3D Printing: The Gateway Drug

Let me be honest with you - 3D printing is a gateway drug. It starts innocently enough with a simple calibration cube, and before you know it, you're printing replacement parts for appliances that don't even exist yet.

How It Begins

It always starts the same way:

1. You buy a cheap 3D printer because "it might be useful"
2. You print the included test files
3. You download Thingiverse models like your life depends on it
4. You start thinking "I could design this better"
5. You spend 3 hours designing a better spool holder
6. You realize you haven't slept in 48 hours

The Descent Into Madness

Six months into my 3D printing journey, I now have:

7 different filaments (including glow-in-the-dark)

A dedicated "failed prints" shelf

The ability to identify print failures by sound alone

A weird obsession with infill patterns

A collection of calibration tools that would make a machinist jealous

Is It Worth It?

Absolutely. There's something magical about designing something in CAD and holding it in your hands hours later. Even if that something is yet another calibration cube.

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Now if you'll excuse me, my printer is making a weird noise and I need to go babysit it.