Category: Getting Started
New to 3D printing? This is your starting point. We cover everything from setting up your first printer and choosing the right filament, to understanding the broader landscape of brands, technologies, and industry trends shaping the hobby in 2026. Whether you’ve just unboxed your first machine or you’re trying to make sense of the latest product launches and market moves, you’ll find it here. Complete beginners should start with our setup guides and filament basics. Industry watchers will find our brand analysis and launch breakdowns useful for staying current without sifting through press releases.
LightBurn 101: Beginner’s Tutorial for 2026
Key Takeaways LightBurn is not a drawing program. You design your picture somewhere else, like Inkscape or even free clip art, and LightBurn turns that picture into laser instructions: where the laser moves, how fast it moves, and how…
Top 10 Laser Engraving Pro Tips for Cleaner, Safer Results
Key Takeaways Top 10 Laser Engraving Pro Tips work best as a fixed sequence. Verify the stock and prepare the workspace, examine optics and focus, test one change on matching scrap, use Preview and Frame, then confirm placement. Log…
Food Safe 3D Printer Filament: What’s Actually Certified, and What Still Isn’t
Certification details verified directly against manufacturer and standards-body pages in August 2026. Key Takeaways Food safe 3D printer filament exists, and buying it doesn’t make your print food safe. The certificate covers the plastic on the reel. Everything between…
How to Make a 3D Scan of a Product (Without Buying a Scanner First)
Your phone can already capture a physical object well enough to print a working replacement. Here are the three routes, the two free apps that export slicer-ready files, and the scale trap that quietly ruins good scans.
How to Split 3D Model Into Parts for Printing (Without Ruining the Fit)
Key Takeaways To learn how to split 3D model into parts, start with a slicer Cut tool when a straight plane will work. PrusaSlicer, Bambu Studio, and OrcaSlicer provide fast visual cuts. Choose CAD or a mesh editor when…
How to Change Layer Height at a Specific Z in Cura (And What to Do Instead)
Key Takeaways Short answer: you can’t change layer height at Z in Cura. Version 5.13 ships no setting, plugin, or post-processing script that switches layer height partway up a print. Layer height is a single global value for the…
Cura Ironing Settings: Why Yours Look Worse Than No Ironing at All
Key Takeaways The Cura ironing settings ship turned off, and the factory numbers behind them are cautious: Ironing Flow 10%, Ironing Line Spacing 0.1 mm, Zig Zag pattern, Monotonic Ironing Order off. On most printers that combination under-extrudes and…
Ender 3 Acceleration Settings in OrcaSlicer: What Actually Applies (And What Gets Ignored)
Orca clamps your Ender 3 acceleration to a ceiling you never see. Here are the factory numbers Orca ships for every Ender 3, where the real limit lives, and what to change first.
3D Printer Settings: A Beginner’s Guide to Better Prints
If you’re staring at a slicer screen packed with temperatures and percentages, you’re in good company. The first settings page can feel harder than the printer itself. Some slicers explain each box right there in the panel. That is…
3D Print Sanding: How to Kill Layer Lines Without Melting Your Print
Key Takeaways Open 3D print sanding at 180 to 220 grit. Go coarser only for badly pronounced layer lines or before spray putty, which needs the scratches to grip. Coarse grits and power tools together round off edges, so…
