I've been on the fence about buying a 3D printer for a long time. I never fully bought into the popular idea that 3D printing is just an endless stream of solutions in search of problems, but I also wasn't convinced I’d get enough real value out of one to justify the space, cost, and learning curve. It felt interesting and the projects I've seen have been impressive, but it didn't necesarilly feel useful.

That feeling changed as I started building up a growing collection of ESP32-based projects and other small hardware experiments. At some point, it became clear that I was repeatedly working around the same physical limitations: awkward enclosures, improvised mounts, and off-the-shelf parts that almost, but never quite, fit. So I finally decided to take the plunge, albeit with fairly modest expectations.

As a beginner, I settled on the Bambu Lab P2S as my 3D printer of choice. I'm aware that this is a contentious choice, particularly given the company's increasing push toward cloud-centric workflows, but my priorities were more pragmatic in nature. I wanted something that was easy to buy in Ireland, straightforward to set up, and reliable enough to work out of the box. I already had some CAD experience from a couple of years using SolidWorks in school, so the design side didn't concern me. The hardware side, however, was entirely new territory.

It didn't take long for the printer to prove its worth, much to my initial surprise. I started with a kilogram each of black and white PLA, plus a spool of black PETG, and managed to burn through almost the entire black PLA spool in just over a week. In that time, I've printed a charging stand for my Google Pixel Watch 2, a small storage basket for various hardware trinkets, a custom enclosure for my ReSpeaker Lite voice assistant, and a case for the WT32-SC01 Plus ESP32 display. I'm also actively working on several other designs, including a housing for the Waveshare P2.5 64×32 LED matrix display, for which I've already printed a prototype that fits perfectly and looks far better than I expected.

Looking back, buying a 3D printer has been one of the most impactful upgrades I've made to my smart home setup... almost begrudgingly so. I put it off for years, convinced it would be a novelty rather than a necessity. Instead, it's become a tool I now reach for every single day.

It's easy to make home improvements

My ReSpeaker Lite is no longer an eyesore

One of my first 3D print projects was an enclosure for my ReSpeaker Lite. I recently purchased a few 3W 8 ohm speakers for different projects, and it seemed like the perfect project for it. The only problem is that the project I found online that fits the ReSpeaker Lite uses a bigger speaker, but with some basic CAD work and a digital callipers for measurements, I designed and 3D printed a block that holds the speaker in place inside of the housing.

Previously, my ReSpeaker Lite just kinda... sat there. It worked just fine and was an apt replacement for my Amazon Echo, but the downside was that it was just a floating board with a speaker attached. With a 3D printed case to house it, though, it's no longer an eyesore. Buttons are accessible (as the back of the case holds the ReSpeaker Lite firmly in place), and the block I made keeps the speaker steady.

The same goes for the other ESP32-based projects I build as well. I'm designing a basic housing for my ESP32-C6 which acts as a Bluetooth proxy for my Home Assistant server, and I've already printed a housing for the WT32-SC01 Plus so that it's not just a display with a bare board on the back. It's little things like these that it's fantastic for, and in those instances, it absolutely isn't a solution in search of a problem. Realistically, I wouldn't have another alternative to house my creations if not for a 3D printer. Not everything can go in a photo frame.

On top of that, I've been able to make other improvements to unsightly or inconvenient tech-related things, too. My Google Pixel Watch 2 charger is connected to my standing desk, but the charger itself can just... float around. Sometimes it falls to the ground, sometimes it ends up under a pile of boards and sensors, that kind of thing. However, and this was actually my first 3D print, there are models out there made by other creators that can actually house the Google Pixel Watch 2's charger in a way that looks a lot better and makes it significantly harder to lose track of.

With this, I can throw my Pixel Watch 2 on to charge and not only is it held upright so that I can see the face much easier, but it looks nicer on my desk as well. As an added bonus, my watch charger has been on its way out for a while now, and wouldn't charge when the cable was angled in certain ways. This housing actually angles it perfectly, so there's an added benefit of adding longevity to your cabling by keeping them fixed in place, rather than bending them and moving the wires inside constantly.

Not everything has to be useful

You can print fun things too

Not everything has to be useful, though in my case, the projects I've improved with a 3D printer have made it abundantly clear how useful it can be. Still, you can have fun with it, and of the first prints I made when I placed my second spool of white PLA inside of the AMS 2 was this cute cat I saw on Makerworld. It's surprisingly high quality, and it's a nice addition to my desk that I can print more of and even give to people as silly trinkets.

With that, there are tons of other models out there you can print as well. I have friends who love Warhammer, for example, and I can print models for them that they can paint, and the same goes for practically any franchise you can think of. If it exists, chances are, there's a model you can 3D print.

Of course, the filament you use matters a lot as well, but for most projects, basic PLA is more than good enough. It's cheap, it's easy to use, and toxicity wise, it's a lot better than the likes of ABS. It may not be as formidable or as heat resistant as PETG or other, more expensive plastics, but it gets the job done for most projects.

On top of that, you can also print desk organizers, shelves, and baskets. I printed the above white basket in just a couple of hours, and there's a larger, black basket that it sits on top of. They're designed to be stackable, so the black and white contrast coupled with a perfectly fitting basket looks quite nice on top of a chest of drawers.

All of that is without mentioning Gridfinity either, which is a standard used by the 3D printing community in order to build all kinds of storage for all kinds of things. I even found a Gridfinity-compatible camera holder for my Panasonic Lumix GH5 on Makerworld, and there are countless options on sites such as Thingiverse and Printables as well.

Not everything you print has to be useful, and scrolling through the tens of thousands of options makes it clear that yes, there are certainly creations which veer into the territory that 3D printing is often mocked for. But even for a basket, which costs about $2 and takes just a few hours to print, it's incredibly convenient. And if I want to build something, fix something, or organize something, there's likely a fix for it.

I get it, 3D printing is often the subject of ridicule, but there are workflows where it opens infinite doors to infinite possibilities. And in my case, it's done exactly that.