The First Layer: Why I’m Starting My Maker Journey

Introduction

My first impression of 3D printing was not good. At the time, maybe 4-5 years ago, I only saw fidget toys, trinkets, and just stuff that had no value to me. But that all changed one day when the Algorithm (of Youtube) fed me Gridfinity — an organization system that one can 3d print. The urge to be more organized was ignited, especially when i found shadowboxes (the kind of bins that provide a perfect fit to items you store in drawers).

Start of the Journey

The Christmas of 2025, I took the plunge and bought myself the Bambu Lab P2S. Momentum stalled as the printer sat in its box for more than a month. I knew there was a lot to learn, and I was busy in the new year. I just didn’t have the time to invest.

February came and on a free weekend, the journey finally began. I cleaned up the garage, put together a new inexpensive workbench, and unboxed the P2S. I won’t bore you with all the little details, but here is the progression with various milestones:

Steps so Far and their Outcome

• Printed beginner goods like the scraper, poop chute, and various tools for the printer.
  • Outcome: Got me comfortable with the basic operations, troubleshooting, and maintenance.
• Graduated from solely using the iPhone app to using the Bambu Studio app on the MacBook.
  • Outcome: Learned to break a large print up serially, adjust print settings, add custom support, etc.
• Learned 3D modeling on YouTube using Autodesk Fusion.
  • Outcome: Picked up some foundational concepts regarding 3D modeling, and got comfortable (a little) with Fusion.
• Modeled my first print for a bin I needed.
  • Outcome: Following tutorials step-by-step didn’t feel like I acquired anything. Figuring out how to model this custom bin validated my learning.

Where to from Here

There is lots to learn here, and many more milestones to hit. The next few I have planned are:

• Refine my first model to be publishable on MakerWorld.
• Document steps to share with my fellow n00bs.
• Model a larger bin that I need for my Fantik portable vacuum.
• Move onto something beyond Gridfinity.
• Sell a print eventually? (This is my first goal after all these milestones)

Honestly, I do not know if there’s anything I can add to the interweb that isn’t already documented somewhere. However, documenting this journey keeps me going. It gives me time to think and plan. We shall see where it leads …

Resources

The tutorial that got me going was by Kevin Kennedy. You can find his first video here: