3D printing as a hobby has become more popular in recent years as the technology becomes more accessible to average people. But at the same time I’m realizing it’s kinda being overhyped the same way AI is being overhyped. Frequently on social media I’ll see people make short form video of 3D printed stuff and it’s always the same sort of slop. Different trends pop up all over the place like articulated models, fidget toys, print in place models, those spiral fit models, and several thousand different 3DBenchys. If you know you know. And at the end of the day they all become useless plastic junk that will end up in a landfill. Because be honest, nobody cares about your 13th rainbow articulated dragon with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson face on it that you printed this month.

And this is fundamentally I think the same mindset that gen AI fans have in regards to “creating” “art”. I have an anecdote to share. One time at work, a co worker was describing how he used ChatGPT to generate a children’s picture book for his child. And the way he described it, it was like he was very proud of that and thought it was very cool that ChatGPT was able to make that. That’s when I realized the difference between people who enjoy creating things and those who enjoy the creative process.

A lot of people just care about the end product. And having technically been part of the creation process fulfills this dopamine rush and sense of accomplishment. I don’t necessarily think this is unethical, or even bad, but it does feel extremely shallow. This is the antithesis to what actual creatives want. Artists want to demonstrate their skill, writers want to put their ideas into their own words, programmers want to solve problems through logic that they came up with. These are all forms of creative expression where the process is the hobby. That’s why you have people who knit instead of just buying a sweater. People who cook instead of eating out. etc. etc. But so many people don’t want that. Or have no creative desire. They are content with simply having a product. Like someone who generates some lofi beats to study to, or someone who asks ChatGPT to make an app that can keep track of their schedule.

And that’s what I think is happening with 3D printing. I’ve met a lot of people who own a 3D printed and use it exclusively to just print models they find online. These kinds of people who usually don’t have any 3D modeling or CAD experience and are just purely grabbing files from the internet and shoving it into the printer. Even if we’re talking about prints that have utility and aren’t junk toys, most of them are just products that can already buy for cheaper or products you don’t actually need but are compelled to print because you spend $500 on a printer and have to justify it somehow. 3D printing and AI really demonstrate this sort of tech excess that most people use for pointless things. Especially when you consider both have pretty clear environmental impacts (granted 3D printing is nowhere as bad). At the end of the day I don’t want to just demonize hobbies that require resource demand, because all hobbies are superfluous and I don’t know how to weigh personal happiness over environmental effects. People should be allowed to do things that make them happy. But I am going to throw on some devil horns and gatekeep a little.

People who benefit most from a 3D printer are people who actually have design experience and can edit or make their own models. Artists and DIY hobbyists can actually take advantage 3D printers because the main point is that the printer is a tool to allow you to fabricate whatever you want. Having the knowledge of 3D modeling and fabrication is how you realize that. I won’t lie, when I first got my printer I also fell into the trap of just wanting to download cool models on the internet and watch them materialize on my printer. But the novelty wore of sooo quickly. But I wouldn’t say 3D printing is my hobby. Design work is. And my printer is merely a tool. I am way more engaged with the design process and doing CAD work than I am with the act of printing. To me, what I really enjoy is working on projects.