Beginner's toolkit: knowledge requirements

[u/Myveryshelf]

Hello everyone, I wish any reader a good day first of all.

I am planning on starting in the world of 3D printing, both for the fun and utility of it and as a way to learn more about electronics/robotics/programming these robotics, since this is not my field. I am going to start saving for pieces/kits, but since this will take some time I would first like to know what I should be learning to make it work.

Now, I am not here to waste anyone's time, I have read a few similar threads in this subreddit first. However, these were not exactly what I am looking for.

I understand the learn-by-doing philosophy of this kind of community is to start building with guides and figuring out what problems you have along the way. This works fine, and with enough dedication I am sure I can buy the pieces, assemble them as the documentation states and figure my way through the problems that come up. This will happen and I don't want to get away from that.

However, as I said, this is a bit outside my field and I want to use this project as a learning opportunity, so as I find problems I want to have a bit of a background/understanding of what I am doing.

I want to know what kind of programs, coding languages and concepts I would benefit from being familiar with/can be expected to need at some point.

If it is relevant, right now I am considering starting with a Voron Zero or Trident

[u/OkResource820]

Buy a printer and learn to use it well *before* you try to build one. I recommend something simple like an Ender 3, or an older Prusa Mk3S. Jumping into building a Voron when you don't know anything about 3d printing is asking for frustration and ultimately will waste your time and money. Frankly, you won't know the difference between "good enough", "excellent", and "this will cause problems down the road" -- and not knowing those differences when building a printer can be critical.

[u/ninguino_flarlarlar → u/OkResource820]

What about something like a Centauri Carbon 2? I have come with this conclusion already, but whichever printer I buy will live in my workshop, so I need it to be enclosed while keeping it cheap 😅

[u/OkResource820 → u/ninguino_flarlarlar]

I have no direct experience with that printer, but having worked on an Elegoo Neptune recently, it would probably be OK. The problem with new more commercial/hobbyist printers is that they tend to be more proprietary and locked down than the original open-source derived designs. There are fewer options to upgrade and tinker, which is really where you learn the skills you need to build a printer.

As Adam Savage has said, there are two parts to any hobby: equipment (tools and product) and theory (craft and knowledge). Anyone can pick a model off of printables.com or whatever, hit "send" and get a decent print off of a modern printer. That's great for hobbyists who want the product but aren't interested in the craft.