Let me introduce you to the heart of Noppitlabs, my trusty Flashforge Adventurer 3. She's second-hand, heavily modified, and absolutely essential to everything I create.
When I first got this printer, it had already seen some use. Fast forward to today, and I've put roughly 20 times the original hours on it. That's a lot of pegboard mounts, Pwnagotchi cases, and prototype designs! Despite the heavy workload, this little machine keeps delivering.
One of the best things about being a maker is that nothing stays the same for long. The first major upgrade I made was installing a Raspberry Pi camera so I can check on prints from anywhere, whether I'm at college, grabbing coffee, or just in another room. Being able to monitor print progress remotely has saved me from countless failed prints and gives me peace of mind when running longer jobs.
The Adventurer 3 is a brilliant printer, but it's designed for 500g spools however this is limiting when you're printing regularly. I created an extended enclosure that accommodates 1kg spools. For a printer like this, it's honestly a must-have upgrade. More filament means fewer spool changes and better value for money.
Moisture is the enemy of good prints, so I've added a custom container to hold silica gel inside the printer, which helps keep the filament dry while it's loaded. Dry filament means better print quality and fewer headaches with stringing or layer adhesion issues.
My go-to material is PLA (Polylactic Acid), and there are good reasons for that. PLA is somewhat renewable – it's made from fermented plant starch, most commonly corn. Compared to other 3D printing materials like ABS, it releases far fewer toxins during printing, which is important when you're running prints in a home. For the kind of projects I'm doing at Noppitlabs, PLA hits the sweet spot between performance, safety, and sustainability.
This printer has been with me through countless projects, and I'm nowhere near done with it yet. Whether it's new IKEA SKÅDIS designs, custom cases for hacking gadgets, or experimental prototypes, the Adventurer 3 will keep running. If you're thinking about getting into 3D printing or looking for a reliable workhorse printer, I can't recommend the Flashforge Adventurer 3 enough – especially if you're willing to tinker and make it your own.
What modifications have you made to your printer? Let me know in the Contact me section, I'm always looking for new ideas
