If you work at a desk with a laptop, sooner or later you are going to spill a drink on it. I once spilled a drink on my own MacBook Pro and nearly lost the documents I needed to graduate. So here is what to do when your computer gets soaked.
What to do right after a spill
First of all, when you spill a drink, resist the urge to turn the computer on to see if it still works.
Shut it down immediately and stand it on the side where the liquid was spilled, so that no more of it seeps further inside or into areas it has not reached yet.
Photo
Once you have confirmed that the surface of the computer is dry (after several hours to a day), try turning it on and check its condition.
What to do next
Depending on the condition, there are several options.
Coverage from the retailer or manufacturer
Some manufacturer warranties include accidental damage coverage, so check whether your case qualifies.
If you can use this coverage, it is likely to be the cheapest way to get your machine back.
With a standard manufacturer warranty, liquid damage is usually excluded. That said, manufacturers often still accept repair requests, so it is worth asking.
Computer repair shops
Many computer repair shops handle liquid-damaged machines.
Some also work on MacBooks, so this is well worth considering.
They can also inspect the inside of your computer, so even if you only spilled a little and simply want peace of mind, they will check it for you.
And if a repair is needed, they handle a wide range of problems, so the chances of recovery are very high.
Why leaving it alone is a bad idea
Even after a spill, a computer will often work again a day later.
Even so, I strongly advise against just leaving it at that. If moisture has reached the board, it can cause an unexpected short circuit or corrode the board.
You often hear about machines that kept working for a while after a spill and then suddenly died, so get the computer repaired as soon as you can.
Acting early may mean a simple cleaning is enough, and it keeps the cost down.
What you can do in advance
After liquid damage, recovering your data is often difficult.
For exactly that reason, back up your computer regularly.
Computers tend to break down precisely when you need them most, such as when you are down to the wire on a thesis.
Not being able to retrieve your data at a time like that is a serious problem. I have been in exactly that situation myself…
I often help people pick out computers and give advice, and so many friends told me I should charge for it.
Inspired by that, I figured I’d give it a try!
I’ll recommend a machine that fits both what you plan to use it for and your budget.
And if you’d like, I’m also happy to walk you through what to look for the next time you buy a computer on your own.
Some of the computers I’ve helped pick out so far:
analysis machines for the lab, everyday-use PCs, PCs for game streaming, PCs for incoming university students, CAD-capable PCs for architecture students, and simple stopgap machines.
I use both Mac and Windows, so I can talk through and recommend either one!
These days, more and more apps use location services and we spend more time on social media, so even though smartphone batteries have grown in capacity, it’s common for a charge not to last a full day.
At the same time, with things like mobile payments, running out of battery has become a real problem in daily life. As a result, demand for portable batteries is greater now than it used to be.
What is MagSafe?
With an ordinary portable battery, you also need a cable to connect it to your phone, which means carrying more stuff. On top of that, the battery itself is fairly heavy, so the whole thing is a bit of a hassle.
Some batteries come with a built-in cable, but the cable is short, so they aren’t well suited to using your phone while it charges.
Recently, Apple introduced MagSafe—magnet-based wireless charging—starting with the iPhone 12 series. Magnets are embedded in the back of the phone so the wireless charger snaps into place, which means there’s no risk of it slipping out of alignment.
MagSafe has been included since the iPhone 12, and some models don’t support it (the iPhone SE, for example). However, if your phone supports wireless charging, you can buy a MagSafe-compatible case and use MagSafe accessories with it.
The magnetic hold isn’t noticeably weaker either—it’s very strong. (I actually use this setup with an iPhone SE 3.)
The Anker 622 Magnetic Battery is just too good
MagSafe accessories include chargers and phone grips, but personally I think a portable battery is the best choice.
There are several MagSafe portable batteries out there, and the best of them is the Anker 622.
Some models are just plain batteries, but this one doubles as a stand.
You can also turn charging on and off with a button on the battery, so you can leave it attached and charge only when you need to—meaning it works as a stand on its own. And since the magnet is circular, you can also use your phone in landscape orientation.
The magnet is strong enough that the battery won’t fall off even if you shake the phone, yet it comes off easily when you want to remove it—just the right strength.
It comes in plenty of colors, and the size and weight are modest enough that they don’t get in the way. Excellent all around.
As for the all-important charging speed: it isn’t as fast as a wired connection, but it’s fast enough that the battery percentage still climbs while you’re watching YouTube.
What’s more, you can charge the battery while it’s attached to and charging your phone (pass-through charging), which effectively gives you the same experience as if the iPhone’s charging port were USB-C.
