The Most Revolutionary 3D Printer Mod

I've been running 3D Printers for the past 5 years or so. Ive had access to many printers. Machines come and go, but yet they all lack one feature. AMS/MMU? meh. Built-in cameras? seen it. CoreXY? old news. 

About a year ago, now, I have discovered a cheap yet life-changing modification that works on almost all 3D Printers, from the Enders to the Prusas and Bambus. Even some resin printers can accomodate this addition. Despite the no-brainer of an upgrade, I havent seen a single 3D Printer manufacturer ship this installed out-of-the-box.

I present to you: googly eyes.

Thats it. Thats the upgrade.

And now? my 3D Printers arent machines, they are little fellas trundling along, working hard on making whatever it is i have Fusion 360'ed into existance. My prints look exactly the same as before. The dimensional accuracy hasn’t changed. Layer adhesion? Still fine. But the vibes? Immaculate.

 

The irony is that in the community of 3D printing, people obsess over precision engineering. They’ll argue endlessly about whether you should upgrade to an all-metal hotend or which firmware fork gives you the most accurate arc compensation. But the single greatest improvement in my experience came from anthropomorphizing the little machine with some plastic eyeballs. Whenever someone comes along to check out the machines at my house, thats what draws their attention the most. Even if they are already 3D Printing nerds, this is the part that stands out the most. 
 

I have also built my own pick-and-place machine entirely from scratch, and of course, it also has googly eyes.
 

Maybe true joy doesn't come from fancy filaments or expensive printers, but two little plastic eyeballs. the plastic eyeballs that make any old 3D printer yours.
 

Next on my list? maybe a tiny hat.

Please make sure to clean the surface before sticking, and use eyes with decent adhesive. If one falls off mid-print, things may go very wrong.

Also, please let me know if you are interested in these articles. First time making one!