3D printers becoming popular for hobbies and especially in work lab

The Other Day

By Donna Culotta

Ever since I first heard about something called a 3D printer I have been extremely curious. What?!

How!? It baffled my imagination, that is until visiting my son’s family for a graduation my 12-year old grandson showed me how a 3D printer worked. That’s because he has one. It’s more of a hobby setup and he wanted one because all his friends had one, still there it was in all its glory.

After he made something, I saw how it worked and understood the genius behind it, kinda sorta. The real genius was a man named Charles Hull whose first 3D object was printed in 1983. It was a black eyewash cup.

From that small beginning, things just got bigger and better until today when 12-year olds can have one to play with.

Jack Hunter of Marksville was expressive when he referred to 3D printing. “I love it!” he proclaimed.

Back in 2021, Jack had what he called “a massive one but sold it and got out of it,” He then added, “hobbies with no purpose take up space.” But 3D printing called him back and one way he uses the printer is in making action figures of his own design.

“Since I collect action figures, I wanted to design my own and do things that are not being done.” His active imagination and creativity has produced a 2-foot tall He-Man action figure. It took a week to make and had to be printed in sections with two printers going at one time.

His custom designing also includes taking family photos and printing out a 3D family. “It’s amazing what you can do,” he remarked, “and I don’t like simple, I like meaningful.”

Jack is the Jack Hunter of the recently released films “Paranoia Tapes,” so that might explain his wildly creative use of 3D printing. “The idea that was once in my brain can now be created,” he commented.

Brandon Holloway of Deville has owned a 3D printer for two years. As an Aviation Mechanical Designer he uses a 3D printer at work to design tools for his job. “I have two printers at work and one at home,” he explained.

“It’s a terrible hobby to get into, some printers can be user friendly, just plug in and print. Others can have a lot of setup and a lot of maintenance.”

My son Vito Culotta, is a mechanical engineer and said that 3D printing is used a lot in engineering today. “It’s called rapid prototyping to see if a part will work before sending it off to a machine shop.”

The largest solid single piece 3D-printed item is a 25-foot boat. It weighs 2500 pounds and was printed in 72 hours. If you’re having trouble wrapping your head around a boat that was printed, try this one on for size. 3D printers can also produce entire buildings and bridges. Large concrete extrusion printers are capable of producing homes and pedestrian bridges.

The materials that are fed into the printer can be lightweight or heavy duty, depending on what’s being produced. The more important that item the heavier the material and the more expensive it is. Hobbyists can purchase a roll of lightweight filament for under $20.

Alayna Juneau is the Information Technology Administrator for the Avoyelles Parish library system. A 3D printer has been in her office since 2022. It’s available for patron use under the guidelines listed on the library website.

“The public can’t touch the printer,” she said. “Patrons send their file and I print out the item.” There are examples of small gadgets and widgets on the front desk so people can see what 3D printing looks like.

The current 3D printer at the library is capable of printing items 6x6x6 and no items that could pose a risk are acceptable. There is a fee as listed on the website. Alayna mentioned the possibility of the Marksville library getting a larger 3D printer in the future.