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Guides

The accessories around a 3D printer are where most of the money quietly goes, and where most of the bad advice lives. These are the things worth knowing before you buy — written to be short, specific, and honest about what does not matter.

Filament and printing

• Bed adhesion: what actually works
  Glue sticks, hairspray, rafts, brims and expensive surfaces — an honest ranking of what fixes prints coming loose, starting with the free fix that solves most cases.
• Do you need a filament dryer?
  Wet filament is real and ruins prints, but a dedicated dryer is not the only answer. How to tell if moisture is your problem, and what to do about it.
• Filament storage: dry boxes, vacuum bags and desiccant
  Keeping filament dry is cheaper than drying it out. What actually works, what desiccant to use, and why the little sachet in the bag is already spent.
• First layer calibration, properly
  Nearly every adhesion problem and half of all print failures start in the first layer. How to set Z offset by eye, and what a good first layer actually looks like.
• PLA vs PETG: which should you buy?
  The two filaments that cover nearly everything. What each is actually good at, where PETG is worth the extra difficulty, and why PLA is still the right default.
• Printing with TPU: what to know before you buy
  Flexible filament is genuinely different to print. Shore hardness explained, why direct drive matters so much, and the settings that separate success from a nest of spaghetti.

Resin printing

• FEP film: when to replace it, and how to know
  The clear film in the bottom of a resin vat is a consumable. What wears it out, the signs it is going, and why replacing it early is cheaper than replacing an LCD.
• Resin safety: gloves, ventilation and disposal
  Uncured resin is a skin sensitiser and the waste is not drain-safe. The short, practical version of what to do — and what people get wrong about IPA and water-washable resin.
• Resin vat care and cleaning
  Most resin print failures trace back to something in the vat. How to filter properly, when to clean it out, and the tool you should never put near the film.
• Wash and cure stations: worth it?
  A combined washer and UV curer is convenience, not magic. What it replaces, when the DIY version is genuinely fine, and the one thing it does better than improvising.
• Water-washable vs standard resin
  Water-washable resin removes the isopropyl alcohol from your workflow, which is a real improvement. What it costs you in brittleness, and the disposal myth to ignore.

Hardware, spares and tools

• Belts, tension and layer shifts
  Ringing, wavy walls and prints that jump halfway through are usually mechanical. How to tension a belt by feel, and what else causes a shifted layer.
• Build surfaces compared: PEI, glass and textured plates
  Smooth PEI, textured PEI, glass and the rest — what each is actually good at, which filaments they fight with, and when a worn sheet is your real problem.
• Calibration tools: calipers, gauges and what you actually need
  One tool does most of the work and costs about a tenner. What digital calipers are for, and which other measuring kit is worth owning.
• Finishing tools: deburring, sanding and cleanup
  A handful of cheap tools turn a rough print into a finished part. What to buy first, the right sandpaper progression, and why wet sanding beats dry.
• Hardened vs brass nozzles: when you actually need one
  Abrasive filament destroys brass nozzles fast. Which filaments count, what hardened steel costs you in heat transfer, and when brass is still the right choice.
• Nozzle sizes explained: 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 mm
  What changing nozzle size actually does to print time, strength and detail — and why 0.4 mm is the default for good reasons.
• Print removal tools: what to use and what to never use
  The wrong scraper destroys build surfaces and fingers. What actually gets a stubborn print off, starting with the trick that costs nothing.
• PTFE tubing: the part that fails silently
  The white tube in your hotend degrades with heat and causes under-extrusion that looks like everything else. How to spot it, and why it limits your printing temperature.
• Spool holders: why the cheap one on the printer is a problem
  A holder that binds causes under-extrusion that looks exactly like a clogged nozzle. What to look for, and why bearings are worth a few pounds.