3DPrinting

items require currency to acquire

jobs will provide you with currency

The cost of a 3D printer is more than just a printer. Other things to consider are the consumables like filament, periodic replacement parts and a computer to do the slicing.

An idea on getting a low cost printer; The Goodwill Store in your neighborhood sometimes can have a 3D printer for very cheap; these are usually from hobbyists that lost interest in 3D printing and just wanted to get rid of the printer. Pricing may be $50 or less but may require repairs/parts.

A no cost alternative to getting started in 3D printing is to contact a local library or if you still have access to a school makerspace, to see if they have a 3D printer you can share time on - sometimes its free and sometimes its a low fee to rent the printer time.

You would also need a computer with your 3d printer as you just don't feed printer with files from internet. (Actually, they are a few case where you can but it is very limited). As for your question: To save money, you need to earn money...

I get it, it sucks. Saving sucks too.

Keep an eye out for deals and freebies, especially locally. I've seen Ender 3s go for $50 and sometimes free when the user gets frustrated.

Don't give up, save those pennies and keep hunting for deals.

Imma be real with you boss, get a shitty job for a month then quit. Even McDonald's pays over $15 nowadays, they're always hiring and as long as you show up they aren't gonna fire you. 24 hours a week for 4 weeks will get you like $1,200 to just screw around with. 3 days a week is like $300 after tax.

Comgrow has Amazon returns printers for $69. There are no returns and may be missing a part or two (mine was missing belts and the bed), but if you plan to tinker anyway, the parts are not terribly expensive.

That said, it definitely requires money. You'll still need filament, at the least. You're not going to get into 3d printing for free. Try to get a part-time job. Since it's the summer, ask neighbors to mow their yards for money.

Used/Returned Ender 3

Get a job and work for it.

Before I was old enough to drive, I mowed lawns and chopped firewood for extra money.

I know this isn’t what you want to hear but get a part-time job. Having a steady income, even if it isn’t much, is liberating for a young adult. You won’t have to worry about asking family for money and being a burden on them. Once you have a steady income, you can work on a side hustle.

I recommend looking for a job where you learn a skill that you can use in your daily life. Like, go work at a discount tire or something. I don’t recommend it as a career but you’ll learn basics of car upkeep and you’ll be able to save money on oil changes because you’ll know how to do them yourself.

If you live near a microcenter pretty frequently they run deals that have ender 3s for pretty cheap if you've never been a customer before. Usually a coupon.

There are a lot of places you can get usable PCs for stuff like 3D printing for a lot less money. For most of this stuff, most decent-quality 10-year-old machines are fine - it doesn't require a lot of computing power.

And if you're near a Microcentre, you can often get Ender 3 (very entry level) printers for as low as $80 plus tax. It's in-person only though.

But I think I very much like the idea of checking out your local libraries, which generally have computers and sometimes have 3D printers you can use for free or nearly-free. You'll most likely have to supply your own filament, but you can get started on that for $20, so that's something to think about.

If you live on a block with houses and your family owns a lawnmower, get permission from your parents and go from door to door offering to mow their lawns.

It's shockingly tough to find someone who will mow a lawn, and you can probably clean up over a weekend, making enough to buy a 3d printer if you really want one. There are some models that are fairly inexpensive, a couple hundred dollars.

For real though, just going door to door with something simple like lawnmowing would probably do you way better than you'd expect. If they don't know what to offer you, offer 20-40 bucks, and what's really cool is then in a few weeks you can go back and say "Hey, I mowed your lawn a few weeks ago, just wondering if you'd like me to do it again" and if you can do it reasonably regularly you'll be in high demand for a lot of the families who just want a mowed lawn.

Not sure how old you are, but something like an Ender 3 is very affordable. If you put away just 5% of your paycheck every week, you'll have enough for a printer very quickly. However if you're not working at all, then obviously luxuries like 3D printers or laptops will be out of your budget.

Your local library might have a printer you can use for free/cheap. Might also be worth checking a local makerspace to use their 3D printer

Ten years ago, Makerbot released the Replicator, a shoddy plywood box that produced rather terrible prints, for (inflation adjusted) $2316. You also probably bought Simplify3D to use as your slicer for $149 few years after that. Today, you can grab something like the Kingroon KP3S for less than the software alone and it will produce much better prints with free slicers like Cura or PrusaSlicer.

In your situation I recommend focusing on 3D design tools. Blender 3D will run on almost anything and you can learn the basics of modeling and working in 3D. It's not the best tool for 3D printing, but it's very versatile.

When you get familiar with Blender you can make your own 3D designs, or modify some, and then you can ask a friend or family member to 'fund' getting that printed through a 3D printing service. Maybe make something they'd like so they'll get one made for themselves.

Then after you've demonstrated you have those skills you'll find an easier time convincing someone to help you acquire a 3D printer.

Maybe see if there's a library or maker space near you with one?

Some libraries will have 3d printers that can be used for printing the odd thing.

Look to see if there are any "maker spaces" near you (although they are more like to charge for access)

You may be able to get a cheap second hand printer on various second hand sites.

Realistically - get a job, that's how everyone else affords this stuff 🤷‍♂️ (not sure how old you are - you may be able to persuade your parents to get you a cheap printer if your interested in 3d modeling etc)

Start off with less pricy but more manual means if your looking to do some crafy stuff. Hand carved and polished pieces from some shop wood or such have potential if you put them up on a site like Etsy.

Get a lawn mower and if possible a weed-eater. You gotta quote by house based on lot size and amount of trees and decorations etc. to now around but for a small residential lot with few obstacles mowed and edged you can easily get $25 in a cheaper area. Put $5 back into fuel and maintenance and you got $20 profit for probably 30 minutes of work. 10 of those is $200 which can get a cheap computer, occasionally you can find good deals at pawn shops. 15 more lawns and you got $300 which gives you plenty of options for printers.

Keep doing it and eventually you can upgrade to a riding mower and do more, larger lawns. If you can get any commercial properties you can get more like $75-150 for an hour of work.

who is yet to get a job and would rather do something like a sidehustle

Unfortunately you're going to be asking this question for most luxury goods if you don't get a job. Side hustles are nice, but they're called side hustles because you do them on the side, in addition to your job. I mean if you can sustain your standard of living with a hustle, then by all means, more power to you. Most people can't.

Check your local library. Many of them have 3D printers and will let you use them for just the cost of the materials.

These things are expensive because of your relative viewpoint. They are not expensive to someone who makes thousands a day.

Until you can establish a steady income you will be reliant on your family for the things you want in life. If they are providing for baseline needs like food and housing, then a goal of earning enough to purchase a printer and computer is a good start toward learning independence. Independence can give you the confidence to rely on yourself and know you are capable to do whatever you put your mind to.

Then suddenly you'll find a printer and a computer are not so expensive after all.

https://www.comgrow.com/collections/refurbished-printers/products/used-ender-3-ender-3-pro?variant=40708717740075

You can sometimes get an ender3 Amazon return here for 69$ bucks.

You will most likely have to calibrate it or repair something but with 3D printers 8 out of 10 times they get returned because learning how to calibrate and set up the machines is complicated.

On the flip side, there is plenty of resources online and this is going to force you to learn how the printer works. And the parts on and ender are all pretty inexpensive.