What do you use the 3D printer for?

I get this question a lot, and I never have a good answer. The best way to describe it is that it's a tool, so it unlocks a whole solution space that wasn't there before.

Before, I used to live with random little annoyances so much that I couldn't even see them as annoyances. After you get something that can solve all of them, your mind just unlocks.

Toilet seat won't stay up? Print a hook. Taking my glasses out of the glove compartment takes too long? Make a custom glasses holder. The cat eats too much? Print a cat feeder. My USB hub slides around too much? Print a bracket to hold it down. Too many devices on my desk? Print under-desk mounts for them.

The list just goes on and on and on, I've printed probably thousands of useful things, especially for my hobbies.

Same for me. The bidet is absolutely a life changer.

And the BambuLab's A1 3D printer (and mini-AMS) was by far my favorite under $1000 purchase. I've already printed some fidget "tools", toys for the grandchildren, toys for the children, and even a couple of useful tools for me. As a bonus I get some more experience in CAD and other 3D design tools. It's turning into quite a hobby for me.

Hell, the A1 mini is something like $199, it's such a steal I'm thinking of buying some to gift to friends.

For me P1S hits the soft spot: it's not terribly expensive, and it just works out of the box, is closed so the temperature is well-controlled (plus a carbon filter to keep the fumes down), you can add AMS easily. With 0.2 nozzle you can basically print figurines with almost resin quality.

I love my P1S. Maybe not a great starter printer, if you don't know if you like printers or not, but definitely the best bang for buck if you know it's not going to be a "let's try 3D printing and see if I like it" purchase.

I do recommend a small length of foam tape for the left side of the door, though, the hinge is not lined and some fumes come out. Putting some foam there greatly improves that.