The downsides are, as you’d expect, the weight and the charging speed. There’s no getting around the added weight—it’s heavier than the phone alone, so you definitely notice it in your pocket. And since charging isn’t fast, it’s best to think of it as an extended battery for your phone.
It’s been a while since I came across a product this good, so I wanted to share it.
Apps that let you earn points or miles just by getting around have become popular in recent years. The trouble is, many of them make you open the app and watch an ad every single time you move, or they simply bombard you with ads. It gets frustrating enough that you start to wonder whether you’re accumulating points or just accumulating irritation.
Recently I came across two apps featured in a magazine that are remarkably convenient—none of the tiresome ads, and you can rack up miles with none of the hassle.
They made quite an impression on me, so I’ve put together this blog post about them.
About the two apps
Both apps run on essentially the same system, and you can use them side by side, so I’d recommend installing both.
With both, you accumulate miles as you travel, and those miles can be exchanged for points or goods. Note that neither offers a cash-back option.
The rate at which you earn miles depends on your mode of transportation—walking earns more per distance traveled than driving.
The mode of transportation is classified automatically, and if it’s wrong you can submit a manual correction.
You can also view your travel history, so you can check how far you moved on any given day.
In my experience, both apps track movement quite accurately—even a quick trip from home to the convenience store is properly recognized and earns you miles!
The one drawback is that your phone’s battery drains unusually fast. Well, of course it does—location services are running the whole time. I suppose that’s just the price you pay.
About Miles
Miles is made by Miles Japan Inc., and as the original app of the two, it’s very solidly built. The actual screen looks like the image below. Beyond your earned miles, it shows travel data and a detailed movement history, making it handy for getting a rough picture of your health and daily activity.
The miles you accumulate can be exchanged for all sorts of things: JAL miles, campaign entries, convenience store coffee, and more.
There’s nothing you have to do on a daily basis, so you can just leave it installed and check in whenever you feel like it—a nice difference from ANA Pocket, and one I find very convenient.
Referral campaign code (Install the app using the code below and get 100 yen in Amazon gift credit!)
ANA Pocket is ANA’s app, built on the Miles system. As you’d expect from a major company, the home screen is very easy to read.
Here you accumulate points rather than miles. ANA Pocket has a “Challenge” system: you sign up for a challenge, and if you meet its conditions you earn bonus points.
The best thing about ANA Pocket is that you can convert points into ANA miles, and there’s also a point-based gacha, so you’re never at a loss for what to do with your points.
Converting to ANA miles always feels like a good deal, so if there’s nothing else you want, that’s a perfectly fine default.
Like Miles, it lets you view your travel history, so you can review your activity in the same way.
The biggest sticking point is that it isn’t available on Android… Here’s hoping that changes.
Referral campaign code (Install the app using the code below and get 5,000 pt!)
I replaced my iPhone for the first time in four years. My previous phone was an iPhone XR, which had no home button.
When the first iPhones without a home button came out, my reaction was “seriously?” But as things stand today, the iPhone 12 and 13 — both without home buttons — outsell the iPhone SE.
So, honestly, how much does the iPhone’s home button really matter? And did switching to the iPhone SE make any difference? Let’s take a look.
About the home button
First, the home button issue, which was what I was most concerned about. I’m firmly in the anti-“iPhone without a home button” camp. On my iPhone XR I never used Face ID and always typed in my passcode. Having to bring the phone up in front of my face for Face ID was a hassle, and I found it more convenient to just quickly punch in the passcode.
The biggest difference, I think, is whether the screen wakes when you touch it. On the iPhone SE, touching the screen doesn’t wake it, whereas on the models without a home button, just touching the display turns it on.
Personally, I prefer a phone that doesn’t wake on touch alone. When the phone is in your pocket, the screen keeps turning on and off by accident and needlessly drains the battery. (For some reason it registers touches even through fabric.) And if you leave it somewhere you might brush against it, the screen suddenly lights up and you mistake it for a notification.
Having the screen wake via the home button is genuinely useful for preventing accidental input.
Coming back to a home button, I was reminded that fingerprint authentication is the best. The iPhone SE uses the same chip as the iPhone 13, and unlocking is extremely fast. (So fast that the lock screen barely exists anymore.)
They say the iPhone 13 lets you use Face ID with a mask on, but I’ve heard mixed reviews. With a fingerprint sensor, when the phone is sitting on the desk and I want to open it quickly, I don’t even have to pick it up — and being able to unlock in any situation, regardless of my face, is just too convenient.
