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.
How to Make Money With a 3D Printer: The Honest Numbers (2026)
Your printer sits idle most of the week. You’ve watched the videos where someone turns a spare bedroom into a business, and you’ve wondered whether the machine on your desk could do the same. Search “how to make money…
Is 3D Printing Safe for Kids? A Parent’s Honest Guide (2026)
Key Takeaways FDM printing with PLA is low-risk for supervised kids. Resin is not. “No smell” doesn’t mean “no emissions.” PLA still releases fine particles. Ventilation matters more than any single feature. A filter helps, but it doesn’t replace…
3D Printer Nozzles Explained: Sizes, Materials, and When to Swap Them
Key Takeaways 0.4mm = balanced default; 0.6mm = big-print speed; 0.2mm = fine detail (roughly 3× slower). Brass or steel for PLA and PETG; hardened steel, ruby, or diamond for carbon fiber and abrasives. Most clogs are fixable with…
Best Glue Sticks for 3D Printing (2026): The Ones Worth Buying, by Material and Surface
Key Takeaways Best overall: Elmer’s Disappearing Purple glue stick. It goes on purple, dries clear, and washes off with water. Cheapest way to stock up: Amazon Basics purple washable sticks. Same PVA, buy them by the box. Printing ABS,…
Nozzle Temp for PLA: The Right Settings for Clean, Strong Prints
Key Takeaways Standard PLA prints best at 190-220°C, and 200-210°C is the safe starting point for most machines. Hotter isn’t stronger. Past the sweet spot you get stringing and blobs, not better layer bonding. Your printer’s temperature readout can…
How to Dry and Store Filament: A Beginner’s Guide to Beating Moisture (2026)
Key Takeaways Wet filament, not your printer, causes most stringing, weak layers, and rough surfaces. Aim for around 10% relative humidity in storage. Drier isn’t always better. Dry filament three ways: a dedicated dryer (easiest), a food dehydrator (cheapest),…
Commercial License to Sell 3D Prints: What You Actually Need (2026)
Key Takeaways Quick answer: You can sell 3D prints legally, but only if you own the rights or hold a commercial license to sell 3D prints made from that model. Your own designs and most functional parts are fine.…
Bambu Lab A2L First Setup Guide: Unboxing to First Print (Without the Day-One Mistakes)
Key Takeaways Plan for about 30 minutes of assembly, then 25 to 40 minutes of forced calibration before your first print. Two steps beginners skip and regret: pull out the transit brackets and the Z-axis limiters before you power…
Creality K3 & KliTek: Specs, Release Date & Community Reaction (2026)
Last updated: June 16, 2026. Now reflects new details from a Creality product-expert interview: the K3’s build volume, USB-C heated heads, eddy-current calibration, an 80,000-cycle durability claim, and a planned change to Klipper root access. Key Takeaways When Creality…
Stratasys Sought to Block the Bambu Lab H2C in Europe. A Court Just Said No.
Here’s a thing that doesn’t happen very often in patent court: a company gets beaten with its own words. That’s exactly what occurred on April 24, 2026, when the Unified Patent Court (UPC) in The Hague dismissed Stratasys’ emergency…
