3D Printing is a fun hobby. Not only can you print some household gadgets instead of buying them, but you can even start a small 3D printing venture to make some quick money on the side. I've printed several functional items, like door stoppers, vases, knobs, and even replacement screws and bolts to hold things in place around the house. This makes the investment totally worth it, especially since you can modify the dimensions of objects to suit your requirements -- something that's not possible when buying an off-the-shelf product. If you're planning to buy a 3D printer because of this, you may also need some accessories to enhance your 3D printing experience.

While the simplest option is to purchase those accessories, it's certainly not the most fun way to go about things. After all, you got a 3D printer for a reason! Well, guess what, I'll tell you how you can use your 3D printer to print some cool and essential accessories for your 3D printer. It's a whole other feeling when you use accessories you print yourself instead of buying them from a store. You save money, plus you have fun along the way. It's a win-win!

10 Bed scraper

Get your prints off easily

Most 3D printers have a print bed that's either made of glass or a thin sheet of metal, making it easy to detach any object from the surface once it's done printing. All you have to do is wiggle the print out of the bed, and you should be good to go. However, there are some instances where it may not be easy to get a print to detach from the bed. This could be due to the filament material, the print being too thin, or if you've used an adhesive on the print bed. Sometimes, prints with supports or brim enabled may also be difficult to detach.

This is where you'll need a scraper. As the name suggests, a scraper will help you detach a print from the print bed thanks to an extremely thin end that can go beneath the printed object. There are several scraper models that you can find online, but this particular scraper designed by Best_codes is one of the best ones I've come across. It's solid and does the job well. I would recommend printing it in PETG since it's more durable than PLA.

9 Tweezers

Clean excess filament from the nozzle

There are several use cases for a pair of tweezers when 3D printing. You can use it to unclog the nozzle, remove filament pieces stuck in the hot end, or even pick up small screws to place in the right positions. Regardless of what you're going to use it for, a pair of tweezers is an essential accessory that you need to have by your side. Instead of purchasing one, I suggest printing the tweezer from Fredsena. Again, PETG should ideally be the first choice of material, but PLA should also work well.

8 Filament guide

Guide the filament along the right path

Several new printers have built-in filament detectors that check whether the filament is inserted into the hot end or not. These detectors act as filament guides by default. But, what if your printer doesn't have this functionality? That's when you'll need a filament guide to ensure the filament is being fed into the extruder without any deviations. A little bit of bend can result in the filament snapping, so a filament guide is a small yet extremely useful tool.

Every printer has a different design, so every filament guide may not be a one-size-fits-all solution. This filament guide from clivebradshaw is a good reference point for what you should be looking at. With this in mind, head over to Thingiverse, Printables, MakerWorld, or other similar websites and search for your printer model followed by 'filament guide'.

7 Camera mount

Shoot a timelapse of your print

Using a webcam with a 3D printer is common practice. You can monitor your prints remotely and even record timelapse videos of the entire printing process. However, there's no place on the printer chassis by default to hook a webcam onto it. While you can use a tripod placed on a table, some webcams may not have a quarter-inch thread, or you may not have a tripod to begin with. If that's you, don't worry. You can 3D print a simple webcam mount for your printer that can help you monitor your prints with ease.

Now, there are multiple different types of mounts depending on which webcam you use and which printer you have. There are a few universal prints, but I would highly recommend looking for a specific model for your printer and camera. This camera mount for the Ender 3 by aallensd is a good example of what you should be looking for.

6 CR touch mount for auto-leveling

Mount the probe accurately

It's vital to level your 3D printer bed before you start printing to prevent any errors or inaccuracies in your prints. Most printers have manual leveling, but introducing an automatic leveler adds a boost in terms of accuracy since it eliminates any sort of human error. Several printers from Creality employ something known as the CR Touch leveler for this purpose. It's essentially a probe that gets attached next to the extruder and helps with the automatic leveling of the bed.

The default mount that comes with the CR Touch probe is rather fragile, so you may want to replace it with something better. Moreover, some users may want a Z-axis offset or other modifications which aren't possible with the default mount. Don't worry, as there are several enthusiasts who have already printed relevant mounts and plates for this purpose. The CR-Touch bracket for the Ender 3 V2 by UndertheMatt is a great example of one such model. You can look for specific versions for your printer, as these aren't universally compatible.

5 Spring replacement for print bed

Ensure more accurate bed leveling

While auto-leveling is good to have, manual leveling is an absolute must for any 3D printer. To help you level the printer, the print bed is generally mounted on springs on each of the four corners. While these springs get the job done, they're far from perfect. They can be shaky, resulting in inaccurate leveling. So, it's a good idea to replace them with something more rigid.

Thanks to enthusiasts on the internet, you won't have to break your head designing these replacements by yourself. While these are printer-specific, this bed-leveling column from Lando for the Ender 3 series is a great point of reference. It can be printed using PLA, PETG, or TPU. Ensure you print ones that are specifically designed for your printer, or else you may face serious issues with leveling.

4 Drawer for storage

Stow your tools in one place

My Ender 3 S1 Pro has a small drawer to house commonly used tools like Allen keys, tweezers, spanners, etc. However, a lot of printers don't have this luxury. As a result, you may have to find a different place to house these tools which isn't convenient at all. You don't want to be in a situation where you're looking for a tool when you need it quickly. So, if your printer didn't come with one, here's an example of a drawer for the Ender 3 Pro. It has partitions to house small and large tools, so it's easier to find what you want.

3 Sanding tools

Achieve finer prints

Another key aspect of 3D printing is ensuring the objects you print are smooth and have an even surface. This makes your prints look more polished. A good way to achieve this look is by using sandpaper of various grits. Sanding your prints ensures they have a uniform surface, and that there are no protrusions or rough edges. The importance of sanding is more emphasized if your prints have curved surfaces or are spherical in nature.

Using a piece of sandpaper by itself works, but isn't the most comfortable or desirable way to go about sanding your prints. So, you may want to print this sanding tool from Clockspring. It's small, so it's easy to use on tiny objects along with larger ones.

2 Calipers for measurements

Check your prints for accuracy

Now this is one of my favorite prints of all time. I remember needing a Vernier caliper to measure an object that I was designing using CAD. However, I was too impatient to wait for Amazon to deliver one despite having Prime delivery. So, I went online, and unsurprisingly, I found the print files to a perfectly functional Vernier caliper by Maquina.

I was initially skeptical, but I printed one, and it worked surprisingly well! The accuracy is also good, which meant that it became a permanent part of my 3D printing arsenal. Of course, it may not be the ideal solution for those looking for pin-point precision, but it's a good place to start nonetheless.

1 Printer parts

Replace broken parts with ease

Broke a certain part of your printer? Fret not, you can print the entire part by yourself without having to send the printer back to the company for repair! Sounds cool, doesn't it? Printers like the Prusa MK4S have most of their parts available online to print, thanks to the brand itself making them available on its platform. Thanks to this, consumers can print any part they want to replace, or quickly fix something that has undergone wear and tear. I would recommend looking for your printer's parts online with the specific name of the component you want to print. Generally, it's easier to find parts for printers from Creality, Prusa, and Bambu Lab.

Print, don't buy

Why buy when you can 3D print an object at home? A 3D printer is more than just a fun gadget that can print toys or artifacts. Most of my prints have been functional, in the sense that I've printed items that have helped me fix something at home, or I've gotten some amount of utility out of them. There are so many more useful tools and accessories that you can 3D print for your printer. All you have to do is head to all the popular websites that host print files, and look for your printer's name to find them.