Home button and fingerprint authentication really are the best! Glad I bought it!
Other features of the iPhone SE
As for other aspects, the first is battery life. Somewhat surprisingly, it isn’t as good as I’d hoped.
When I switched to the iPhone XR, I thought the battery was infinite, but with the iPhone SE I was only mildly impressed — about what you’d expect. Honestly, batteries may have reached the point where further improvements are hard to notice.
That said, the battery life isn’t bad: four hours of YouTube seems fine, and it lasts a day well enough.
As for heat, my impression is that it stays fairly cool. Since the phone is small and thin, I thought heat might have trouble escaping, but it hasn’t gotten hot yet and doesn’t seem to be an issue.
The camera obviously can’t compete with something like the iPhone 13, but it’s more than good enough for practical use. iPhone cameras have always been solid. If you own a separate DSLR or mirrorless camera, the iPhone SE may well be enough — it’s certainly not impractical. If anything, the small camera and small phone make for a nice compact package.
On phones without a home button, notifications and Control Center appear to the left and right of the notch, but on the iPhone SE they’re at the top and bottom, which I think is another plus. The display isn’t interrupted by a notch — it’s a clean rectangle.
That said, with this many features differing depending on whether there’s a home button, I’m a little worried about where iOS goes from here. There seem to be a lot of parts Apple has to build twice, once for each design. I hope they don’t end support too soon.
My best recent purchase was two Cutipol forks. My sister bought me the cutlery I had wanted for ages as a housewarming gift.
Features
What I bought is from the GOA series—a design so well known that it’s no exaggeration to call it the emblem of the brand.
The handle is resin and the business end is stainless steel. It has a pleasant heft, but never feels too heavy—”just right” is the word for it.
The weight distribution is even, so the balance is excellent.
Personally, when I saw them in the shop my first impression was, wow, these are big! It’s hard to judge the size online, but seen in person, even the smaller Cutipol cutlery is fairly large. So I’d recommend looking at them in a shop before deciding which size to buy.
There are many Cutipol lookalikes out there, and the GOA series in particular is widely imitated. Here are the differences from other products, as listed on Cutipol’s website.
The resin joint on the GOA copies is rough and may come apart
The stainless steel part is heavy
They look like the GOA but are made entirely of stainless steel
As this suggests, the genuine article is well made and built to last.
How it feels to use
They are very easy to use, and my hand never tires no matter how long I use them. The handle is thicker than it looks in photos, so even with my thick fingers it feels perfectly natural to hold.
I really like the design too. When you buy good cutlery, you start imagining all the things you want to eat with it. I can’t wait to have some cake…
Comments
They come in many colors, so they should suit all kinds of plates and meals. I had admired this cutlery ever since I saw it at a café, so I’m very happy to have finally bought a set.
They make a great gift or a treat for yourself, so do take a look in a shop or on the website.
As a home 3D printer, this is a machine I personally think may be unbeatable.
It’s excellent in every respect: cost performance, practicality, and design. It does have drawbacks, but even so, considering the price, it’s hard to imagine anything better.
Creality 3D Sermoon D1
Features of the Sermoon D1
Unusually for a budget home model, it is a fully enclosed 3D printer, so heat doesn’t escape easily during printing and it’s easier to get clean prints.
It’s built with an aluminum alloy frame and transparent side panels, so you can watch the printing process from every direction.
The build volume is a generous 280 x 260 x 310 mm, which is very handy for printing large objects.
It handles PLA and ABS without any trouble, of course.
Operation is via a touchscreen and is very easy.
Sermoon D1のスペック(販売ページより)
Buying it and using it
The first thing that surprises you after buying it is the size. When the box arrived and I tried to bring it into my room, it barely fit through the door.
Apparently there are cases where the outer box won’t fit through the front door when it’s delivered.
The printer itself is smaller than the box, so you can get it inside by taking it out first, but the size is still overwhelming.
The unit measures about 500 x 500 x 531 mm, so you’ll need a fair amount of space for it in your room.
This again comes down to it being an enclosed design: the build volume is 280 x 260 x 310 mm, but the machine is nearly twice that in width.
Assembly after delivery was extremely easy—just attaching two parts.
I think this machine’s greatest strength is how quiet it is. Even with the fan running at 100%, it’s remarkably quiet.
You couldn’t sleep right next to it at night, of course, but a nap is no problem at all, and if you’re on the phone next to it the printer is barely audible.
Even when you print with a raft, the raft comes off easily.
