3D Printers...

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Ok, I know we have had 3D printer discussions before but I am seeing these things have gotten very cheap to buy. There are several on Amazon for under $500. So I feel I just have to have one....except I have no clue what I would do with it. So other than the obvious guns, frames and receivers....what the heck could I really do with one of these things other than make figurines for my nativity scene.....
 
DON'T DO IT.

The cheap ones are exactly that.

unless you're mechanically incline and want to spent hours tuning and tweaking I would just buy a fully assembled proven 3d printer with good support and warranty.

I bought a few that I had to put together and me with my fancy degree in robotics had trouble and headache.

Most people want to buy a printer to print stuff.
Not to learn how to make a printer work.

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What can you do?

You can make stuff but none of it will be anywhere near structural.
I would use a 3d printer to make molds (i.e. the 3d print the positive shape for a negative mold to cast a structural component).
 
I got the printrbot kit. It was more to be an educational experience for my kids than a productive device. It was
pretty hard to put together, and required a lot of tweaking to get reliable, and it's got a lot of limitations as to what you can make.
But once you understand its 'envelope' of useful resolution and designs, you can make some useful stuff.
 
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