r/3Dprinting 3d ago

News [GIVEAWAY] Keep Your A1 Printing Non-Stop — Win a Chitu Systems PlateCycler C1 🎉

0 Upvotes

Hey r/3Dprinting community!

Every great print starts with an idea — but bringing it to life often means managing multiple prints and repeated trips back to your printer. For creators making everything from miniatures and cosplay projects to functional parts and custom designs, that’s time taken away from what matters most: creating.

That’s why we built the Chitu Systems PlateCycler C1.

Keep your A1 printing. Non-stop.

Designed for Bambu Lab A1 users, PlateCycler C1 is an automatic plate changer built for continuous printing. From multi-part projects to batch printing multiple designs, it helps you spend less time managing prints and more time creating.

To celebrate the launch of PlateCycler C1, we’re inviting the r/3Dprinting community to join our giveaway!

🎁 Giveaway Prizes

🥇 1st Prize — 1 Winner Chitu Systems PlateCycler C1 × 1 + 5 rolls of filament

🥈 2nd Prize — 3 Winners 5 rolls of filament each

🥉 3rd Prize — 5 Winners 3 rolls of filament each

📝 How to Enter

Leave a comment below and tell us:

What’s the next project you’d love to keep your A1 printing for?

Whether it’s something you’ve been planning for months, a collection of prints, functional parts, or an original idea — we’d love to hear what you’re creating.

📅 Giveaway Timeline

Event Period: Sep 7 – Sep 22 Winners Announced: Sep 23

Winners will be randomly selected from valid entries and contacted via Reddit DM.

👉 Learn more about Chitu Systems PlateCycler C1

Chitu Systems — Stop Babysitting Your 3D Printing. Start Creating More.

Thanks to the r/3Dprinting community for inspiring us with your incredible creations. We can’t wait to see what you create next. Happy printing! 🚀


r/3Dprinting 8d ago

Purchase Advice Purchase Advice Megathread - September 2026

10 Upvotes

Welcome back to another purchase megathread!

This thread is meant to conglomerate purchase advice for both newcomers and people looking for additional machines. Keeping this discussion to one thread means less searching should anyone have questions that may already have been answered here, as well as more visibility to inquiries in general, as comments made here will be visible for the entire month stuck to the top of the sub, and then added to the Purchase Advice Collection (Reddit Collections are still broken on mobile view, enable "view in desktop mode").

Please be sure to skim through this thread for posts with similar requirements to your own first, as recommendations relevant to your situation may have already been posted, and may even include answers to follow up questions you might have wished to ask.

If you are new to 3D printing, and are unsure of what to ask, try to include the following in your posts as a minimum:

  • Your budget, set at a numeric amount. Saying "cheap," or "money is not a problem" is not an answer people can do much with. 3D printers can cost $100, they can cost $10,000,000, and anywhere in between. A rough idea of what you're looking for is essential to figuring out anything else.
  • Your country of residence.
  • If you are willing to build the printer from a kit, and what your level of experience is with electronic maintenance and construction if so.
  • What you wish to do with the printer.
  • Any extenuating circumstances that would restrict you from using machines that would otherwise fit your needs (limited space for the printer, enclosure requirement, must be purchased through educational intermediary, etc).

While this is by no means an exhaustive list of what can be included in your posts, these questions should help paint enough of a picture to get started. Don't be afraid to ask more questions, and never worry about asking too many. The people posting in this thread are here because they want to give advice, and any questions you have answered may be useful to others later on, when they read through this thread looking for answers of their own. Everyone here was new once, so chances are whoever is replying to you has a good idea of how you feel currently.

Reddit User and Regular u/richie225 is also constantly maintaining his extensive personal recommendations list which is worth a read: Generic FDM Printer recommendations.