And depending on the model, you can get beautiful prints without a raft at all.
During printing the bed is warm so the print sticks to it, but once printing finishes the bed cools and the print comes off easily. The bed is made of some curious material, and popping prints off it afterward is genuinely fun.
Recommended settings
The default settings already give clean prints, but I tweaked things myself to get even better results, and here are the settings that worked well for me.
These are settings for Creality Slicer. Basically, set the infill (how densely the interior is filled) however you like. I use 15%.
I lowered the retraction speed (the speed at which the filament is pulled back) and slowed down the print speed. I raised the head travel speed to as fast as it could go while still producing good prints.
Once you understand what each parameter does and what values it takes, you can customize things yourself to a reasonable degree.
What I’ve shown here is just one example, and since other people’s recommended settings didn’t work that well for me, please treat this only as a reference while finding the settings that suit your own setup.
Drawbacks
Being a home machine, it does have a few drawbacks.
・No auto-leveling, so it takes beginners a while to get the hang of it at first
・Changing filament is difficult (is this true of all printers?)
・There are few reviews, so there wasn’t much to refer to when I wanted to adjust the settings
・You have to put the data on an SD card, so sending data over Wi-Fi and the like isn’t possible.
Among home models it’s very easy to use, and I can recommend it to beginners and advanced users alike. If you’ve been thinking about getting a 3D printer, definitely give it a look.
When you live alone, dirty dishes pile up endlessly, and washing them is a real chore. Even when you set out to cook for yourself, the thought of the washing-up kills your motivation and you never quite get around to it.
When I started living on my own, I decided I was going to cook for myself, and I bought a dishwasher to keep myself motivated!! After a lot of deliberation, I went with the MOOSOO MX-10.
In this post I want to explain why I chose this dishwasher, and why I didn’t go with the very similar MAXZEN JDW03BS01.
Why MOOSOO?
The first decision when buying a dishwasher for your home is whether to go with an installation-free tank type or a conventional plumbed-in model. I live in a rental and didn’t want to deal with installation work, so I went with a tank type.
With a tank type, you just plug it in, fill the tank with water, add detergent, and it washes your dishes. You can use it the day it arrives, which is incredibly convenient, and it’s easy to move around.
These days there are plenty of tank-type models available, from budget to premium. So the next thing to consider is where you’ll put it.
In my case, the spot was on top of the refrigerator — a fairly high position. If you live alone in a place without much space, isn’t the top of the refrigerator by far the most likely spot with enough room for a dishwasher and close to the sink?
I stood a roll of plastic wrap in the photo so you can gauge the size. It’s bigger than you’d expect!!
When you’re filling the tank with water, you want the fill point to be low and easy to reach — which means a water inlet on the bottom is ideal.
The catch is that most tank-type dishwashers have the fill opening on top, which makes filling awkward if the unit sits up high. From what I could find, the tank-type dishwashers with a water inlet on the lower front are Panasonic’s NP-TSP1-W, MAXZEN’s JDW03BS01, and MOOSOO’s MX-10. As for cleaning performance, going by the reviews, they all get dishes clean unless something is seriously wrong.
Of these three, I’d have loved to go with the Panasonic, but the price… So that left the other two models. Both can be had for under about 30,000 yen, which seems pretty good. (Though I do worry about durability.)
What’s the difference between MAXZEN and MOOSOO?
The two models look very similar and have very similar wash modes, so you might wonder what actually sets them apart. The big difference is the drying function.
The MAXZEN uses fan drying, while the MOOSOO uses heated-air drying. With the MOOSOO, once the wash and dry cycle finishes you can put the dishes straight back in the cupboard. (I’ve never used the MAXZEN, so I can’t say how dry it gets things.)
You could just leave the door open after the wash finishes, but the MOOSOO’s heated-air drying gets everything dry quickly, so you can get by with relatively few dishes in rotation.
The MAXZEN is a bit cheaper, so if you don’t really need the drying function, I think it’s plenty. (The washing itself seems to be about the same.)
MOOSOO frequently offers coupons on both Rakuten and Amazon, so you can often pick it up at a good price — in which case the gap with the MAXZEN may not be that big after all.
How to set it up
First, attach the drain hose and the adapter that draws water up from the pump below (the intake hose) to the back of the unit. I recommend attaching them before putting the machine in place.
The water supply hose is for when you use a faucet diverter. It saves you from filling the tank, but it makes for a tangle of hoses, so I don’t recommend it.
