3D Printing: How to convince my wife to let me buy one? Suggestions?

Captain Video

Well-known member
Good Afternoon Everyone:
I would like to have a 3D printer for my Radio Control Addiction...I mean hobby. She does not complain to much when I purchase stuff for my planes, quad or rc car but I think a 3D printer would help me repair broken parts, make control horns, etc. Gentlemen and Ladies, what convincing reasons have you used to let my wife see the light!
Thanks!
 

Turbojoe

Elite member
Go to Thingiverse. Show her all the really cool figurines etc. that you can print for her. Let her browse the site and save the things she wants printed. She'll then ask how fast the printer can be there! Print your goodies in between hers and all will be good....;)

Joe
 

jhitesma

Some guy in the desert
Mentor
I'd look more towards utility. I've used mine to fix/repair/replace all kinds of broken things around the house.

Just last month my co-worker broke the key for her Honda. It's one of those smart keys with an integrated fob and the plastic had shattered. A new key from Honda was almost $200 - but I was able to find a couple of designs on thingiverse for replacements. Most of them had some minor issues but I eventually found one that worked well after I made a minor modification to it (it had room for a truck release that her minivan didn't need) and printed it in Nylon both for strength and so I could dye it to her color preference:

20190105_183807 (1).jpg


A few hours of printing (mostly testing designs that weren't quite right) and a few dollars worth of filament - and now she has the only purple Honda key in town :D

I've also made things like a pen holder for our family message board so all of our multi-colored dry erase pens are always handy. Or new hinges/clasps for our nice big igloo cooler which had fallen apart. Or adapters for our air pumps to fit different mattresses/pool floats instead of having to buy new pumps because we lost the inflators. Same with my daughters toys - loose a small vital part that makes the toy useless? Just print a replacement!

Honestly I'm pretty sure my old printer paid for itself over the 3 years it was my only printer in small repair parts I made. My new MK3 will take a bit longer to pay for itself since it's more than twice as much as I paid for my old printer...but it's so much more reliable and easier to use I'm very glad I was able to pay the extra for it!

That said....the downside is I have gallon ziploc bags full of plastic toys and tests piling up that I hate to just toss but really don't need to keep around now :D Just don't tell her about that part ;)
 

Shurakair

Member
I have to agree with Joe. Head over to Thingiverse and search for whatever interests her, you're bound to find something.
From my wife's Thingiverse collection:
If she has an iWatch
Or a Fitbit
Maybe she likes to bowl
If she likes to garden
Or maybe to cook
Or perhaps she's a neat-freak

My wife got a 5.1 surround soundbar for Christmas but because of where our TV is, there wasn't a practical way of mounting it with the hardware it came with so I designed a ceiling mount for it and printed it. It works great!

Soundbar Bracket.png
 

kilroy07

Legendary member
When one of the hinges on our fridge broke (french door) I was able to print one out that lasted for nearly 8 months.

Recently her and the girls were updating the Geko's tank and I printed out coasters so the wrought iron stand wouldn't mar the hardwood floors and some "brackets" that anchored the tank to the stand so that if it's bumped it won't go crashing to the floor.

Oh, and there's the stands for the Ipads, chicken feeders, vents for the mealworm farm... I could go on!

You just have to convince her of your skills in 3D design! ;)
 

Headbang

Master member
My wife was almost more excited then me to see my first benchy last week. She has a list that is way beyond mine for printing! A plane is a hard sell, a 3d printer is easy.
 

Blue02TJ

Member
Luckily you can get an intro printer like the Ender 3 for around $200 so it’s not breaking the bank. I got mine past the wife budget because I had it on the Christmas list along with a new laptop so I could run fusion 360.