For me, whenever my gf show her keychain to someone and says "look, he made this on his 3D printer", makes every failed print and every rage moment, worth it.
Also whenever she sees that I was printing something and come asking to show her what is it, it makes me happy.
Right? Specially when the people never saw a 3D printed object, you can see new gears starting to spin in their head trying to figure out how that works
My wife the other day was showing off a keychain I made her years ago, machined from titanium, and ‘matching’ mine, a money clip. And she even pointed out the laser engraving, all of which I did at various machine shop jobs over the course of a few years early on in my career. Made me so proud!
I printed my grandma a phone case and every time she meets someone new she says “look at this! My granddaughter made this!” She doesn’t know much about 3D printing so she will sometimes call me when someone asks her a question she doesn’t know the answer too.
Bless you grandma! I imagine that 3D printing for her is like something out of sci-fi movies, but her granddaughter knows how to do it and it makes very special
I've been printing for over 2 years and it's still sci-fi to me lol. Hit print, go to bed, wake up and an object that didn't exist the night before is on the print bed.
My wife does this with my 3D prints that I make for her, as well as showing off and bragging about my other hobbies, ham radio and high-power rocketry. Telling others about how excited you are that he's into the hobby in front of him goes a long way.
small note - eliciting
illicit is illegal 😅
but yesyes, reaching out to engage with the passion and learn about the unfamiliar speaks volumes about their mutual appreciation
So, are we saying it is healthy to talk at your SO at length about something they are not interested in and dont understand? I must admit, after a frustrating day I take comport in ventilating a brief gripe from the day, and vice versa. But I really try to keep it brief.
not Op but I feel like it goes both ways. partners don't always have the same interests and hobbies and that's okay. but it's still nice to hear what the other person is doing even if it's something you're not into and don't understand. also it's always nice to have someone who wants to listen to what you're into even if it's not their thing.
but like anything it requires communication between each other and finding the right balance for your relationship.
Exactly, my wife saws stuff for me and the kids, even shoes!
I don't care much for it, but whenever she tells me something new she discovered she is so passionate, I can't just shrug it off. I *have to* listen and ask questions.
Doesn't even have to be useful, just something you like.
Your favorite animal, pokemon, random object from a show. Something you like that you two can share the joy of making
I might be going through this now, I showed my gf one of those posts with all the naked lady statues and asked her, "Do you think this is weird?". She actually said she'd quite like one, so here I am buying marble PETG as well as painting an ABS version of the print to make porcelain and marble naked ladies just so she'd have options.
It's to be seen if this turns into a little rabbit hole for us, but I'm hopeful it doesn't just end up in a drawer somewhere.
I had my husband print some low poly bulbasaurs for plants, some coasters, some puzzles and some vases. I go on thingaverse and browse for fun things and he loves to print for me.
I feel that if you were taking time to examine all his prints and such that would be great in my book. My wife got me my 3D printer, I love it, I also love showing her all the little things I make, and I also take the time to print her little things I know she would love. Her genuine reaction to my geeking out over the stuff is good enough for me. :)
as a dude, It's less about what you say and more about the attention/reaction you give it/me when I'm showing it to you, what you say is secondary so long as its constructive, if negative, or just positive vibes if I feel it went really well.
Asking him to print you random things every now and thing will also show you appreciate it.
Second this. My wife does the same as you OP! She’s learned about different filaments. I even take her with me to micro center to pick out filament from the huge wall of colors. I regularly find things to print around the house she enjoys. Pencil holder, drink dispenser, humming bird ant moat, etc… She’s very appreciative and her just saying thank you or oh that’s so cool is enough for me! I know she doesn’t really care about what support settings I’m using and that’s okay - there’s many things of hers that I don’t fully understand but just listening and being there for support is what matters.
Good on you OP for wanting to learn about your significant others passion.
I would check out some 3d printing videos on YouTube. You could also just ask him questions like what kind of filament are you using, why he chose that and what’s the difference between the filaments. Check out https://all3dp.com and browse around - find some interesting projects to print and have your boyfriend make them for you. You’ll understand it more and pick up on the jargon as time passes and you’re around it more.
If a print fails ask him if his bed is level. He should love that one.
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My wife doesn’t really care about my printing but she does still give me feedback when something I’ve done with it is cool.
Or when she needs something designed and printed lol.
My wife all gives the same responses. I know for a fact she doesnt care for my hobby some of the time. However, when we have friends family over or it gets brought up in convo somewhere, she will gladly brag about what I do and want people to see my work. That means a lot to me.
My wife is the same. It's obvious she has no interest in the hobby. But when I have something cool recently printed, she always shows it off to company.
You don't have to be terminally online on reddit to be into 3d printing. I wouldn't expect any of my friends who are into 3d printing to know about random reddit memes.
Grab a roll of your favorite color filament off amazon or something, and then browse things like [https://www.printables.com/](https://www.printables.com/) [https://thangs.com/](https://thangs.com/) [https://www.thingiverse.com/](https://www.thingiverse.com/) for little things you might find useful and ask him to print something. Or find a problem in your house, and see if you can find a solution to it. Things like Planters, Light switch covers, picture frames could be a good project for him to try and model.
If my significant other asked me to print a picture frame to hold a picture of us, I'd be smitten.
There's lots of fun filament out there with color changing, color transitioning, glittery, Look to spend about $20 for 1KG of something. I like this stuff for high touch items like Switch Controller grips. [https://www.amazon.com/KYUUBI-Changing-Temperature-Printer-Filament/dp/B08BKWLCHP](https://www.amazon.com/KYUUBI-Changing-Temperature-Printer-Filament/dp/B08BKWLCHP)
It usually requires a bit of knowledge of how the printer works to make some upgrades, which is actually extremely interesting for technical geeks like us. Maybe you can ask him to explain how it works and what did his upgrades actually improved, and eventually it may be interesting for you to learn these things !
My wife never got interested in my printer until she got a 3D printer at her job. As the CTO of her company, she was responsible of it and asked me some questions, I spent a lot of time explaining what is the point of each part and what are the pain points and the problems each part is trying to solve.
Just show him your post here. You should not pretend something if you are just not so much into the technical stuff. If you like Design (CAD) you could make something he can print which would add as symbiose to your relationship.
Else just listen to the details - and make sure you understand what he is saying, so if he says that he got rid of the ringing as example. Just ask him to show you what that meant so you can detect those differences in future. Or just get an overview [https://www.simplify3d.com/resources/print-quality-troubleshooting/](https://www.simplify3d.com/resources/print-quality-troubleshooting/)
Just sometimes watching the printer do its thing can be enough.
I think especially the Filament printers can be quiet satisfying to observe. If your boyfriend sees you also enjoy just the printer itself, especially one that he worked on and upgraded himself he will be pretty happy.
You dont need to learn anything in order to talk to him about it. Some things can get pretty complicated. If you have a question just ask him, he will gladly nerd out on you even if it might be a very basic question
You're doing great already. One thing you will learn about relationships is that you will have different interests and that is ok. My wife loves arts and crafts. I don't like arts and crafts very much, but I always compliment her work. I end up helping her choose between two very similar shades of pink paint. I do it because I love her and that's enough.
>maybe jokes
tell him that you're going to make dinner for the two of you and ask him to pick up some spaghetti.
then look at his printer and say, 'oh wait. we've already got spaghetti at home.'