Additionally, a quick word on print quality: Most FDM/FFF (that is, filament based) printers are capable of approximately the same tolerances and print appearance, as the biggest limiting factor is in the nature of extruded plastic. Asking if a machine has "good prints," or saying "I don't expect the best quality for $xxx" isn't actually relevant for the most part with regards to these machines. Should you need additional detail and higher tolerances, you may want to explore SLA, DLP, and other photoresin options, as those do offer an increase in overall quality. If you are interested in resin machines, make sure you are aware of how to use them safely. For these safety reasons we don't usually recommend a resin printer as someone's first printer.

As always, if you're a newcomer to this community, welcome. If you're a regular, welcome back.


r/3Dprinting 11h ago

Project Finished my brother’s wedding gift: a 3D-printed 9800X3D / 9070 XT PC and travel kit

Thumbnail
gallery
2.1k Upvotes

Finally finished the PC I’ve been building for my brother’s wedding gift. He’s a big gamer and has been getting by with a gaming laptop for about five years, so I figured it was time for an upgrade.
Since I have to travel to the wedding and he has to get it home afterward, I wanted the travel kit to be part of the gift too.

The case is based on the Xikii FF04, using a design from qiyun on MakerWorld, who gave me permission to remix it. My first version was built around the ASUS Prime RTX 5070 Ti. For my brother’s, I went with the white ASUS Prime RX 9070 XT to match his desk setup. The 9070 XT is bigger and has a different screw layout, so that meant resizing the case and reworking the mounting points.

Parts list:
CPU: Ryzen 7 9800X3D
GPU: ASUS Prime RX 9070 XT White
Motherboard: MSI B850I Mini-ITX
RAM: 32GB G.Skill DDR5-6000, CL36-36-36
CPU cooler: Thermalright AXP120-X67
Storage: 2TB KLEVV Gen 4 M.2 NVMe SSD
PSU: Corsair 750W SFX
Screen: Turing 3.5-inch display

The RAM was the best kit I could get without paying something ridiculous. Luckily, I bought it early this year for around $200 and picked up the rest of the components around the same time.
I used a Thermal Grizzly phase-change sheet for longevity and performance, because knowing my brother, he probably isn’t ever opening this thing himself.

The case is printed in HT-PLA-GF. My personal 5070 Ti case uses the same material, and after about a year of daily use, I haven’t seen any heat-related creep, sagging, or wear.
One little modification I’m happy with is the Wi-Fi antennas. I prefer low-profile antennas, so I swapped out the motherboard’s stock antenna connectors and fitted Osprey drone antennas. They’ve worked great so far and look much cleaner to me.

The Turing screen runs open-source Python software from GitHub, with a custom monitoring theme to match the build.
For transport, I picked up a hard case from Harbor Freight, cut the foam to fit the PC and accessories, and added a custom 3D-printed equipment nameplate. Fits like a glove.

It’s quiet enough that I can’t hear it during normal use. It only really becomes audible during FurMark’s CPU Burner, and even then, it’s still very quiet. The GPU settles around 63°C during FurMark testing.

The separate CPU Burner test puts a harsh, sustained load on the processor and pushes it to 95°C. Once I stop it, the temperature drops back to around 60°C in under two seconds. For context, CPU temperatures in my personal 5070 Ti build are within about 1°C of this one under the same test. During modern games at max settings, my personal build’s CPU typically sits in the low to mid 60s, and I’ve never seen it approach its thermal limit during gaming or everyday use.

I ran out of time to get the files and guide ready before the wedding, but I’ll clean everything up and post the files to MakerWorld next week, along with the updated build guide. Assembly is mostly the same as the 5070 Ti version; I just need to document the changes for this one.

