• kitnaht@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    I turned my hobby into a job, and I couldn’t be happier. I go to my hobby every morning, and my customers are happy I’m doing it; So happy - in fact - that they give me money to do it.

      • kitnaht@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        My first machine was a Sells Mendel back in 2010. Literally didn’t have a machine; but had a friend with one he couldn’t get to work. The deal was: I get it to work, and I could print my machine’s parts with it. I got it to work, and now I also get everyone else’s printers working too :)

          • kitnaht@lemmy.world
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            1 day ago

            I don’t sell printers. Just fix them. Price depends on machine make/model and what I commonly find wrong with them; but I usually charge a $100 flat fee + parts. I’ve done remote chats and helped people fix their own printers too.

            Most fixes come down to the owners inability to see the forest for the trees type of situation – They’ll hyper-fixate on “leveling” when their extrusion system is having problems. Ender 3’s are my bread and butter, because they are really cheap, and that cheapness comes with a cost: the need for knowledge. The v3’s are especially good, and the older ones are fine if you know how to tighten a bolt here-or-there.

            Bambu Labs machines are the best for an end-user, hands down - but as an enthusiast I refuse to own one. Pragmatically speaking though, most users aren’t going to care much.

    • corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca
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      1 day ago

      Same. I do the fun thing and get the food-money from it. It’s -3 outside, a balmy 26c in my home office, and I really hope I can do this until I retire and do this on contract.