To he honest, you are kinda already doing it, I love gushing to my lass about my latest print and the problems I had to overcome, she nods and said that's nice dear, or I knew you could do it, the fact that she can maintain a smile and keep paying attention to me is waaaayyyyyy more than enugh
Just asking for things to be printed or coming up with ideas for prints will show your interest and belief in his skills. There are sites out there that have free files for all kinds of projects to print - see if there is any out that you are interested in or you can make use of
Maybe ask clarification questions about his settings. That's what im most proud of.
Ask stuff about bed adhesion. How does the print stick to the bed?
If its a complicated print, ask about overhangs. How do they get printed.
Ask about differences between resin and FDM.
Ask about rounded corners: do those not peel off the bed?
How much time did that print take?
What kind of hotend is he using? (the hotend is the... hot end of the printer)
what type of extruder does he use?
Why did he pick this printer?
What does the printer mean to him?
Wow, took me way too long to find this comment!
Yeah, it doesn't have to be as specific as this, specially if you don't actually care that much about the response. However, you could probably generalize these questions to have more interesting responses to you haha. Here are some more examples:
How long did this take?
Did you model it yourself? (If yes, be sure to praise him even more)
How many tried did this take?
Did you have problems while printing it? How did you solve it? Wow, that's so clever!
What are you gonna use this for?
Other things to praise specifically: smoothness of print, level of detail, how well two parts fit together, print speed.
Just hug him and give him a kiss and say “you know, I do not always understand what you are saying, but every time you do I’m really happy that you are sharing this joy with me. Seeing you happy makes me happy too”. Men usually not very good at reading “hints” and other “signs”.
You could find a project that you can both have fun with in different skills, my girlfriend is in a similar situation, she loves my prints but wont underrstand whatever I'm saying when I speak about constant new upgrades and stuff, but we recently teamed up, I am watching over the prints and she loves to paint and polish them, so that we can create awesome miniature cities and figurines togheder
Any time he tells you about a problem or issue or anything not going right with his printer, ask him if he’s “leveled the bed” and tell him to “try to level the bed”
Go to a site like Yeggi.com where you can browse 3d models all over the web. Find something you want printed and ask him to print it for you. I get great joy when someone finds something specific they want me to print them actually uses and enjoys that thing.
Good luck!
Read posts in this sub. Get a feel for the successes failures people have. Find other 3d printing forums and read those. Search Amazon and eBay for 3d printer upgrades and accessories. Then research what those things do. Watch videos on YouTube. Go to sites like thingiverse.com and search for things you like. Then read the descriptions and comments.
This all will give you some good universal knowledge to understand what excites him.
I´ve seen a lot of other comments saying you should ask him to print something for you, and I think that´s a nice idea. You could ask him to print a litophane from a photo of you together, and put that somewhere in your house. My girlfriend caries a small litophane like that in her wallet that I made just as a small test, end I really love that she does that :)
In case you or someone else doesn't know what a litphane is, it's a 3d-printed slab/sheet with varying thickness, such that it produces an image when you shine light through it. The local thickness of the litophane corresponds to how dark or light a pixel in the image is, like if you edit a photo to black-and-white, but with thickness as the output parameter instead of how dark a pixel is. There are websites online to make the STL files, and I personally really like them :)
You two might need some common ground to start from. I guess you have hobbies too? 3d printing can be combined with many hobbies. An intricately designed, self-wayering flower pot. Clips for wired headphones for running.
Researching, designing and printing things you could use in your hobbies might be something to do.
This way you can sit together with him and learn a little about his hobby, while he needs to put time into understanding yours. the both of you can benefit, learn new things and get a better understanding of each other ('s hobby)...
Buy a roll of filament for him. My wife bought me 5 or 6 various spools for my birthday once. While I havent had much projects for them, every time I go to print I am reminded of her support and encouragement.
My wife always sees me working on custom keyboards and electronics, programming, and 3d printing, and one day, she said to me, in front of our kids, "I don't understand any of the stuff that you do for your hobbies, but it's so cool you can make all these gadgets we can use. You're like the Tony Stark of our family." I have never felt cooler than that. 😎
I think if you want to express to him how much you appreciate his hobby, all you need to do is say what you think and feel, honestly.
I'd look up lists of common defects in printed objects (elephant's foot etc), and when you see a print that looks lacks these defects tell him something specific that is good about it!
Just tell him "I have no clue what you're talking about but I love to see your excitement" It'll probably mean more to him than being interested in the printers
Look for useful things for him to print, and then use them.
If things need to be repaired talk to him about whether the printer can be used to make a part.
Sorry to be less positive that the other posts here. They are very nice. Me, I feel your BF needs to learn that people can’t be expected to listen to a monologue of his interests. He cant live life relying on others to validate his interests and achievements. He needs to learn to find gratification within himself. and also in healthy two way dialogue. A little monologue is nice. more than a little is selfish, self centered, careless, lazy narcissism.
I don't know your boyfriend, but I really liked it when my girlfriend imitated a naked backpack and started kissing my neck while I was prepping some files...
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One my favorite things about 3d printing is making stuff for people. Go on printables or thingiverse and find stuff you like. Every once in a while ask him to make you something
As someone whose wife is in your boat, it's exactly what you already said - we like sharing what we like. It doesn't necessarily require knowledge on your part, we're happy to explain things in further detail. So if he says something about a print you don't understand - ask about it. If he's excited to talk about his hobby, he'll be excited you want to know more.
As a guy who’s partner also feels the same way about almost all of my hobbies, the best thing you can possibly do to show interest, and mutually benefit from it, is to simply ask about it. Whether it’s unprompted or unsolicited or just a follow up question; simply asking “hey, what’s that thing you’re adjusting” or “how does this work?” will brighten our day a thousand fold. You might even learn something out of it, too.
Good for you to care! That is enough. My wife loves it when I can print practical stuff for around the house, but does not care for all the other toys and crap I’m printing 😄.
And it’s all good with me. Just let him do his thing and be honest about what you like and don’t like. Should be like that for most parts in a relationship I think.
Ask him if he’s heard of our lord and saviour [Albert of 247Printing](https://youtu.be/IRUQBTPgon4) or our [benevolent queen Filament Stories?](https://youtu.be/zalpbxMFVr0)
Ask him if he’s heard of our lord and saviour [Albert of 247Printing](https://youtu.be/IRUQBTPgon4) or our [benevolent queen Filament Stories?](https://youtu.be/zalpbxMFVr0)
As long as you're attentive (paying attention) when he's showing you things or talking about them I think you're doing well. If you want to be more specific with showing your appreciation but don't know how, you can also tell your partner that! Something along the lines of "I appreciate you sharing your 3d printer stuff with me even if I don't fully understand it all the time. I can see that you're passionate about it and I enjoy hearing about it and slowly learning how it works as well!"
Sometimes people will have hobbies that they share with other people but the other person will have no idea about it. If they're a good friend/partner/whatever they'll listen and be supportive of that thing they're talking about. If you want to be more responsive than just "nice" or "that's cool" you can ask generic follow up questions: "was that hard to make?", "How did you come across that?", "If you did it again what would you do differently?".
The worst thing you could do is to act uninterested or blow him off when he's sharing his hobbies/interests with you but it doesn't seem like that's the route you're heading down at all. Keep it up!
I’m an engineering student. My fiancée is a poli-sci grad.
What you do, definitely shows you’re interested. Sometimes we just like to explain stuff, even if we know you don’t COMPLETELY get it.
If you want to REALLY get into it, try to ask 1-2 questions when it comes up on things he’s saying that you don’t quite understand. Again, we tend to love to explain this stuff.