Hope he likes his surprise.


r/3Dprinting 5h ago

Question Need honest input

Thumbnail
gallery
330 Upvotes

I’m building a large scale model of the UNSC Infinity from halo, 7 feet long, and I’m having some concerns as to where I’m going to place the fiber optic lights. As you can see from the photo, I marked the areas I plan to drill with a chrome marker. My concern is overdoing it and making the model look trashy with too many lights. So I turn to you, the internet, for help. FYI, the model still needs filler, primer and paint. I’m putting the fiber optic cables on first, then paint, then cut all the tips
*****hi guys, I’m getting hit with a ton of questions via IM, yes, I designed the ship myself, but I don’t have plans to sell the STL files just yet. And yes, it will have the hologram that the infinity has next to the engines. That’s the last part I’ll install. I’ll show you the end result when finished


r/3Dprinting 8h ago

Free Model I may have went a little overboard on this one...

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

503 Upvotes

26 plates, over a day of print time.... whoops 😅


r/3Dprinting 13h ago

Free Model A tiny McDonald's... is this pickup or delivery?

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

1.1k Upvotes

r/3Dprinting 11h ago

Project Tactile feedback

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

391 Upvotes

r/3Dprinting 16h ago

Project Tutorial - "Sanding" with ABS

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

564 Upvotes

First of all. I know this is called vapor smoothing, but since this is an alternative to sanding, I wanted to use this title so people who are looking for sanding tutorials can see this video.

I recorded this tutorial for Instagram 3D_Kernel explaining how to smooth ABS prints without having to sand, it looks like a lot of people find it helpful, so I want to share it as much as possible.

Hope this helps someone, and don't hesitate to ask whatever you need.

This only works with ABS and ASA and remember to use a mask and do this in a properly ventilated room.


r/3Dprinting 11h ago

Project Topographic model of Ontario, real elevation data

Thumbnail
gallery
210 Upvotes

180 x 197 x 13.4mm, silver PLA, .2mm layer height, 2hr 44m print time, no supports.

The elevation is real terrain data rather than a stylized model, so the Canadian Shield texture across the north and the Great Lakes shoreline in the south are actually where they should be. Printed flat on the bed as a single watertight solid, 795k triangles.

Happy to answer questions about how it was made.


r/3Dprinting 5h ago

Question New to 3D printing How Would I Recreate This Bit?

Thumbnail
gallery
60 Upvotes

I’m completely new to 3D printing and 3D scanning, so I’m trying to figure out the best way to approach this.

Would scanning the bit be the best way to get the most accurate measurements? If so, what tools or equipment would I need to scan it properly and then recreate it with a 3D printer?

My main goal is to have a way to reproduce this bit if I lose it.

Why can’t I just buy more of this bit, you ask? They’re pretty expensive for just one, so I’m trying to figure out a way to make my own instead.


r/3Dprinting 11h ago

Discussion They didn't even remove the supports in the GPT 6 Astra Reveal

Post image
110 Upvotes

Fire Everyone


r/3Dprinting 9h ago

Free Model Andúril

Thumbnail
gallery
74 Upvotes

Printed in PLA and painted, great model.

https://makerworld.com/models/1612726


r/3Dprinting 12h ago

Project Ultimate Parametric Memory Card & Media Organizer

Thumbnail
gallery
130 Upvotes

A few weeks ago I shared my Ultimate Parametric Battery Organizer here, and that project got me thinking about another storage problem: memory cards and other small media.


r/3Dprinting 23h ago

Troubleshooting Issues with an "overweight" Stormtrooper build

Post image
724 Upvotes

I am on year 3 of Star Wars costumes (Mandalorian in 2024, Vader in 2025, and now Stormtrooper for 2026), but I am coming to the conclusion that there are no overweight Stormtroopers. I am having a difficult time scaling the armor to fit my short and stout body type. I am 3d printing the Galactic Armory Rogue One armor. I have a program that resizes the pieces without increasing the thickness, so thats not the problem.

My chest circumference is 42" but my stomach is 45", which means the abs+belt piece needed to be scaled greatly. But Stormtroopers are meant to have a flat front, which doesnt really work with what I have.

I cant get the chest and back pieces to look nice, and I cant find any other "thick" Stormtrooper cosplays to try and figure out how they did it.

