My First 3D Printer: Learning the Basics

The world of 3D printing changed for me when my uncle suggested we turn it into a business. What started as an idea quickly became a fascinating hands-on experience that taught me more than I expected.

The First Steps: Getting Started

Our journey began with the purchase of a FlashForge Adventurer 5M printer. For a beginner machine, it was fantastic—affordable, compact, and capable of fast, high-quality prints. We paired it with 1 kg of orange PETG and 1 kg of black PLA filament.

Our first print was the famous calibration model, the Benchy (a small 3D-printed boat), and watching the machine work its magic was instantly captivating. What struck me most was the process itself—seeing how it built a real, tangible object layer by layer. This wasn’t just images on a screen anymore. Thin strands of heated plastic were being laid down precisely, one on top of another, slowly forming something I could actually hold.

The Robot That Worked Right Off the Bed

One of the coolest early projects was an articulated robot that printed fully assembled. The amazing part? It came off the print bed already able to move. The joints were printed in place, with just enough clearance that they could rotate and bend without any assembly required.

When I showed it to friends and family, their reactions confirmed what I was feeling—this technology was seriously impressive. People were amazed that a machine could create something so intricate, with moving parts, all in one print. That’s when I realized 3D printing was more than a hobby; it was a genuinely powerful tool.

Learning the Craft

We focused on mastering the basics: downloading a slicer (Orca FlashForge), running test prints, and watching videos to dial in the perfect settings for the best quality. I learned how layer height affects the smoothness and detail of prints. Temperature changes how the filament flows and adheres. Speed determines whether you get clean results or messy failures. Every adjustment was a lesson in how to optimize the final product.

One of the coolest upgrades came from my uncle’s idea: we 3D-printed custom parts for the FlashForge and ordered others online to build an enclosure. I will write about that in the next post.

Those first few weeks were incredible. Each successful print felt like an achievement, and I was learning real skills while turning digital designs into physical objects.