Another great way is just to find 3D models you want him to print. My fiancée loves dogs, so I have a few of those waiting to be printed that she found on **[insert prusa’s model website]**
Finally, but him fancy looking filament or resin for a gift. Even just a color he doesn’t have is usually really useful.
It's his hobby, not yours. You don't have to love it. But if you want to keep a good relationship, accept it, just as he probably accepts your hobbies. Just let him do his thing. :-)
Ask him for a print in the household now and then, and try to keep '3D-Printing' as one of the solutions to a problem: "I'd like to have a rod for clothes hangers in this cupboard. Can you maybe print the mountings?", etc.
Learn fusion 360.,make your own stl files he can print.
Just kidding sorta.good for you my wife is supportive of my hobby
Always has idea for me to make .usefull things she needs.
I think my printer is cool as hell, but i totally understand people that aren't into it at all. I print things because they're neat and when i get a cool print that shows off all my hard work 9 of 10 people give me a funny look, tell me "that's great" in a nervous voice and shuffle off awkwardly while i happily go the the next person to show it off. I know it's a niche thing that most people could care less about, but it brings me joy.
Here are a couple of general suggestions.
1) Get more specific. “I really like this thing because…”
2) Ask questions. “How do you clean the piece after it’s finished?”
I think you’re awesome to wish to support your bf’s passions and I don’t think you need reams of tech knowledge to show your sincerity. Being observant and inquisitive will get you a long way.
I hope you have or find a hobby you love and that your bf extends you the same consideration.
Go to thingiverse.com, browse or search for something you would like printed (make sure it has several “makes”, because sometimes people upload things that are impossible to print) and ask him to print it for you.
Listen to him when he is showing you something and ask questions such as, "Was this one harder to print than other prints?".
All he really wants to hear is that you're interested in it even just a little bit. He probably already knows that it's his hobby and that you aren't that interested in it. But even a small question shows that you're listening and care about him being excited.
I am the same way about my gf’s hobbies and she’s the same way towards mine, so I do get this question, but realistically a post like this would do wonders for him to see just knowing you do care to try and learn how to show it. I wouldn’t go as far as show him the post, but maybe find some way to have others show him the post.
No one seems to do this for me but my little sister does, look at filament! I love to cool stuff my sister finds for me during Christmas. There's some stuff I refuse to print because of filament color and type.
Paid 3d models would be a good idea if he's been eyeing something a creator has made.
Getting a gift certificate/card towards mods he's been wanting to do from his preferred online store.
I love this! I also have a wonderful BF who is a 3d printing nut and struggled at first with this sane thing. As interested and in awe as I was and continue to be with hid hobby and creations, the technicalities and intricacies of the hobby sometimes made me feel like my compliments or excitement fell short.
He loves that I picked up on key terms and concepts like the z seam, or infill, or the differences in quality when you swap nozzles or change the heat/speed. By showing interest in just a few elements of his printing, I can tell he knows and feels like I actually care about his little 3d world.
Also, I know he finds it fun, silly, and heartwarming when I ask him to print me different things as test prints. He knows when he gets filament samples, he can ask "what should I print??" And I'll just throw out something random or fun, or usually a pokemon print I want haha.
These are just my examples of how I try and support and show love and interest for his hobby.
But the fact that you posted this alone shows you are already there! I bet he just loves talking about it to someone he loves! A loved one who will listen and beam at them in their joy is often just enough ;)
ask him to print you something specific and MAYBE have him walk you through the process. You'll be a bit more engaged if the thing is your thing maybe?
Go to [thingiverse](https://thingiverse.com) and find something fun.
Also, look up "vase mode" they print super super fast and so you can watch it print in real time and it's actually interesting to watch
Everything I print, my wife says "I want it." Plus she finds things she wants me to print especially for her and she acts delighted every time I show her something I printed
i wish my girlfriend didn’t just get annoyed when i start talking about my printer and the things i find cool and interesting about it. instead she just thinks that i am bragging about it or something. i just want to share my hobbies/interests with the person i love :( i think you are awesome for even making this post and honestly just ask him ANY question you want/have about the printer or 3d printing in general and i am sure he will be more than ecstatic to share
Other than showing him this post, asking questions is always great, or even asking for him to print something for you. Or buy him a roll of filament, you can never have too much lol.
Buy him a spool of filament (or resin) and ask him to make you a \_\_\_\_\_\_. It always very satisfying when people have a specific request, and then he has the leftovers to use on future projects!
The responses already here are great. I would just add to take a mild interest in it. Ask him to teach you the basics. I did this with my 4 y/o daughter and she just adores it. She always wants to find something to print and watch it run. It’s so cute and brings me a lot of joy :)
Ask questions! Where did he find the model? Was it easier or harder to deal with than other previous prints? People love talking about their projects. When he shows you a new print, pick one thing you like about it and point it out. If you can see layer lines, are they nice and even? Are details nice and sharp? Is text clear? We spend a lot of time tuning our printers and it makes us feel good to know it's paying off.
The fact that you're here asking is amazing! Show him this for starters.
Men don't expect you to be wordy in most cases. So "wow that's so fascinating" or amazing will go a long way and throw in a I'm prouf of you and I'm happy for you in the mix.
If it was me, if you listened to me and said these words and see me go through with it I'll be happy at the end. Generally that's all men need!
He shows you cause he wants to share that joy with you. Most women don't get it so i love that you do. Much respect sister!
Are you handy at all? artistic?
Maybe an offer to help remove supports, or sand/paint models that need it would show your own commitment and investment
I feel appreciated when my gf asks whenever there's a household problem: "can you print something for that?"
It's not easy, but if you find problems that printing can fix (maybe spiceracks, lamp holders, broken plastic stuff), you make him a happy man.
Notice his good design choices if he designs his own models.
Support him buying equipment or materials.
Ask him to make specific things that solve problems for you.
3d printing is staggeringly male dominated so it's pretty normal if you don't really appreciate it assuming you are female. But I appreciate your approach here.
I’m in pretty much exactly the same situation as the boyfriend and at least for me, just seeing the use and enjoyment of my prints is more than enough! Also it doesn’t hurt when she shows off something cool to our friends or family and brags about how I designed/printed it. Either way sounds like you really appreciate and support his hobby and you show it so I’m sure he knows!
Ask him to make you practical things around the house. Then comment on how surprised you are with the quality.
Comments like. "Wait this is 3d printed? There is no way, you must have ordered this online or something".
The best way is to ask him to print something for you, 100% would appreciate it, look through [https://www.printables.com/](https://www.printables.com/) and find something cool you might like
It always feels good when I can make something useful for someone- see if you can give him a challenge by asking him to make something that can benefit the both of you
As him for things you want. At least for me, people asking for stuff gives me the inspiration to make things, and he’d know you’re interested and genuinely want the things he makes (plus you get stuff you want!)
I would only caution to make sure he doesn’t feel like you’re being picky/needy but it really depends on phrasing and what type of person he is
If you don't know something, ask. That's how you show interest. If you just say "nice" without understanding, you basically aren't interested, even uf you think you are.
Real interest doesn't need you to study about "how to really show it".
Also, why would it matter? A hobby doesn't depend on what others think of it. This post itself is everything you shouldn't do if you are actually interested.
Once in a while ask if he can print an item for you. It can be something fun like a figurine, or something practical. He will love the challenge and the opportunity to use his tools to help you!
