<p>Here's a brief outline I threw out in chat once.  I'm marking this as a &quot;community Wiki&quot; answer so feel free to edit.</p>
<p>It is not a full Primer, so should date better than a Word6.0 manual.</p>
<hr />
<p>Start by reading the instructions that came with your printer.  There's a high chance that some assembly is required, and if you get something wrong then things may nor work right later.  Some brands come complete, some are better than others in this regard.   Take your time.</p>
<p>For most people, they spend the first couple of weeks failing prints for multiple reasons.  For me it was bed levelling and getting the first layer-adhesion, and filament tension.</p>
<p>So work on getting the bed levelled, work out how much gluestick or tape your filament needs to work, and what temperatures work in your environment.</p>
<p>I use 210 °C on the hotend for PLA+ and 60 °C bed temp, though others get away with 190 °C on the hotend and 50 °C on the bed.  My printer is in a garage though.</p>
<p>Try and print a 20 mm cube or a benchy.</p>
<p>After that, explore <a href="http://thingiverse.com" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://thingiverse.com</a> or <a href="http://thangs.com" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://thangs.com</a> looking for pre-made stuff that you would benefit from.   Start small.</p>
<p>The Grab Toy Infinite is a great starter - it's very forgiving about tolerances, and kids like it.  Expect rough handling to break it.</p>
<p>When you're happy printing other people's things, identify some needs of your own.  In fact, make up a document / draught email / notepad of ideas of things to print.   I add stuff to mine all the time.</p>
<p>When you've got a need that no one else can fill, you can start designing your own item and do the whole</p>
<pre><code>idea --&gt;  ||:  (re)design --&gt; implement --&gt; test --&gt; curse :|| success!!    loop.    
</code></pre>
<p>Many people bang on about expensive fancy software, but you can make a perfectly adequate part using <a href="http://tinkercad.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://tinkercad.com/</a> as a grounding.</p>
<p>For example, I had too many spare hacksaw blades and none of the &quot;holders&quot; I could buy were perfect, nor even close.  Here's my output:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.tinkercad.com/things/9yQMmxRv4Lz-spare-hacksaw-blade-holder" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.tinkercad.com/things/9yQMmxRv4Lz-spare-hacksaw-blade-holder</a></p>
<p>Like many things in making, expect to fail and learn and do it again.</p>
<p>Sometimes it looks like we buy printers to print things for the printers for printing things for the printers...repeat.</p>
<p>Look for needs in your life and design something to fill them.  It's most satisfying.</p>
<p>There's a huge gap between Functional prints, which do a job, and pretty prints which are just to look nice.</p>
<p>Functional things are great - you can therefore justify the cost of more printer upgrades.  LOOK AT ALL THE MONEY WE SAVED!</p>
<p>But overall enjoy yourself and the time you spend making things.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-08T01:14:40.607Z
@Kilisi: Maybe you printer came with good instructions. Not all printers even come with instructions at all beyond basic assembly. And when they do, more often than not the instructions are bad or outright wrong.
R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-07T23:28:48.030Z
2022-05-08T01:21:57.587Z
2022-05-08T01:21:57.587Z
Criggie
<p>Thera are plenty of such guides. But from necessity they deal with specifics, there are too many things to cover otherwise.</p>
<p>Multiple types of printers, multiple brands, multiple slicers, multiple ways of modelling etc,. With more all the time. Reading up on something that tells me how to model and slice in Freecad &amp; Creality, when I'm using Blender &amp; Cura is a waste of time.</p>
<p>Generic instructions that apply to everything are so vague as to be essentially useless. (Plenty of those online though)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-07T17:18:48.293Z
I'm doubtful of the claim that general instructions would be useless. The bigger problem is how much bad information there is out there, and finding a trustworthy source that's not full of bad information.
R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-08T00:39:48.377Z
Generic instructions are... follow the instructions that came with your printer, use the temp range suggested on your filament... blah blah... useless...
Kilisi
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-08T01:04:49.350Z
Those definitely aren't good generic instructions. The temperature ranges suggested with filaments are marketing material to sell to people with PTFE-lined hotends; most of the time you actually need to ignore them and look up the right values for the material (which will be much higher), then tune it to your machine's temperature reading, which may be off.
R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-08T01:13:40.940Z
Good introductory material would explain the whole process of 3D printing: model formats, what a slicer does (in detail! like concepts about walls, skin, infill, overhangs, etc.), bed leveling, homing/endstops, principles behind the extrusion system, typical menu controls, test prints, calibration, troubleshooting (high level principles and specific techniques), ...
R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-08T01:41:57.057Z
@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE all of which are a waste of time unless specific to what the end user is doing. Unless it's a school course I guess. I certainly am not interested in wading through irrelevant material to find what I need when I can just get specific answers
Kilisi
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-08T02:28:42.267Z
Pretty much all of that is relevant whatever FDM printer you have.
R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-08T07:20:41.303Z
@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE only relevant if there's an exam at the end, otherwise it's just theory. Millions of people use photocopiers and printers without the need to learn the details behind how they work. Same with computers and every other gadget.
Kilisi
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-08T13:56:58.993Z
And the ones who use them without any understanding of that stuff are **helpless** when it doesn't do what they want, because they don't understand any of the how or why. Then they listen to the first piece of random bad advice from somebody else who doesn't understand anything...
R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-08T22:07:23.643Z
@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE makes no sense to me sorry. Both my 10 year old and 13 year old have been happily printing for months. They're bright boys but I doubt their English skills would be able to handle your manual, let alone their patience. It's not rocket science.
Kilisi
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-08T22:51:49.507Z
Only helpless if you're trying to do things outside the norm. Most people don't want to do anything fancy like modifying hot ends and rewiring, just print. If a belt breaks they'll buy a new one, not utilise in depth knowledge and fabricate one out of a used bicycle inner tube.
Kilisi
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-09T17:45:42.620Z
"Only helpless if you're trying to do things outside the norm" <- no. Since you brought up the photocopier analogy, I'm going to run with it. If you don't understand the different ways it's treating black-on-solid-background vs grayscale/color content that lets you do things like copy from yellow paper to white paper and also copy illustrations, you're going to be trying random wrong things as soon as that stuff goes wrong trying to copy mixed content. You need to learn the principles behind a machine to use it effectively. Not just to press buttons like a robot.
R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-09T21:35:37.050Z
@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE yeah, pretty much proved my point, I just photocopy, no idea about this stuff you wrote about. Just like everyone else I know.
Kilisi
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-09T21:44:11.057Z
@RDragonrydr I would just want the specifics, not interested in learning the details of a slicer I'll never use. My printer came with assembly and levelling instructions, my slicer has a profile for it. No need to change anything to get started. I was printing fine from day 1. Only need to look up specific things to solve problems now. I've no idea why it is hard for you.
Kilisi
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-10T02:11:23.070Z
A better analogy might be a camera and someone who buys it and just points it at things and presses a button, then wonders why all their pictures are blurry and ugly. The level of understanding and control you need to operate a 3D printer well is fairly comparable to what you need to use a camera. In both cases, under certain conditions it might not matter and you might get decent results, but there will be a lot of conditions under which you'll get really bad results.
R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-10T05:30:45.943Z
@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE sure, once you get past beginner level you may need more... but the question is about beginners
Kilisi
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-07T06:36:58.687Z
2022-05-07T06:36:58.687Z
Kilisi
<p>Most of the guides I can find are just canned responses to specific questions. Instead I'm looking for something meant to teach good fundamental understanding and core needed skills. Beginner's guides are common in other hobbies but I am having trouble finding one for 3d printing.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-07T06:33:43.540Z
Most printers come with a manual that teaches you the core stuff. Anything else would be specific questions I would think. It's not rocket science.
Kilisi
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-09T07:37:16.883Z
Yes, see this question for instance: https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/5215/3d-printing-references-for-beginners
0scar
<knowledgebase>
Has anyone written a primer for hobbyists new to 3D printing?
when squared equals a negative
# Has anyone written a primer for hobbyists new to 3D printing?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-05-07)

