
As for printers getting more advanced, I entered the community late, auto levelling etc was just a standard feature by then. My dad made an interesting observation the other day. He was born in 1940s so he has seen how automobiles have developed throughout his life. His car had broken down and as is the case it tends to be software problems over mechanical problems. He remembered how when cars where less advanced many problems you could take care of yourself, buy the part in any hardware store and do it at home. Now you need the specialist manufacturer with a specialist tablet with a specialist software. That costs a lot. As machines become more advanced the less you’ll be able to fix it yourself, not just because of skill but because of software! Everything is more or less heading in that direction now
I started 3d printing in 2017/18. I was actually just curious then I had no project or desire I was just tinkering. Over time printers have changed a lot, my first printer didn’t have a heated bed. My first print was a benchy, actually the first was a failed benchy, the second print. The Benchy at that point wasn’t so easy. It took a lot of time to tune fiddle tape the printer to get my little benchy, I decided little plastic doodads were too much effort, I started making spacers and jigs for other tools. I got my second printer VASTLY better than the first and made drawer handles on my first print. I bought a Prusa MK3 next and it is still a beast and I run it often, Prusa sells upgrade kits so I upgraded it a few times to a MK3s+ enclosed. I use it for the most difficult materials to this day.
Printers transitioned from a gizmo that spend 50% of the time apart to a functional tool. Yes, they are way more complex and getting so complex the owner will struggle to repair them. This is the case for most things, it also represents something, a final product that is smaller faster more efficient and reliable. I got a replacement board for an old machine we still run at work. The original board is 20 inches by 8 and when new in the 90s cost over a $1000 (min wage was 5.50 ish) now I had someone design and have build a replacement it is the size of a 9 v battery doesn’t need three fans to keep it cool and cost 200$ total and I got 5 of them. I understand the lament for simpler times but my brother’s stock classic car uses so much gas he can’t afford to drive it. There is a trade off, I hope a middle ground can be found.
A middle ground is usually always found. And yes it’s a real trade-off and cost benefit analysis. The sewing machine was looked upon the same way too. The Gutenberg press certainly was. We’re seeing similar things said about AI these days too.
funny how the panic-then-shrug cycle hits every new tech without fail, half the stuff i use daily got roasted the same way back when it first dropped spinbaracasino games get the same treatment too, especially new slots that everyone trashes for a week and then quietly keeps playing.
A1 with AMS for €370, a high end printer can be had for well under €1000 and budget PLA can be found for less than €10/kg, €22 for the more quility filaments.)