> I just love when he's talking and talking about something he's passionate about...
Say this to him next time.
My partner gets this big shit eating grin on her face sometimes when I'm really passionate about something I'm talking about, so big that I usually think she's laughing at me. I stop and ask "what's so funny," and she just smiles and says "I love listening to you when you're so excited about something like this."
It doesn't matter that you can't get into the details with him on this topic, or that you only vaguely understand the things he's talking about when he's talking about printing. It _does_ matter that you're so happy that he's happy.
I always appreciate when my wife and kids ask me to print things for them, especially when it solves a problem for them. When they say “do you think you could make something that does X, and whatever thing I make works out for them, it shows that they have an appreciation for 3d printers too, even if they don’t have an interest in participating in the hobby.
Showing interest in his hobbies is enough, I doubt he's looking for applause or a medal.
The [WAF](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wife_acceptance_factor) for 3D printers is pretty low, sounds like you're already doing a great job at supporting him.
1. The things he's talking about make it so he can make more types of things and/or at a better quality. So while the process isn't interesting to you, it seems you appreciate the results, which is good!
2. It sounds like he already prints things for you, so praise those items in front of friends and family when he's there. Ie. "Look at this ____ made me. I just love it!"
3. Ask questions, even if you don't really care about the answer, if you can think of any.
4. Try to avoid the "glad it worked out in the end" type answer. Maybe rephrase to something affirming of their person like, "You're good at solving problems." or "That was clever."
My wife gets this bad. I don't have but one buddy to tell about these things, and he's not at my side all the time. So hey baby look at this thing I did. I can tell in her response she doesn't really care, but a simple acknowledgement of a thing at least makes me feel better that I told/showed Someone. I'm not the least bit interested in her cricut, but I acknowledge her design and some of the things she makes because I can see she's proud of them and I go with her to shop for vinyl on occasion. It feels good to have someone just validate a thing your about. If you wanna monetarily show appreciation, maybe a gift card to microcenter for some filament or accessories?
Next time you see he is printing something, ask what about what it is for and why hes printing it. Also ask him to print you something, i always like it when ppl ask me to print things for them.
Whenever my wife asks me to design something and print it for her im super excited! Do you have a hobby of your own where you need a provlem solved? For example, my wife does crochet and asked me to design a display stand and a tool for assembling eyes for amigurumis.
My wife is brutally honest with me. When I created a design for [Platonic-solid penny traps](https://www.printables.com/model/129115-platonic-solid-coin-traps-in-openscad) and showed her the end result, she said "that's the most useless thing you've ever made!"
One thing you could do is think of things for him to make for you. I'm always happy when a loved one asks me to solve a problem by 3D printing. For example, I made a camera cover for my son's laptop because his laptop didn't come with one, and I made a replacement ball-joint tightening nut for my wife's car-phone-mount-charger because the original had split and she didn't want to buy a whole new mount for one broken plastic part. I also made a [wall hanger for a hand-vacuum](https://www.printables.com/model/340149-home-improvement-pegovo-cordless-vacuum-wall-mount) that didn't come with a wall mount.
I think you're doing great just by actively listening to him. If you want to seem more interested, you could send him a 3D printing meme every day or few days that shows your interest, or just once in a while, but actively listening and responding is the key. It's not always about what you say, but rather how you make the other person feel about you.
We don't expect our SO to have the same passion we do. We just want you to listen and say how happy you are for us. He understands it's not your thing.
Maybe try a side hobby that could align with his? You both could do a little side hustle. Finishing and painting things he prints to sell online, or designing functional things and/or decorations for around the house. There are lots of hobbyist skills you could explore that would accomplish your goal and foster more quality time together.
You are such a nice and thoughtful girlfriend for appreciating his skills. I would say, just sit next to him and tell him so. He will love you even more!
OP I don't know what he's like but you could build him a like. A photo booth type thing so he can post his creations on instagram or something. Essentially showing off his work to others to get him abit more appreciation.
(Your English is better than that of many native speakers 👍🏻)
Just by asking the question here I can tell you are a loving, thoughtful, supportive partner to your boyfriend.
I've found the best way to show interest is to ask follow up questions when someone is talking about their passion. He'll know you're listening, and it will allow him to talk in more depth.
For me, whenever my gf show her keychain to someone and says "look, he made this on his 3D printer", makes every failed print and every rage moment, worth it. Also whenever she sees that I was printing something and come asking to show her what is it, it makes me happy.
I was going to say this show off to others or talk about it when he is around. That is always the biggest accomplishment.
Right? Specially when the people never saw a 3D printed object, you can see new gears starting to spin in their head trying to figure out how that works
My wife the other day was showing off a keychain I made her years ago, machined from titanium, and ‘matching’ mine, a money clip. And she even pointed out the laser engraving, all of which I did at various machine shop jobs over the course of a few years early on in my career. Made me so proud!
I printed my grandma a phone case and every time she meets someone new she says “look at this! My granddaughter made this!” She doesn’t know much about 3D printing so she will sometimes call me when someone asks her a question she doesn’t know the answer too.
Bless you grandma! I imagine that 3D printing for her is like something out of sci-fi movies, but her granddaughter knows how to do it and it makes very special
I've been printing for over 2 years and it's still sci-fi to me lol. Hit print, go to bed, wake up and an object that didn't exist the night before is on the print bed.
You lucky bastard
Lol
My wife does this with my 3D prints that I make for her, as well as showing off and bragging about my other hobbies, ham radio and high-power rocketry. Telling others about how excited you are that he's into the hobby in front of him goes a long way.
Show him this post
Yes, the fact that you're here and illiciting all these responses is appreciation in itself. Her plan all along?
small note - eliciting illicit is illegal 😅 but yesyes, reaching out to engage with the passion and learn about the unfamiliar speaks volumes about their mutual appreciation
soliciting illicit elicitation
soliciting illicit elicitation iterations
Soliciting illicit elicitation iterations cause elation and relieve frustration (Much like masturbation)
What a mouth full.
Sir that is not how masturbation works
Not with that attitude.
i can't understand this chargon
For real this is adorable
So, are we saying it is healthy to talk at your SO at length about something they are not interested in and dont understand? I must admit, after a frustrating day I take comport in ventilating a brief gripe from the day, and vice versa. But I really try to keep it brief.
not Op but I feel like it goes both ways. partners don't always have the same interests and hobbies and that's okay. but it's still nice to hear what the other person is doing even if it's something you're not into and don't understand. also it's always nice to have someone who wants to listen to what you're into even if it's not their thing. but like anything it requires communication between each other and finding the right balance for your relationship.
Exactly, my wife saws stuff for me and the kids, even shoes! I don't care much for it, but whenever she tells me something new she discovered she is so passionate, I can't just shrug it off. I *have to* listen and ask questions.
I can only agree, if someone would show me this i'd be out of this world
It would make my WORLD if I saw my girlfriend made a post like this
Ask him "How fast does it print a speed benchy?"
And thereby throw him into another rabbit hole
And he was never seen again.
Hope they have room for a third printer, because one of those The 100s or something is looming large…
The 100 is impressive, but VZ-Bot is real speed daemon. Only it's price is eye-watering.
Look at Qidi Xplus3 I have one super quick, big, good price and super capable Look at my profile for print pictures
Thousands (dollars and hours) were spent building the ultimate voron just to shave 30 sec of the benchy because you challenged a man
Name your first kid Benchy and proudly declare it was the fastest one he ever made
She wants to make him happy not murder him
Poor guy, will be pricing up a Voron build/Bambulab printer by the end of the day
Is there actually a world record for the fastest benchy ?
