I’ve always been fascinated by 3D printers. My brother got an Ender 3 a couple of years ago, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I’ve always wanted to print things, but I couldn’t justify buying a machine to create small plastic parts. Then came 2020 and with it, the pandemic. Everything changed. We were stuck at home, self-isolating and generally avoiding social contact (my wife was pregnant). There wasn’t much to do, so I decided to rethink the whole 3D printing story and got myself a Prusa Mini+ for Christmas¹. At the time, I mostly opted for quality. I didn’t want one of those Enders that you only get to the print parts for it. What I wanted was the Apple experience of 3D printing. Something I could unpack, assemble and it just works. Back then I mostly opted for quality, I didn’t want one of those Enders that you only get to the print parts for it, what I wanted was the Apple experience of 3D Printing. Something I could unpack, assemble and it just works.

I wanted to print, not yet another thing to tinker on. We already had an old VW van from ‘81 that scratched that itch. And it’s been working great. The Mini is a fantastic machine. I haven’t done much to it over the last couple of years, other than building an enclosure to be able to reliably print PETG (though I rarely do) and also to keep some of the smell and fumes at bay. I once had one of the PTFE couplings fail on me, but apart from that it has been working perfectly. I’ve used up countless spools and printed a lot of things I probably don’t need.

In the 4 years I’ve had this printer, I’ve learnt a lot about 3D printing and the shortcomings of this machine², but also about myself and that I’m not completely useless when it comes to tools and that I really enjoy working on things, fixing them and improving them. And since we are also now in the process of selling our Van, I’ve decided that’s it’s time for me to get into a new hobby and build a 3D printer myself.

So let me take you on a long journey in which a software developer who thinks he is a mechanic tries to build a 3d printer.