[prmoustache]

It is not cost effective to buy a 3d printer if you 3d print only when you actually need a 3d printed part. That is the main reason. You buy/build a 3d printer only if you want to tinker with them. Otherwise you just commission someone to do it or use the local fablab.

[LanceH]

I don't know. I spent a couple years printing some parts at our library's maker space. The feedback loop is very, very slow.

Having a 3d printer now, I can get a half dozen iterations on something done in a day and compared to a single iteration per day from the library. So if you're designing your own parts and can't draw them perfectly first go, having the printer is huge.

Replacement battery covers for remote controls. If I value those at $200 each, I've broken even.

[randomdata]

> It is not cost effective to buy a 3d printer [...] just commission someone to do it

If you are lucky enough to have a neighbour to do the commissioning, maybe, but otherwise shipping has gotten so expensive (at least in these parts), and 3D printers so cheap, that a getting few design iterations in your hands will practically buy you the printer.