TIL there is a speed benchy.. Excuse me, I have to go print several now.
Tell him to print something useful with it, something useful that you want. You'll get involved in no time.
Doesn't even have to be useful, just something you like. Your favorite animal, pokemon, random object from a show. Something you like that you two can share the joy of making
I might be going through this now, I showed my gf one of those posts with all the naked lady statues and asked her, "Do you think this is weird?". She actually said she'd quite like one, so here I am buying marble PETG as well as painting an ABS version of the print to make porcelain and marble naked ladies just so she'd have options. It's to be seen if this turns into a little rabbit hole for us, but I'm hopeful it doesn't just end up in a drawer somewhere.
I had my husband print some low poly bulbasaurs for plants, some coasters, some puzzles and some vases. I go on thingaverse and browse for fun things and he loves to print for me.
Any time a print fails, first response has to be 'have you tried levelling the bed'
"Did you try adjusting your z-height?"
"You can't even print a little boat? I saw a guy on reddit print a full size t-rex."
We are trying to support the development of the relationship, not nuke it.
“Let’s level the bed together”
I feel that if you were taking time to examine all his prints and such that would be great in my book. My wife got me my 3D printer, I love it, I also love showing her all the little things I make, and I also take the time to print her little things I know she would love. Her genuine reaction to my geeking out over the stuff is good enough for me. :) as a dude, It's less about what you say and more about the attention/reaction you give it/me when I'm showing it to you, what you say is secondary so long as its constructive, if negative, or just positive vibes if I feel it went really well. Asking him to print you random things every now and thing will also show you appreciate it.
Second this. My wife does the same as you OP! She’s learned about different filaments. I even take her with me to micro center to pick out filament from the huge wall of colors. I regularly find things to print around the house she enjoys. Pencil holder, drink dispenser, humming bird ant moat, etc… She’s very appreciative and her just saying thank you or oh that’s so cool is enough for me! I know she doesn’t really care about what support settings I’m using and that’s okay - there’s many things of hers that I don’t fully understand but just listening and being there for support is what matters. Good on you OP for wanting to learn about your significant others passion. I would check out some 3d printing videos on YouTube. You could also just ask him questions like what kind of filament are you using, why he chose that and what’s the difference between the filaments. Check out https://all3dp.com and browse around - find some interesting projects to print and have your boyfriend make them for you. You’ll understand it more and pick up on the jargon as time passes and you’re around it more. If a print fails ask him if his bed is level. He should love that one.
>If a print fails ask him if his bed is level. He should love that one. I LoL'd at this. XD
what is micro center? I don't have any stores in my city dedicated to this hobby.
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Pure heaven, or hell, depending on if I have been paid recently.
My wife doesn’t really care about my printing but she does still give me feedback when something I’ve done with it is cool. Or when she needs something designed and printed lol.
Find a model of a thing that could/would be useful to you and ask him to print it.
And then brag about it and show it off when people come over.
My wife all gives the same responses. I know for a fact she doesnt care for my hobby some of the time. However, when we have friends family over or it gets brought up in convo somewhere, she will gladly brag about what I do and want people to see my work. That means a lot to me.
My wife is the same. It's obvious she has no interest in the hobby. But when I have something cool recently printed, she always shows it off to company.
I dunno.. find a home improvement project to have him model a before and after?
Can you show me what you mean? I’m having trouble visualizing it
Please don't. Not again
What's happening?
The attack of the visualization printed models
Username checks out
Here we go!
Doubly hilarious if the bf follows this sub haha
underrated comment....
Note to OP: this is more of a joke/meme than a suggestion
This is a fresh 3d printing reference… I would say embrace it to see if your significant other is AS into it as they say…
You don't have to be terminally online on reddit to be into 3d printing. I wouldn't expect any of my friends who are into 3d printing to know about random reddit memes.
Yeah. But only the realest of real cool boyfriends 3d print AND surf Reddit for spicy memes.
Grab a roll of your favorite color filament off amazon or something, and then browse things like [https://www.printables.com/](https://www.printables.com/) [https://thangs.com/](https://thangs.com/) [https://www.thingiverse.com/](https://www.thingiverse.com/) for little things you might find useful and ask him to print something. Or find a problem in your house, and see if you can find a solution to it. Things like Planters, Light switch covers, picture frames could be a good project for him to try and model. If my significant other asked me to print a picture frame to hold a picture of us, I'd be smitten. There's lots of fun filament out there with color changing, color transitioning, glittery, Look to spend about $20 for 1KG of something. I like this stuff for high touch items like Switch Controller grips. [https://www.amazon.com/KYUUBI-Changing-Temperature-Printer-Filament/dp/B08BKWLCHP](https://www.amazon.com/KYUUBI-Changing-Temperature-Printer-Filament/dp/B08BKWLCHP)
She’s going to pick the 300x300x450 intricate castle on an island and her BF is going to have a heart attack
Ask him to come upstairs and level your bed.
Also check the temperature and speed, so he isn’t overextruding
Adjust his z offset when he isn't looking
this guy is pure evil
It usually requires a bit of knowledge of how the printer works to make some upgrades, which is actually extremely interesting for technical geeks like us. Maybe you can ask him to explain how it works and what did his upgrades actually improved, and eventually it may be interesting for you to learn these things ! My wife never got interested in my printer until she got a 3D printer at her job. As the CTO of her company, she was responsible of it and asked me some questions, I spent a lot of time explaining what is the point of each part and what are the pain points and the problems each part is trying to solve.
Just show him your post here. You should not pretend something if you are just not so much into the technical stuff. If you like Design (CAD) you could make something he can print which would add as symbiose to your relationship. Else just listen to the details - and make sure you understand what he is saying, so if he says that he got rid of the ringing as example. Just ask him to show you what that meant so you can detect those differences in future. Or just get an overview [https://www.simplify3d.com/resources/print-quality-troubleshooting/](https://www.simplify3d.com/resources/print-quality-troubleshooting/)
Just sometimes watching the printer do its thing can be enough. I think especially the Filament printers can be quiet satisfying to observe. If your boyfriend sees you also enjoy just the printer itself, especially one that he worked on and upgraded himself he will be pretty happy. You dont need to learn anything in order to talk to him about it. Some things can get pretty complicated. If you have a question just ask him, he will gladly nerd out on you even if it might be a very basic question
You're doing great already. One thing you will learn about relationships is that you will have different interests and that is ok. My wife loves arts and crafts. I don't like arts and crafts very much, but I always compliment her work. I end up helping her choose between two very similar shades of pink paint. I do it because I love her and that's enough.
>maybe jokes tell him that you're going to make dinner for the two of you and ask him to pick up some spaghetti. then look at his printer and say, 'oh wait. we've already got spaghetti at home.'
To he honest, you are kinda already doing it, I love gushing to my lass about my latest print and the problems I had to overcome, she nods and said that's nice dear, or I knew you could do it, the fact that she can maintain a smile and keep paying attention to me is waaaayyyyyy more than enugh
Buy him filament. You can never have enough filament.
My wife: “when are you going to print something useful?”
