3D Printing & Leatherwork
For anyone who uses a 3D printer in their shop, or wants to, here’s a place for us to share info and... View more
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Getting started using 3D printing in your leather shop.
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Getting started using 3D printing in your leather shop.
Just to get things started I thought I’d start a convo thread about getting going using a 3D printer in your leather shop. Not just a guide (I’m sure we’ll develop one of those along the way) but a place to discuss how we each got into using 3D printing in our shops, why, etc.
For me, it was really because I was looking to justify getting a 3D printer, lol. I wanted one for making props for cosplay for myself, but I needed a better justification than just that to allot it the time, money, and space required. I wasn’t sure plastic stamps would even work, but what little I could find of others doing this seemed promising enough I went ahead and jumped in.
I bought a used Ender 3 Pro, quickly decided it needed…upgrades…and sunk a couple hundred dollars into modifications over the next two months. Now with a dual-z axis, all-metal extruder, bi-metal heatbreak, high-quality PTFE tube, glass print bed, BigTreeTech mobo, silent fans, BLTouch, and a few other 3D printed upgrades, it’s running like a dream. And I had fun with it all.
I’m almost exclusively printing in PETG because it has compression qualities nearly identical to ABS but without the ventilation requirements while printing. Getting my settings right took a couple weeks of nightly printing experiments. PETG is kind of a pain that way, but once I got my settings dialed in it’s run SO well!
So how about others? How’d you get started and why? And how’s it been going so far?
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8 Replies
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I stated back in 2020 – at about the same time I started my leather hobby – It was a Covid Hobby.
I had an Ender 3, but it was S.L.O.W. and really thought 3D Printing was nothing more than a novelty. Then I stumbled onto the 3D Printing sub-reddit and stumbled onto Bambulabs and their P1S printers – Everything just started to take off from there. There were so many tools that I wanted for leather that I was able to somewhat replicate using 3D Printers. The stitching pony, tool holders, jigs, you name it – I fell in love with it.
Then I found a way to marry it to leather as support for handles, little things here and there. It seriously comes in clutch sometimes. I still can’t figure out the stamps like you did, but getting there 😀
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I love my Ender 3 Pro. It’s not the fastest, but (after a few upgrades) it is reliable and efficient. It’s also quieter now, and because of the upgrades I can print faster than it did when I got it. I do want to get a better FDM printer, but I’m more concerned with size than speed (for printing larger models for costuming), so I’m looking at building a RatRig. I wouldn’t mind getting a resin printer too though. And the Ender I bought was from the widow of a former customer of mine who got into 3D printing during COVID. I guess a lot of folks picked up old (or new) hobbies during that time.
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I actually started with a resin printer the Elegoo Mars. It produced really detailed models, but man was it messy to use. After that I got an Ender 3 v2, did some upgrades, and mainly used it for printing my patterns in thin sheets. I also printed some jigs, like a round corner cutting guide, a leather thickness gauge, and forms for wet molding and stamping. The filament I use most of the time is just regular PLA
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I haven’t messed with resin printers yet, but I want to get one. Sounds like you’ve made some really useful and cool stuff so far though!
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Same, honestly. I don’t know much about how they work, but I heard they need ventilation. Not sure I can be trusted with that lol
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Ideally, they do, but just putting them in a separate room is usually enough. Most of the newer models have a carbon air filtering system onboard, but still I wouldn’t put one in my bedroom
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Hey! I got a bambu p1s and slowly but surely I have been learning cad to make templates and patterns. Nice to see everyone here
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Figured I would join the conversation.
Besides the usual templates, my main 3d printing use with leatherwork is making lasts for boots.
I am currently playing around with ways to make a good test fitter that I can print and send a customer to try on to validate fit of a custom last, before cutting any leather.
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