What’s a good use for them? I have been on the cusp of buying or building one for many years, but outside of the occasional desire to 3D print a random replacement or enhancement part for something, such as a new back for my minidisc player, which I can do via mail order 3D printing, all the examples at say Microcenter are just admittedly neat-looking but ultimately useless chintzy plastic goods.
Gridfinity is an awesome organizational system you can print yourself, customized to your needs. I’ve also printed watch charging stands, a bottle drying stand, games, and gifts for other people. Will you save money? Probably not, but it’s fun.
I had kinda the same feeling before I got my first 3d printer too.
The first real thing I printed was a case for holding camera batteries to prevent them from just rolling around in my luggage. It was in PETG and it felt super high quality, and not chintzy as all.
I'm currently holding a 3NM torque wrench, where the handle and torque mechanism was 3d printed, and it feels like something you want to use on a day to day basis. It's smooth and feels good in the hand.
The chintzy probably comes from low density printing/ low quality materials. I've printed out parts that were carbon fiber infused PLA and PETG and just look and feel absolutely awesome.
Board game organizers are my source of interest. Kickstarter-type games, especially, often need more efficient organizers than the designers included in the box. And it’s very difficult (in my experience) to get useful off-the-shelf organizers, particularly if you want everything to fit snugly in the original box.
How useful a 3D printer is depends entirely on how you use it. My recent projects were:
* Some prototype compressor wheels and housings for an RC vehicle
* Wargaming terrain
* A small enclosure for an oddly shaped LCD panel that I'm using as a dash in my racing sim rig
* A micro ATX PC case
They're useful if you've got complimentary hobbies, but if your reaction to a 3D printer is "I'd probably never use that", you're probably right. If you're not planning on designing your own parts, then mail order is fine for occasional use.
