I’m thinking about buying a small 3D printer for the odd project once in a while.
Problem is, I will not use it very often and I don’t have much desk space for it to sit around.
Ideally (and I know this is utopia), I would like a device that I can pull out of a closet, fasten four screws, plug it in and be ready to go.
Is there something even remotely like that available? Every review I’ve seen just seems to assume that printers are basically static.
Well, I don’t want to do that. For me a printer is a tool, not something to tinker with.
I get where you’re coming from, but I’m tinkering at another front.
From my experience it’s definitely not as bad as described there. Yes, there are some issues here and there but still a 3D printer is an awesome tool to have at hand. I often designed / printed spare parts and fixing something on a Sunday afternoon spontaneously. Without much planning and lead times, without a third party printing service. Feels pretty awesome.
I would say in 8 out of 10 times I can just plug the printer and start using it without issues. In 1 out of 10, I have to do some small tweaks (e.g. bed leveling for 5 minutes) and in maybe 1 out of 10 I have to invest a bit more time for leveling or unclogging the nozzle. But even all that is less than 30 minutes.
Fixing the printer is nothing that I enjoy but using it is so handy that it definitely makes up for the small hassle here and there.