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Title: 3D printing projects and advice - what are you currently printing?
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#1
Adding to my original post after printing a few more useful things:

Things I've printed that actually get used daily:
  • A monitor stand riser with integrated cable channels - no more cables draped over the desk edge
  • Raspberry Pi case with integrated fan mount and GPIO access
  • Custom keycap puller that doesn't scratch the keycaps (a problem with the wire tools)
  • A mount to hold my lamp arm to the VESA mount bracket

On print settings: for functional parts I've mostly switched from 15% infill to 30-40% with 3 walls. The difference in strength is significant and filament cost is minimal. For decorative stuff 15% + 2 walls is fine.

Multicolour without an AMS: if you have a single-extruder printer, Orca Slicer has a colour change pause feature. You pause at a specific layer, swap filament manually, continue. Tedious for many colours but fine for a single accent colour.

Anyone using Bambu Studio or Orca Slicer? Orca is the fork I use now - it has more calibration tools built in.
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#2
3D printing went from niche maker hobby to genuinely practical home tool over the last few years, especially with Bambu Lab making reliable printing accessible without hours of calibration.

Recent things I've printed that were actually useful:
  • Custom wall mounts for network gear and cable management
  • Replacement clips for a broken IKEA shelf bracket (saved £15 and 30 min of IKEA trip)
  • A desktop organiser for my small tools and USB cables
  • Cable labels - print once, label forever

Setup I'm running: Bambu Lab P1S with the AMS for multi-material. Before that I had an Ender 3 which taught me a lot but also ate a lot of hours.

Material breakdown for newcomers:
  • PLA - easiest to print, good for most things, not heat resistant
  • PETG - slightly trickier, better heat tolerance, great for functional parts
  • ASA/ABS - outdoor use, UV resistant, needs enclosure and ventilation
  • TPU - flexible, good for phone cases and grips, finicky to dial in

Where to find models: Printables (run by Prusa, good quality control), Thangs, MakerWorld (Bambu's platform, curated).

What are you printing? Any projects you're particularly proud of?
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