Most of the guides I can find are just canned responses to specific questions. Instead I'm looking for something meant to teach good fundamental understanding and core needed skills. Beginner's guides are common in other hobbies but I am having trouble finding one for 3d printing.

**Tags:** knowledgebase

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Most printers come with a manual that teaches you the core stuff. Anything else would be specific questions I would think. It's not rocket science.  
> **username_2**: Yes, see this question for instance: https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/5215/3d-printing-references-for-beginners  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2022-05-07. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

Here's a brief outline I threw out in chat once. I'm marking this as a "community Wiki" answer so feel free to edit.

It is not a full Primer, so should date better than a Word6.0 manual.

---

Start by reading the instructions that came with your printer. There's a high chance that some assembly is required, and if you get something wrong then things may nor work right later. Some brands come complete, some are better than others in this regard. Take your time.

For most people, they spend the first couple of weeks failing prints for multiple reasons. For me it was bed levelling and getting the first layer-adhesion, and filament tension.

So work on getting the bed levelled, work out how much gluestick or tape your filament needs to work, and what temperatures work in your environment.

I use 210 °C on the hotend for PLA+ and 60 °C bed temp, though others get away with 190 °C on the hotend and 50 °C on the bed. My printer is in a garage though.

Try and print a 20 mm cube or a benchy.

After that, explore <http://thingiverse.com> or <http://thangs.com> looking for pre-made stuff that you would benefit from. Start small.

The Grab Toy Infinite is a great starter - it's very forgiving about tolerances, and kids like it. Expect rough handling to break it.

username_0 you're happy printing other people's things, identify some needs of your own. In fact, make up a document / draught email / notepad of ideas of things to print. I add stuff to mine all the time.

username_0 you've got a need that no one else can fill, you can start designing your own item and do the whole

```
idea -->  ||:  (re)design --> implement --> test --> curse :|| success!!    loop.    

