[shocks]

It doesn’t take a lot of time though...

The latch for my vacuum clean bin broke. I fished it out (10m), modelled a replacement in FreeCAD (2hr, I had to learn how to use FreeCAD since I’d never used it before), and printed a replacement (40m print time) - and now I don’t have to buy a new vacuum cleaner.

[jameshart]

Similar story for my ironing board: A nylon runner wheel cracked in half, breaking the folding mechanism. Modeling a replacement in CAD (I used fusion 360), 3D printed it, little drilling to get the axle to fit, and the ironing board was back working same day. It felt great to fix a problem like that - there’s something very techno-utopian about it, like you’re living the dream of a Wired article from 1997 predicting a future where we will all effect household repairs by replicating spare parts.

But that’s happened once in the three years I’ve owned a 3D printer. Simple mechanical part failures just don’t seem to happen that often.

[nadezhda18]

2h still feels a bit too much, though I thought it would take longer. Well I guess I will try the next time...

[shocks]

I guess it depends how to value your time. For me a couple of hours to avoid paying £400+ for a decent cordless vacuum seems worth it.

I’ve actually fixed this vacuum cleaner numerous times! Not always with 3D printer parts though.

[holoduke]

And it can be fun to fix something. I felt very rewarded after I replaced our kitchen machines worn out gears, by designing and printing out new identical ones.

[grogenaut]

It depends, are you watching TV? If you get like 30 hours of practice at cad it's almost like doodling.