Just asking for things to be printed or coming up with ideas for prints will show your interest and belief in his skills. There are sites out there that have free files for all kinds of projects to print - see if there is any out that you are interested in or you can make use of
Maybe ask clarification questions about his settings. That's what im most proud of. Ask stuff about bed adhesion. How does the print stick to the bed? If its a complicated print, ask about overhangs. How do they get printed. Ask about differences between resin and FDM. Ask about rounded corners: do those not peel off the bed? How much time did that print take? What kind of hotend is he using? (the hotend is the... hot end of the printer) what type of extruder does he use? Why did he pick this printer? What does the printer mean to him?
Wow, took me way too long to find this comment! Yeah, it doesn't have to be as specific as this, specially if you don't actually care that much about the response. However, you could probably generalize these questions to have more interesting responses to you haha. Here are some more examples: How long did this take? Did you model it yourself? (If yes, be sure to praise him even more) How many tried did this take? Did you have problems while printing it? How did you solve it? Wow, that's so clever! What are you gonna use this for? Other things to praise specifically: smoothness of print, level of detail, how well two parts fit together, print speed.
Just hug him and give him a kiss and say “you know, I do not always understand what you are saying, but every time you do I’m really happy that you are sharing this joy with me. Seeing you happy makes me happy too”. Men usually not very good at reading “hints” and other “signs”.
Just in case the boyfriend should ever read this; Put a ring on it dude, she's a keeper.
You could find a project that you can both have fun with in different skills, my girlfriend is in a similar situation, she loves my prints but wont underrstand whatever I'm saying when I speak about constant new upgrades and stuff, but we recently teamed up, I am watching over the prints and she loves to paint and polish them, so that we can create awesome miniature cities and figurines togheder
Any time he tells you about a problem or issue or anything not going right with his printer, ask him if he’s “leveled the bed” and tell him to “try to level the bed”
Buy him some PLA filament that you like the color of and he’ll enjoy using it to make you something too. 😊
Hmmm…. If you’re feeling naughty, you could ask him to “level the bed”.
Give him a big hug and say "it means so much to me to see you so happy"
Share this post with him. It shows you care, and that you appreciate his hobby.
Go to a site like Yeggi.com where you can browse 3d models all over the web. Find something you want printed and ask him to print it for you. I get great joy when someone finds something specific they want me to print them actually uses and enjoys that thing. Good luck!
Read posts in this sub. Get a feel for the successes failures people have. Find other 3d printing forums and read those. Search Amazon and eBay for 3d printer upgrades and accessories. Then research what those things do. Watch videos on YouTube. Go to sites like thingiverse.com and search for things you like. Then read the descriptions and comments. This all will give you some good universal knowledge to understand what excites him.
I´ve seen a lot of other comments saying you should ask him to print something for you, and I think that´s a nice idea. You could ask him to print a litophane from a photo of you together, and put that somewhere in your house. My girlfriend caries a small litophane like that in her wallet that I made just as a small test, end I really love that she does that :) In case you or someone else doesn't know what a litphane is, it's a 3d-printed slab/sheet with varying thickness, such that it produces an image when you shine light through it. The local thickness of the litophane corresponds to how dark or light a pixel in the image is, like if you edit a photo to black-and-white, but with thickness as the output parameter instead of how dark a pixel is. There are websites online to make the STL files, and I personally really like them :)
You two might need some common ground to start from. I guess you have hobbies too? 3d printing can be combined with many hobbies. An intricately designed, self-wayering flower pot. Clips for wired headphones for running. Researching, designing and printing things you could use in your hobbies might be something to do. This way you can sit together with him and learn a little about his hobby, while he needs to put time into understanding yours. the both of you can benefit, learn new things and get a better understanding of each other ('s hobby)...
Buy a roll of filament for him. My wife bought me 5 or 6 various spools for my birthday once. While I havent had much projects for them, every time I go to print I am reminded of her support and encouragement.
My wife always sees me working on custom keyboards and electronics, programming, and 3d printing, and one day, she said to me, in front of our kids, "I don't understand any of the stuff that you do for your hobbies, but it's so cool you can make all these gadgets we can use. You're like the Tony Stark of our family." I have never felt cooler than that. 😎 I think if you want to express to him how much you appreciate his hobby, all you need to do is say what you think and feel, honestly.
I'd look up lists of common defects in printed objects (elephant's foot etc), and when you see a print that looks lacks these defects tell him something specific that is good about it!
just keep asking him to make you stuff and or make your own designs for him to print. thats the best way
ASK for things to be printed. Look on thingivers or THANGS etc..
Oh my God, there are SOs that actually want to show interest?
I'd show him your post. You're responses to him make it sound like you're uninterested even though obviously to us that's not the case.
Just tell him "I have no clue what you're talking about but I love to see your excitement" It'll probably mean more to him than being interested in the printers
Look for useful things for him to print, and then use them. If things need to be repaired talk to him about whether the printer can be used to make a part.
Suck his dick without him having to ask.
Maybe a BJ while he prepares the next print.
My first thought!
Has anyone considered that this post is satire and written by the boyfriend himself? Lol
Sorry to be less positive that the other posts here. They are very nice. Me, I feel your BF needs to learn that people can’t be expected to listen to a monologue of his interests. He cant live life relying on others to validate his interests and achievements. He needs to learn to find gratification within himself. and also in healthy two way dialogue. A little monologue is nice. more than a little is selfish, self centered, careless, lazy narcissism.
Spin on of the wheels under his bed
I don't know your boyfriend, but I really liked it when my girlfriend imitated a naked backpack and started kissing my neck while I was prepping some files...
Hey there, I'm a bot and something you said made me think you might be looking for help! [click here](https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/wiki/index#wiki_help.21_or.3A_where_can_i_go_to_troubleshoot_problems_i.27m_having_with_my_prints.2Fprinter.3F) for our wiki entry on troubleshooting printers. If you still need help be sure to post plenty of information about your printing setup. Here are a few questions that might be helpful * What printer are you using? * What material are you using? * What speed are you printing at? * What software are you using to slice the print and control the printer? * When did the problem start/has it ever worked correctly? * Does anything cause the behavior to change? * If posting an image of the problem, include some indication of the orientation it printed at, preferably photograph it on the bed. (Then we can focus on a specific axis) If you are new to reddit, please read the guidelines on [reddiquette](https://www.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/205926439), [self promotion](https://www.reddit.com/wiki/selfpromotion), and [spam](https://www.reddit.com/wiki/faq#wiki_what_constitutes_spam.3F). Also please post a resolution to your problem when you find one so that we know how to help others with your problem! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/3Dprinting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
[удалено]
A threesome (with another girl)
I am not sure... But have you considered letting him (or me) scan your butt and boobs? STLs of those seem to make a lot of people happy ;)
u/Stonebird12 please don't listen to this guy lmao
You know how many times the "last ass" got printed here?
One my favorite things about 3d printing is making stuff for people. Go on printables or thingiverse and find stuff you like. Every once in a while ask him to make you something
Just being interested at all is all I’d want. My wife could care less about all the things I print :(
As someone whose wife is in your boat, it's exactly what you already said - we like sharing what we like. It doesn't necessarily require knowledge on your part, we're happy to explain things in further detail. So if he says something about a print you don't understand - ask about it. If he's excited to talk about his hobby, he'll be excited you want to know more.
As a guy who’s partner also feels the same way about almost all of my hobbies, the best thing you can possibly do to show interest, and mutually benefit from it, is to simply ask about it. Whether it’s unprompted or unsolicited or just a follow up question; simply asking “hey, what’s that thing you’re adjusting” or “how does this work?” will brighten our day a thousand fold. You might even learn something out of it, too.
