MAKE Shares Tips for the New 3D Printer Owner

Every year, holiday commercial noise tells me that I ought to ask my husband for various rings, necklaces, and earrings, made of platinum and diamonds, all which tell me in physical form just how much he loves me. And while I wouldn’t turn down a shiny bauble every now and then, in my perfect world it’s not “Every Kiss Begins with Kay”– it’s “Every Kiss Begins With CAD.” If there’s one pie-in-the-sky item I wanted this holiday season, it probably looks something like this. Yes. A 3D printer.

No, I am not among the lucky few who opened their Christmas gifts to find that most coveted of items carefully wrapped. But I can always hope, can’t I? And I can always read MAKE’s tips for the new 3D printer owner and, y’know, pretend. Writer Michael Overstreet is practically a historian on the subject, having had a 3D printer for a whopping three years (which is 3D printer years is pretty much a century). And he’s compiled a great list of tips and a brief glossary with valuable tidbits like this:

G-Code – The common name for the most widely used computer numerical control (CNC) programming language, which has many implementations. Used mainly in automation, it is part of computer-aided engineering. G-Code is sometimes called G programming language. In fundamental terms, G-Code is a language in which people tell computerized machine tools what to make and how to make it. The “what” and “how” are mostly defined by instructions on where to move, how fast to move, and through what path to move.

Next year I will be prepared.

It will be mine. Oh yes. It will be mine.