I stopped 3D printing "clever" projects, and now my prints actually save me money

Published Oct 28, 2026, 10:00 AM EDT Sydney Butler is a technology writer with over 20 years of experience as a freelance PC technician and system builder and over a decade as a professional writer. He's worked for more than a decade in user education. On How-To Geek, he writes commerce content, guides, opinions, and specializes in editing hardware and cutting edge technology articles. Sydney started working as a freelance computer technician around the age of 13, before which he was in charge of running the computer center for his school. (He also ran LAN gaming tournaments when the teachers weren't looking!) His interests include VR, PC, Mac, gaming, 3D printing, consumer electronics, the web, and privacy. He holds a Master of Arts degree in Research Psychology with a minor in media and technology studies. His masters dissertation examined the potential for social media to spread misinformation. Outside of How-To Geek, he hosts the Online Tech Tips YouTube Channel, and writes for Online Tech Tips, Switching to Mac, and Helpdesk Geek. Sydney also writes for Expert Reviews UK. He also has bylines at 9to5Mac, 9to5Google, 9to5Toys, Tom's Hardware, MakeTechEasier, and Laptop Mag. There's a common thing that happens with tech enthusiasts where, instead of being a means to an end, the actual technology becomes their hobby. For example, I know plenty of people who are obsessed with optimizing their mechanical keyboards and the typing-speed test results they can get, but don't really do anything with the keyboard to justify the effort. The gadget has become the hobby — and that's what 3D printing became for me. I stopped inventing problems for my printer to solve A solution should never be looking for a problem Everyone knows the saying, "if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail," and for me my 3D printer became a little like that. I would sit and browse Thingiverse with no real purpose other than to see what "clever" new thing people had come up with. Obviously, there's nothing wrong with doing that, but in my case I had the printer, so now I wanted to do something "useful" with it. However, if you don't actually have a pre-existing problem to solve, this can quickly get out of control. These days, I split the difference. When I encounter something (like cable management or drill-free picture hooks) where I am contemplating a purchase of factory-made goods, I'll go see if anyone's designed a model that does the same thing. I do have genuinely useful 3D-printed objects that I use every day, and they cost cents versus dollars compared to the factory stuff, but I'm not as quick to jump on every little thing. A tiny replacement part can be worth more than an entire printed gadget We're just filling the gaps One area where my 3D printer is now saving me money, or, in some cases, making the impossible possible, is spare parts. It's not uncommon for expensive gadgets to either have no spares available or have them cost so much that it feels better to buy a new one and keep your current one as a spare. Even cheap stuff can be an issue. I had to replace the covers on my new 3DS XL, and originals are nowhere to be found, so I ended up ordering third-party shells from Temu. While the top shell that goes behind the screen is fine, I'm not happy with the fit and feel of it. So I looked, and indeed there's a nice model of this shell plate online. I've printed out a draft version to test it, and it fits great. However, since I have a resin printer on the way, I've decided I want to see if I can make a resin version of this panel using ABS-like resin. I've also recently suffered some minor damage to my beloved 34-inch Sony Trinitron TV while moving it downstairs to my new office. The front AV flap door has broken, which is not uncommon, but since I still have the broken one, I'm thinking about trying to replicate it after taking measurements. A task that's currently beyond my ken, but which would make a good project if I ever find the time. I stopped printing the whole solution when a few pieces would do It's all about efficiency One of my go-to tricks these days, is to put the name or model of something I own into a model search engine, and see what parts are available. Some of these are straight replacements, as I just mentioned, but a lot of the stuff out there is mods or unofficial upgrades. Printing a poop chute for my 3D printers is probably the most self-referential one, but there are hose adapters for vacuums, and upgrades for devices like my Quest 3 VR headset. Thousands of models were made by people who looked at the things they had and decided their designs were imperfect. Or, at least, not right for their specific use cases. When I put the make and model of my Plex server (a Lenovo mini PC as pictured above), there were plenty of models making it easier to mount or modify the little PC into something different. Lenovo probably sold some sort of vertical stand at some point, although I don't think it would have been cheaper than the dollar it cost me to print the stand I found. I count the costs that the slicer doesn’t Speaking of cost, I'm thinking differently about that as well. Since I also make licensed models that are sold at a local market, I've had to determine how much they cost in order to decide on a price with a decent profit margin. That means figuring out material cost, estimating power use, and also how much post-processing costs based on what the person doing it is worth. But why was I just applying this logic to the 3D models we sell? Obviously, if I'm printing something for fun, it's irrelevant. For me, this is usually a decorative model that I intend to paint. However, when I'm printing a headphone hook, I should also be calculating the total cost versus just ordering one. That is what I'm doing now before I decide to print or buy something.