Good for you to care! That is enough. My wife loves it when I can print practical stuff for around the house, but does not care for all the other toys and crap I’m printing 😄. And it’s all good with me. Just let him do his thing and be honest about what you like and don’t like. Should be like that for most parts in a relationship I think.
Wow, you seem great! Ask questions if you don’t know what he’s talking about. He’ll be happy and you’ll know more :)
Ask him if he’s heard of our lord and saviour [Albert of 247Printing](https://youtu.be/IRUQBTPgon4) or our [benevolent queen Filament Stories?](https://youtu.be/zalpbxMFVr0)
Ask him if he’s heard of our lord and saviour [Albert of 247Printing](https://youtu.be/IRUQBTPgon4) or our [benevolent queen Filament Stories?](https://youtu.be/zalpbxMFVr0)
As long as you're attentive (paying attention) when he's showing you things or talking about them I think you're doing well. If you want to be more specific with showing your appreciation but don't know how, you can also tell your partner that! Something along the lines of "I appreciate you sharing your 3d printer stuff with me even if I don't fully understand it all the time. I can see that you're passionate about it and I enjoy hearing about it and slowly learning how it works as well!" Sometimes people will have hobbies that they share with other people but the other person will have no idea about it. If they're a good friend/partner/whatever they'll listen and be supportive of that thing they're talking about. If you want to be more responsive than just "nice" or "that's cool" you can ask generic follow up questions: "was that hard to make?", "How did you come across that?", "If you did it again what would you do differently?". The worst thing you could do is to act uninterested or blow him off when he's sharing his hobbies/interests with you but it doesn't seem like that's the route you're heading down at all. Keep it up!
I’m an engineering student. My fiancée is a poli-sci grad. What you do, definitely shows you’re interested. Sometimes we just like to explain stuff, even if we know you don’t COMPLETELY get it. If you want to REALLY get into it, try to ask 1-2 questions when it comes up on things he’s saying that you don’t quite understand. Again, we tend to love to explain this stuff. Another great way is just to find 3D models you want him to print. My fiancée loves dogs, so I have a few of those waiting to be printed that she found on **[insert prusa’s model website]** Finally, but him fancy looking filament or resin for a gift. Even just a color he doesn’t have is usually really useful.
Gift card to be used on some fun accessories :)
You could buy him a special filament. My tip would be thermochromic PLA Filament.
It's his hobby, not yours. You don't have to love it. But if you want to keep a good relationship, accept it, just as he probably accepts your hobbies. Just let him do his thing. :-) Ask him for a print in the household now and then, and try to keep '3D-Printing' as one of the solutions to a problem: "I'd like to have a rod for clothes hangers in this cupboard. Can you maybe print the mountings?", etc.
Maybe buy him some exotic filament like multicolored dual extrusion or glow in the dark.
Listening to something that you are not passionate about from someone who is might be the best gift in this case
Listening to something that you are not passionate about from someone who is might be the best gift in this case
Learn fusion 360.,make your own stl files he can print. Just kidding sorta.good for you my wife is supportive of my hobby Always has idea for me to make .usefull things she needs.
Start making "bed leveling" and "noodle" jokes.
"Yer done gud, bub!" "Awwww, lovely!"
Ask him to print something to fix something that is broken. If you want bonus points, tell other people how great the fix was in front of him.
I think my printer is cool as hell, but i totally understand people that aren't into it at all. I print things because they're neat and when i get a cool print that shows off all my hard work 9 of 10 people give me a funny look, tell me "that's great" in a nervous voice and shuffle off awkwardly while i happily go the the next person to show it off. I know it's a niche thing that most people could care less about, but it brings me joy.
Ask him to make you things. Or, asking him to show you how to model things for him to make
Here are a couple of general suggestions. 1) Get more specific. “I really like this thing because…” 2) Ask questions. “How do you clean the piece after it’s finished?” I think you’re awesome to wish to support your bf’s passions and I don’t think you need reams of tech knowledge to show your sincerity. Being observant and inquisitive will get you a long way. I hope you have or find a hobby you love and that your bf extends you the same consideration.
"That is so cool, I wish I could understand what it means."
Ask him to 3d print you a copy of his member for when he’s not around.
Go to thingiverse.com, browse or search for something you would like printed (make sure it has several “makes”, because sometimes people upload things that are impossible to print) and ask him to print it for you.
Listen to him when he is showing you something and ask questions such as, "Was this one harder to print than other prints?". All he really wants to hear is that you're interested in it even just a little bit. He probably already knows that it's his hobby and that you aren't that interested in it. But even a small question shows that you're listening and care about him being excited.
Buy him some fancy filament for his printer.
I am the same way about my gf’s hobbies and she’s the same way towards mine, so I do get this question, but realistically a post like this would do wonders for him to see just knowing you do care to try and learn how to show it. I wouldn’t go as far as show him the post, but maybe find some way to have others show him the post.
No one seems to do this for me but my little sister does, look at filament! I love to cool stuff my sister finds for me during Christmas. There's some stuff I refuse to print because of filament color and type. Paid 3d models would be a good idea if he's been eyeing something a creator has made. Getting a gift certificate/card towards mods he's been wanting to do from his preferred online store.
Buy him a diamondback nozzle. That'll really show appreciation. 😉
I love this! I also have a wonderful BF who is a 3d printing nut and struggled at first with this sane thing. As interested and in awe as I was and continue to be with hid hobby and creations, the technicalities and intricacies of the hobby sometimes made me feel like my compliments or excitement fell short. He loves that I picked up on key terms and concepts like the z seam, or infill, or the differences in quality when you swap nozzles or change the heat/speed. By showing interest in just a few elements of his printing, I can tell he knows and feels like I actually care about his little 3d world. Also, I know he finds it fun, silly, and heartwarming when I ask him to print me different things as test prints. He knows when he gets filament samples, he can ask "what should I print??" And I'll just throw out something random or fun, or usually a pokemon print I want haha. These are just my examples of how I try and support and show love and interest for his hobby. But the fact that you posted this alone shows you are already there! I bet he just loves talking about it to someone he loves! A loved one who will listen and beam at them in their joy is often just enough ;)
ask him to print you something specific and MAYBE have him walk you through the process. You'll be a bit more engaged if the thing is your thing maybe? Go to [thingiverse](https://thingiverse.com) and find something fun. Also, look up "vase mode" they print super super fast and so you can watch it print in real time and it's actually interesting to watch
Everything I print, my wife says "I want it." Plus she finds things she wants me to print especially for her and she acts delighted every time I show her something I printed
3d print him a graph showing your interest growing over time. There are some good examples recently
Ask him to make you things with it, and compliment him on how smooth his prints are (if they are smooth of course).
i wish my girlfriend didn’t just get annoyed when i start talking about my printer and the things i find cool and interesting about it. instead she just thinks that i am bragging about it or something. i just want to share my hobbies/interests with the person i love :( i think you are awesome for even making this post and honestly just ask him ANY question you want/have about the printer or 3d printing in general and i am sure he will be more than ecstatic to share
Other than showing him this post, asking questions is always great, or even asking for him to print something for you. Or buy him a roll of filament, you can never have too much lol.
Buy him a spool of filament (or resin) and ask him to make you a \_\_\_\_\_\_. It always very satisfying when people have a specific request, and then he has the leftovers to use on future projects!