```

Many people bang on about expensive fancy software, but you can make a perfectly adequate part using <http://tinkercad.com/> as a grounding.

For example, I had too many spare hacksaw blades and none of the "holders" I could buy were perfect, nor even close. Here's my output:

<https://www.tinkercad.com/things/9yQMmxRv4Lz-spare-hacksaw-blade-holder>

Like many things in making, expect to fail and learn and do it again.

Sometimes it looks like we buy printers to print things for the printers for printing things for the printers...repeat.

Look for needs in your life and design something to fill them. It's most satisfying.

There's a huge gap between Functional prints, which do a job, and pretty prints which are just to look nice.

Functional things are great - you can therefore justify the cost of more printer upgrades. LOOK AT ALL THE MONEY WE SAVED!

But overall enjoy yourself and the time you spend making things.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: @username_1: Maybe you printer came with good instructions. Not all printers even come with instructions at all beyond basic assembly. And username_0 they do, more often than not the instructions are bad or outright wrong.  

---

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-05-07. Score: 0

Thera are plenty of such guides. But from necessity they deal with specifics, there are too many things to cover otherwise.

Multiple types of printers, multiple brands, multiple slicers, multiple ways of modelling etc,. With more all the time. Reading up on something that tells me how to model and slice in Freecad & Creality, username_0 I'm using Blender & Cura is a waste of time.

Generic instructions that apply to everything are so vague as to be essentially useless. (Plenty of those online though)

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: I'm doubtful of the claim that general instructions would be useless. The bigger problem is how much bad information there is out there, and finding a trustworthy source that's not full of bad information.  
> **username_1**: Generic instructions are... follow the instructions that came with your printer, use the temp range suggested on your filament... blah blah... useless...  
> **username_4**: Those definitely aren't good generic instructions. The temperature ranges suggested with filaments are marketing material to sell to people with PTFE-lined hotends; most of the time you actually need to ignore them and look up the right values for the material (which will be much higher), then tune it to your machine's temperature reading, which may be off.  
> **username_4**: Good introductory material would explain the whole process of 3D printing: model formats, what a slicer does (in detail! like concepts about walls, skin, infill, overhangs, etc.), bed leveling, homing/endstops, principles behind the extrusion system, typical menu controls, test prints, calibration, troubleshooting (high level principles and specific techniques), ...  
> **username_1**: @username_4 all of which are a waste of time unless specific to what the end user is doing. Unless it's a school course I guess. I certainly am not interested in wading through irrelevant material to find what I need username_0 I can just get specific answers  
> **username_4**: Pretty much all of that is relevant whatever FDM printer you have.  
> **username_1**: @username_4 only relevant if there's an exam at the end, otherwise it's just theory. Millions of people use photocopiers and printers without the need to learn the details behind how they work. Same with computers and every other gadget.  
> **username_4**: And the ones who use them without any understanding of that stuff are **helpless** username_0 it doesn't do what they want, because they don't understand any of the how or why. Then they listen to the first piece of random bad advice from somebody else who doesn't understand anything...  
> **username_1**: @username_4 makes no sense to me sorry. Both my 10 year old and 13 year old have been happily printing for months. They're bright boys but I doubt their English skills would be able to handle your manual, let alone their patience. It's not rocket science.  
> **username_1**: Only helpless if you're trying to do things outside the norm. Most people don't want to do anything fancy like modifying hot ends and rewiring, just print. If a belt breaks they'll buy a new one, not utilise in depth knowledge and fabricate one out of a used bicycle inner tube.  
> **username_4**: "Only helpless if you're trying to do things outside the norm" <- no. Since you brought up the photocopier analogy, I'm going to run with it. If you don't understand the different ways it's treating black-on-solid-background vs grayscale/color content that lets you do things like copy from yellow paper to white paper and also copy illustrations, you're going to be trying random wrong things as soon as that stuff goes wrong trying to copy mixed content. You need to learn the principles behind a machine to use it effectively. Not just to press buttons like a robot.  
> **username_1**: @username_4 yeah, pretty much proved my point, I just photocopy, no idea about this stuff you wrote about. Just like everyone else I know.  
> **username_1**: @RDragonrydr I would just want the specifics, not interested in learning the details of a slicer I'll never use. My printer came with assembly and levelling instructions, my slicer has a profile for it. No need to change anything to get started. I was printing fine from day 1. Only need to look up specific things to solve problems now. I've no idea why it is hard for you.  
> **username_4**: A better analogy might be a camera and someone who buys it and just points it at things and presses a button, then wonders why all their pictures are blurry and ugly. The level of understanding and control you need to operate a 3D printer well is fairly comparable to what you need to use a camera. In both cases, under certain conditions it might not matter and you might get decent results, but there will be a lot of conditions under which you'll get really bad results.  
> **username_1**: @username_4 sure, once you get past beginner level you may need more... but the question is about beginners  

---

