HipNerd Origins 1

Adam the HipNerd November 29, 2025

a hand holding a very simple 3D print (a cylinder on a cube) in the background is a 3D printer — My first successful 3D print

The idea of 3D printing intrigued me, but I had a habit of picking up hobbies, and not following through on them, and I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a machine that I would just put away in the closet if it didn't hold my interest. In 2016 I found a $186 3D printer kit on a Chinese tech gadget site. I figured for that kind of money, I wouldn't be too upset if it didn't work out.

The instructions were minimal and badly translated. I found some pictures online that someone posted of a fully assembled one, and managed to use that in combination with the instructions to assemble the machine. In my first attempt to use it, I ran the nozzle into the print bed. But, I found that nozzles were cheap, and readily available online, so I ordered a new one. Then I found some general bed leveling instructions, and some other helpful videos, and I got my first successful test pring (pictured above).

From there I was off to the races. I taught myself how to use Blender to make my own 3D models, and soon I was making all kinds of things. I spent a lot of time dialing in the printer, making it as good as I could. But, eventually I wanted a better machine, so I upgraded to a Prusa printer.

A weird sculpture made out of green and blue dodecahedrons that looks like some kind of molecule, a poorly painted knot, a poorly painted donut shaped thing, a drawstring fixer invention that looks like a bullet with a loop at the back to tie the drawstring to, a 3D printed half-tone image, and the same thing in a negative version with a light shining through. — A collection of my early 3D printing experiments

I did experiments with geometrical figures: a sculpture made out of many small dodecahedrons stuck together in a shape that looks like a model of a molecule, a knot, a figure of three intersecting golden rectangles (if you connect the corners, it makes an icosahedron), a donut shaped figure that is a long rectangular prism given a 90º twist and the ends connected together. I invented a little tool to help fix drawstrings that come out of your clothing. I also came up with a method of 3D printing halftone images.

These days I mainly use 3D printing for practical things, like fixing things around the house, or to help with my other projects in the shop.

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