What 3D Printer Accessories Do You Wish You Had in Your Tool Cabinet?

I'd say a filament dryer is probably the first on my list - would be nice to ensure my filament stays "fresh".

As my printer mostly works well, I don't feel the need to change the bed, print core, nozzle or extruder in any way. Perhaps the stepper drivers on mine are a bit loud, which may leave some room for a modification, but it's something I can live with for now.

- Gough

There are lots of cameras and controllers and software intended to help record video of 3D prints being printed, but none of them actually solve the problem completely. It is on my bucket list to make a system that ticks all the boxes.

The biggest missing accessories for me would be a recycling system for scrap PLA. This requires a machine to grind up the scrap material and a machine to extrude it into a new filament.

A simpler accessory might be a dust cover - dust is not good for any part of these machines. I have some very useful covers my wife made that are like giant pillow cases.

Ditto on the filament dryer.  I have more prints fail due to poor filament condition than for any other reason (bed adhesion is a close second).  Presently I have limited my experience to PLA only, I would like to expand my print abilities by having more filament options.

I have a enclosed printer, so dust and retaining heat isn't much of an issue.

What I recommend:

Toaster oven - to dry filament.

Sealed bins with desiccants - to keep filament dry.

Trowles of various types - to scrape and pop off prints.

Tool kit specifically for that printer with all sizes of tools needed.

Remote camera is useful. 

dougw said:

This requires a machine to grind up the scrap material and a machine to extrude it into a new filament.

You may be interested in the story of KiwiFil

https://www.kiwifil.shop/pages/the-story-of-kiwifil

which grew out of the Michigan Tech Uni RecycleBot project 

https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/materials_fp/177/

PS You're gonna need a bigger workshop...

A case of aspirin, a case of 2" wide blue painters tape, a case of Elmers school glue sticks, 10 Pack Stainless Steel 3D Printer Nozzle Cleaning Needle Kit, 

spare nozzles, fresh filament and/or filament dryer. Needless to say bed adhesion is a major roadblock for me, maybe include a bottle of champagne in the very rare occasion  of print success. 

rscasny said:

What kinds of tools and accessories for your 3D printer do you wished you had but don't have in your tool cabinet?

A spare hot-end.

I have spare nozzles (now), but I didn't originally. However I am realising that I likely need a new ptfe tube that leads up to it.

Also 3D printers should come with an exhaustive list of what G-Code commands they support, eg. the Creality MR2020 does not, and yet it claims to have filament-out detection, it does not respond to the typical G-Code commands for handling this.

I agree with a filament dryer and suitable storage for said filament - I still don't have one of these, and the go-to appears to still be, either store it suitably from the beginning or use an adapted food dehydrator.

A key thing I'd love though, is an enclosure with an active carbon filter on its exhaust / fans. I picked up an enclosure, but it does not have this, and you can tell that there's something ill coming off the fumes of the filament.

Extended support would be: automated fire extinguisher and remote monitoring.

I'd also vote for a filament dryer, different filament types and an enclosure with venting, plus a spare heated bed.  I already have spare nozzles (different diameters), a spare hotend assembly, and the various required tools (wrenches, tweezers, scrapers, diagonal cutters, etc).

I tend to focus on function over appearance, so my printer works well for prototyping but because I only print with "standard" PLA - my projects are not very durable. 

dougw said:

a dust cover

+1 on the dust cover - especially if it also blocks sunlight, which seems to make my filament break if I forget to remove the spool after a print.

cstanton said:

a new ptfe tube

+1 on the ptfe bowden tube upgrade. Like the Capricorn high heat type.