Tools & Materials

Must have tools

  • Generic 3D printer toolkit (brand doesn't matter much - the tools are simple, cheap, easy to manufacture, and generally quite durable)

  • Quality hex wrench set (Bondhus brand with ball-ends are good - generic brands are cheaper but don't fit as well and aren't as strong)

  • Brass brushes (helps to clean the nozzle - essential for PETG)

  • Mini heat gun (helpful for cleaning up stray strands of filament on prints - especially helpful on PETG and nylon prints; a cheap hairdryer works too)

  • Mini spray bottle (for spraying IPA to clean the print bed)


Supplies


Managing heat and noise

  • 24" Photo tent print enclosure (great substitute for a rigid enclosure to maintain consistent temperatures and reduce noise - tape recycled bubble wrap sheets as needed to provide more insulation)

  • 12" x 12"x 0.25" cork boards (insulate bottom of heatbed to reduce power consumption and warmup times - you will need to trim to fit your printer)


Filaments to try

  • 3D-Solutech PLA (Good beginner filament - easy to print and very pretty - best for product photos. Material is more brittle and heat-sensitive comparted to PETG and ABS so not appropriate for many functional parts

  • Inland PLA (Another good budget brand)

  • Hatchbox3D PETG (Consistent semi-gloss finish- good durability suitable for customer samples/prototypes and even production parts - may require a hairdryer/heatgun to clean up thin strands depending on print settings and part geometry)

  • Inland PETG (Consistent matte finish especially when using "ironing" feature - less stringy than Hatchbox but poorer bridging performance)