How a 3D Printer from the Bin Kickstarted My Printing Journey
It all started with a rescue mission. Our school was getting rid of an old 3D printer—a Da Vinci 1.0a, notorious for its locked-down firmware and overpriced proprietary filament. Someone had tossed it on the metaphorical scrap heap (well, technically the real bin, but close enough). Naturally, I couldn’t let it go to waste. With a bit of cleaning and greasing, the thing was up and running like nothing had happened. Sure, it was still stubborn and limited, but it worked.
Pictured: A Da Vinci 1.0A, the machine that weighs a tonne and produces parts that look like a mouse made them with a hot glue gun
But I didn’t stop there. I couldn’t stand the restrictive firmware, so I decided to overhaul it completely. I wrote a new firmware from scratch, based on parts of Marlin and Repetier, so it would actually be useful. It was a labour of love—coding, testing, tweaking—made all the more interesting by my choice of soundtrack. Picture this: me at the desk, thinking and typing away, blasting classic 80s “divorced dad” music. Think Phil Collins, Hall & Oates, maybe some REO Speedwagon for good measure.
Of course, my favorite critic (yes, her again) had plenty to say about my playlist. Between teasing me for my music taste, she introduced me to more modern tracks that somehow ended up stuck in my head for days. It was a fun little back-and-forth, the kind of thing that made countless lunchtimes filled by troubleshooting fly by.
Once the firmware was done, the Da Vinci was a totally different machine. It wasn’t perfect—far from it—but it was mine, fully unlocked and ready to print whatever I wanted. That experience taught me more than I could have ever imagined about the ins and outs of 3D printers, and it’s something I think every new printer owner should aim for: learning to tinker and troubleshoot.
Getting Started with 3D Printing: Lessons from the Bin
If you’re thinking about diving into the world of 3D printing, here’s my advice: buy whatever excites you. It’s a hobby that everyone enjoys differently. Some people want a machine that just works with minimal effort; others want something they can tinker with endlessly. Both approaches are totally valid!
If reliability is your priority—and you’re willing to maintain your printer with basic common sense—then something like a Bambu Labs or Prusa machine is a solid choice. These printers are like the Toyota Camry of the 3D printing world: reliable, consistent, and built for people who just want to hit "print" and watch magic happen. On the other hand, if you love experimentation and the thrill of dialing in settings to perfection, an Ender printer is the way to go. Enders might not be perfect out of the box, but with a bit of effort, they’ll reward you with beautiful prints (even better than a Prusa i3 MK4 or Bambu A1) and a deeper understanding of the hobby.
But no matter what printer you choose to start with, I’d argue there’s value in eventually adding something like a Da Vinci—or any similarly annoying, old, and frustrating machine—to your setup. Why? Because these older printers force you to learn the fundamentals. Fixing and improving them is the ultimate crash course in the inner workings of 3D printing. And trust me, you’ll appreciate your “good” printer even more after wrestling with one of these temperamental relics.
The Ender 3 V3 SE: Learning Through the Quirks
The Ender 3 V3 SE is a fantastic starter machine, but it’s not without its quirks. For instance, it comes with a CR Touch, an auto-leveling sensor designed to take the guesswork out of bed leveling and Z-offset adjustment. Sounds perfect, right? Well, not quite. While the CR Touch does a decent job of probing the bed and creating a mesh for leveling, it often gets the Z-offset just slightly wrong. And by “slightly wrong,” I mean your first layer either looks like spaghetti or gets smooshed so flat it might as well be painted onto the bed.
Fixing this isn’t hard, but it requires some human intervention. You’ll likely need to tweak the Z-offset manually during your first print. This can be frustrating for beginners who were hoping the CR Touch would handle everything for them. But honestly, I see this as a positive—it forces you to learn how to fine-tune your machine. Once you’ve nailed the perfect Z-offset, you’ll have a much better understanding of how your printer operates.
Another common complaint with Ender 3 machines is their reliance on belt-driven axes. While belts are cheap and effective, they can stretch over time, leading to inconsistencies in prints. Regularly checking belt tension is a must, and while it can be annoying, it’s another chance to learn how to maintain your printer properly. You’ll also get intimately familiar with bed adhesion techniques—trust me, you’ll be experimenting with glue sticks, hairspray, and all kinds of voodoo before you find what works best for you.
Why the Learning Curve Matters
3D printing isn’t just about creating stuff—it’s about understanding the process. From fiddling with firmware to fine-tuning your slicer settings, every challenge is an opportunity to learn. That’s why I recommend a printer like the Ender 3 V3 SE over something like a Bambu Labs machine. The Bambu is great for cranking out prints, but it skips over the part where you learn why things work the way they do.
And at the end of the day, the best setup isn’t just about the printer you have—it’s about how much you know. So, whether you’re rescuing a printer from the bin or unboxing your first Ender 3, embrace the quirks and failures. That’s where the fun really begins. Who knows? Maybe one day you’ll find yourself writing custom firmware while blasting questionable 80s music, too.
73,
Daniel