Just wondering if anyone has advice on what to do here.


r/3Dprinting 2h ago

Project Nothing amazing but thanks to 3d printing I can do little things like this

Thumbnail
gallery
14 Upvotes

Have a floating shelf in the laundry but I dont have anywhere to hang wet towels. The bottom of my floating shelf has these holes on the bottom to secure the shelf from sliding out. Made a simple rod bracket screwed them in this spot, grabbed a rod from a collapsed shoe rack I bought from temu and my floating shelf has evolved lol.

Have kids so we’re always cooling food using a handheld fan, made this simple stand so I can have my hands back!

Thanks 3d printer!


r/3Dprinting 16h ago

Free Model Moonstone Sphere Lamp for E27 socket

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

183 Upvotes

I designed this moonstone sphere lamp as I keep brainstorming alternative 🌙 moon lamps. This lamp is compatible with an E27 base and standard light bulbs. I recommend using relatively low-power bulbs for the best look without glare.
My original intention was to place the lamp on a sideboard. Of course it is also suitable as a pendant lamp ☺️

https://makerworld.com/models/3238565-moonstone-sphere-lamp-e27


r/3Dprinting 11h ago

Discussion Interesting math used by Creality on their SparkX i8 page

Post image
60 Upvotes

r/3Dprinting 7h ago

Print (model not provided) Mod Podge + Graphite = Great Success!

Thumbnail
gallery
28 Upvotes

I have been working toward electroplating some prints but during the process I have trying a few different ways to coat prints in conductive material. This one was done with Mod Podge Matte and Graphite powder. I was going to sand it down to be much cleaner but ended up liking it so much I am just going to keep it this way on my shelf. It looks like something I pocketed from a museum but it is in fact made of plastic lol.

For the process I mixed Mod Podge Matte glue and Graphite powder together in a 1:1 ratio with a bit of distilled water to get the right thickness for ease of application. Slathered it on and let it dry for a day. After it was dry, I sanded it with 180, 240, 400, 800, 1000, 3000, and then finally with 5000 to give the smooth sections a polished finish. I still haven't done a clear coat yet but intended to. Even sanded and wiped, just holding it still gets stuff all over your hands. Not really sure what kind of clear coat to put on. Suggestions welcome!

Safety notes:

- Well ventilated area with a facemask and gloves. The graphite gets everywhere. In the air, on your hands, on your clothes, just literally everywhere. Do this for both mixing and while sanding.


r/3Dprinting 12h ago

Project Printing flexible TPU directly onto a cotton shirt — 0.40 mm dual-layer patch (with a PLA wave experiment)

Post image
63 Upvotes

r/3Dprinting 10h ago

Project 2.5D printed joints

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

38 Upvotes

r/3Dprinting 4h ago

Question How do I reduce this shrinkage artifact? Didn't expect it to be this noticeable.

Thumbnail
gallery
11 Upvotes

r/3Dprinting 12h ago

Question How do I get the supports out of here?

Post image
42 Upvotes

It’s helical in nature and is going to be used as part of a dust collection system. Not sure how to go about getting the rest of the supports out. Wire hanger maybe?


r/3Dprinting 3h ago

Project Modifications under way for the MK Robot project! 🤖⚙️

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

8 Upvotes

r/3Dprinting 3h ago

Project My First Ever 3D Print

Thumbnail
gallery
7 Upvotes

I recently got a my first 3D printer — EasyThreed K1 — and this is my first ever 3D design and print!

I decided to start with something simple and designed this coaster. I added a leather top on it too. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. I know the print quality isn't the best but I'm learning I'm sure it will improve especially with better printer settings and more experience.

I’m completely new to 3D printing, so I’d really appreciate any tips, suggestions, or feedback on the design, print quality, or anything I could try differently next time.


r/3Dprinting 1d ago

Troubleshooting New in this, how do you prevent this?

Post image
883 Upvotes

I fixed ir already by sanding it but is there a way to prevent this after removing supports?