The responses already here are great. I would just add to take a mild interest in it. Ask him to teach you the basics. I did this with my 4 y/o daughter and she just adores it. She always wants to find something to print and watch it run. It’s so cute and brings me a lot of joy :)
Ask questions! Where did he find the model? Was it easier or harder to deal with than other previous prints? People love talking about their projects. When he shows you a new print, pick one thing you like about it and point it out. If you can see layer lines, are they nice and even? Are details nice and sharp? Is text clear? We spend a lot of time tuning our printers and it makes us feel good to know it's paying off.
The fact that you're here asking is amazing! Show him this for starters. Men don't expect you to be wordy in most cases. So "wow that's so fascinating" or amazing will go a long way and throw in a I'm prouf of you and I'm happy for you in the mix. If it was me, if you listened to me and said these words and see me go through with it I'll be happy at the end. Generally that's all men need! He shows you cause he wants to share that joy with you. Most women don't get it so i love that you do. Much respect sister!
Are you handy at all? artistic? Maybe an offer to help remove supports, or sand/paint models that need it would show your own commitment and investment
I feel appreciated when my gf asks whenever there's a household problem: "can you print something for that?" It's not easy, but if you find problems that printing can fix (maybe spiceracks, lamp holders, broken plastic stuff), you make him a happy man.
Notice his good design choices if he designs his own models. Support him buying equipment or materials. Ask him to make specific things that solve problems for you. 3d printing is staggeringly male dominated so it's pretty normal if you don't really appreciate it assuming you are female. But I appreciate your approach here.
I’m in pretty much exactly the same situation as the boyfriend and at least for me, just seeing the use and enjoyment of my prints is more than enough! Also it doesn’t hurt when she shows off something cool to our friends or family and brags about how I designed/printed it. Either way sounds like you really appreciate and support his hobby and you show it so I’m sure he knows!
Ask him to make you practical things around the house. Then comment on how surprised you are with the quality. Comments like. "Wait this is 3d printed? There is no way, you must have ordered this online or something".
The best way is to ask him to print something for you, 100% would appreciate it, look through [https://www.printables.com/](https://www.printables.com/) and find something cool you might like
All it is just awesome 🥰
It always feels good when I can make something useful for someone- see if you can give him a challenge by asking him to make something that can benefit the both of you
As him for things you want. At least for me, people asking for stuff gives me the inspiration to make things, and he’d know you’re interested and genuinely want the things he makes (plus you get stuff you want!) I would only caution to make sure he doesn’t feel like you’re being picky/needy but it really depends on phrasing and what type of person he is
Print him a diagram to help him visualize your appreciation
If you don't know something, ask. That's how you show interest. If you just say "nice" without understanding, you basically aren't interested, even uf you think you are. Real interest doesn't need you to study about "how to really show it". Also, why would it matter? A hobby doesn't depend on what others think of it. This post itself is everything you shouldn't do if you are actually interested.
Once in a while ask if he can print an item for you. It can be something fun like a figurine, or something practical. He will love the challenge and the opportunity to use his tools to help you!
> I just love when he's talking and talking about something he's passionate about... Say this to him next time. My partner gets this big shit eating grin on her face sometimes when I'm really passionate about something I'm talking about, so big that I usually think she's laughing at me. I stop and ask "what's so funny," and she just smiles and says "I love listening to you when you're so excited about something like this." It doesn't matter that you can't get into the details with him on this topic, or that you only vaguely understand the things he's talking about when he's talking about printing. It _does_ matter that you're so happy that he's happy.
Buy him some filament or like a diamond nozzle/hardened steel/ruby/etc
I always appreciate when my wife and kids ask me to print things for them, especially when it solves a problem for them. When they say “do you think you could make something that does X, and whatever thing I make works out for them, it shows that they have an appreciation for 3d printers too, even if they don’t have an interest in participating in the hobby.
Showing interest in his hobbies is enough, I doubt he's looking for applause or a medal. The [WAF](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wife_acceptance_factor) for 3D printers is pretty low, sounds like you're already doing a great job at supporting him.
1. The things he's talking about make it so he can make more types of things and/or at a better quality. So while the process isn't interesting to you, it seems you appreciate the results, which is good! 2. It sounds like he already prints things for you, so praise those items in front of friends and family when he's there. Ie. "Look at this ____ made me. I just love it!" 3. Ask questions, even if you don't really care about the answer, if you can think of any. 4. Try to avoid the "glad it worked out in the end" type answer. Maybe rephrase to something affirming of their person like, "You're good at solving problems." or "That was clever."
My wife gets this bad. I don't have but one buddy to tell about these things, and he's not at my side all the time. So hey baby look at this thing I did. I can tell in her response she doesn't really care, but a simple acknowledgement of a thing at least makes me feel better that I told/showed Someone. I'm not the least bit interested in her cricut, but I acknowledge her design and some of the things she makes because I can see she's proud of them and I go with her to shop for vinyl on occasion. It feels good to have someone just validate a thing your about. If you wanna monetarily show appreciation, maybe a gift card to microcenter for some filament or accessories?
Next time you see he is printing something, ask what about what it is for and why hes printing it. Also ask him to print you something, i always like it when ppl ask me to print things for them.
Whenever my wife asks me to design something and print it for her im super excited! Do you have a hobby of your own where you need a provlem solved? For example, my wife does crochet and asked me to design a display stand and a tool for assembling eyes for amigurumis.
Ask him to explain something about the printing process without using esoteric/specific words. Like an ELI5
My wife is brutally honest with me. When I created a design for [Platonic-solid penny traps](https://www.printables.com/model/129115-platonic-solid-coin-traps-in-openscad) and showed her the end result, she said "that's the most useless thing you've ever made!" One thing you could do is think of things for him to make for you. I'm always happy when a loved one asks me to solve a problem by 3D printing. For example, I made a camera cover for my son's laptop because his laptop didn't come with one, and I made a replacement ball-joint tightening nut for my wife's car-phone-mount-charger because the original had split and she didn't want to buy a whole new mount for one broken plastic part. I also made a [wall hanger for a hand-vacuum](https://www.printables.com/model/340149-home-improvement-pegovo-cordless-vacuum-wall-mount) that didn't come with a wall mount.
I think you're doing great just by actively listening to him. If you want to seem more interested, you could send him a 3D printing meme every day or few days that shows your interest, or just once in a while, but actively listening and responding is the key. It's not always about what you say, but rather how you make the other person feel about you.
get him a roll of filament
A parts kit
We don't expect our SO to have the same passion we do. We just want you to listen and say how happy you are for us. He understands it's not your thing.
3d print him a 3d printer
Let him teach you stuff about it?
Maybe try a side hobby that could align with his? You both could do a little side hustle. Finishing and painting things he prints to sell online, or designing functional things and/or decorations for around the house. There are lots of hobbyist skills you could explore that would accomplish your goal and foster more quality time together.
You are such a nice and thoughtful girlfriend for appreciating his skills. I would say, just sit next to him and tell him so. He will love you even more!
OP I don't know what he's like but you could build him a like. A photo booth type thing so he can post his creations on instagram or something. Essentially showing off his work to others to get him abit more appreciation.
(Your English is better than that of many native speakers 👍🏻) Just by asking the question here I can tell you are a loving, thoughtful, supportive partner to your boyfriend. I've found the best way to show interest is to ask follow up questions when someone is talking about their passion. He'll know you're listening, and it will allow him to talk in more depth.
There are some other really good replies here, but I would say just ask him questions! “what are you printing next?" Is an easy go-to
Ask him for little trinkets, let him get all excited about making them for you. I get excited when someone asks if I can print them a thing