Next, position the drain hose so it sits nicely in the sink. One suction-cup clip is included for holding the drain hose in place, so use it to secure the hose. The one time I didn’t, the drain hose thrashed around and made a real mess of my kitchen.
After that, just plug it in and you’re ready to go. For the first run, do an empty cycle to clean out the interior.
That’s all it takes to get up and running — very easy.
The drain hose is about 1.5 m long, so even from a height like the top of a refrigerator with some distance to the sink, it reaches just fine.
As for the results, it gets even stubbornly dirty plates — curry and the like — perfectly clean with no slimy residue left behind. I’m very satisfied.
Summary
Personally, if you’re planning to cook for yourself, the very start of living alone is exactly when you should buy a dishwasher. There are plenty of affordable models, so with a little effort you can make your life dramatically more convenient.
I’ll add notes on durability and so on down the line.
Amazon also carries a VIBMI dishwasher that looks extremely similar to the MOOSOO MX-10, but there’s very little information on it, so I won’t cover it here. According to the Amazon listing the features are literally identical, but it seems dubious and I personally wouldn’t recommend it…
When you boot up your computer and the fan starts spinning at full blast, you might worry that the machine has broken. When a computer suddenly starts behaving strangely, it’s easy to feel there’s nothing you can do, but many problems can actually be fixed on your own.
That said, you do this at your own risk, so be extremely careful, and if you know someone knowledgeable, it’s a good idea to work on it together. Computers aren’t cheap, after all.
This time, based on my own experience, I’ll describe what to do when the fan spins at full speed on startup and doesn’t calm down even a while after Windows has booted.
Symptoms
I had left my desktop computer on overnight, and when I noticed it in the morning, I could hear the fan running at full speed.
I shut the computer down once, but the fan kept spinning, so I switched off the power supply and unplugged the power cord. I pressed the power button several times to discharge the residual power and then booted up again, but the fan was still running at full speed.
Other than a slow startup, though, there were no other apparent problems.
The fix
I checked the CPU temperature in the BIOS setup screen, but even at its highest it was only around 30 °C, so there was no problem there.
I set the PC to power-saving mode in the BIOS, but nothing changed. I also lowered the minimum fan speed, but again nothing changed.
I unplugged every cable connected to the computer, including the power and USB cables, pressed the power button several times to discharge it, and then opened up the case.
I removed the coin cell battery and pressed the power button several times (a CMOS clear). [There are other ways to clear the CMOS. It’s also a good idea to disconnect the cables from the power supply to the motherboard at this point.]
Clearing the CMOS is a way of resetting the motherboard’s BIOS: after removing the coin cell battery, you drain the electricity remaining in the motherboard.
I put the coin cell battery back in, reconnected the keyboard, power, and video cables, and turned the computer on. The fan speed was back to normal. Just to be safe, I also updated the BIOS.
For now, everything is running normally.
Cause
The direct cause appears to have been a BIOS error. Something odd must have happened, resulting in the fan running at full speed.
BIOS errors can often be fixed by clearing the CMOS, so whenever you suspect a BIOS error is the culprit, resetting the BIOS with a CMOS clear will frequently solve the problem.
BIOS errors can be caused by leaving the computer powered on for long periods, dust building up inside the case, shutting the machine down abruptly at a bad moment, or installing sketchy software.
Dust buildup inside the case is especially common, so cleaning the inside of your computer with compressed air about once a year can help prevent it.
I finished by updating the BIOS this time. A reset alone is probably sufficient, but updating may also clear out underlying errors. It’s the same idea as a camera that won’t power on starting up again after a firmware update.
Being able to fix computer problems yourself is a genuinely valuable skill, since it saves on repair costs. Also, when it comes to errors like a computer that won’t boot, there are surprisingly few things you can do short of replacing parts, so it’s worth looking into the other options first.
Bonus
I’ve started offering consultations on computer problems through Coconala!
I’ve worked with all sorts of computers and seen all sorts of trouble. My Coconala listing says “when your computer stops working,” but I’m happy to take on any kind of problem you might run into while using a computer.
I’ve only just started using Coconala, so I may still be getting the hang of it, but please do reach out if you run into computer trouble.
I use both Mac and Windows, so I can help with issues on either platform.
Hello. I’m a broke biology major who kept saying “Once I get to university, I’m definitely buying a 3D printer!!” — and now, as a fourth-year student, I’ve finally managed to buy one.
Between classes and research, I was too busy to work many part-time hours, so money was tight. Still, I decided to buy the 3D printer I’d always dreamed of — but I didn’t want to waste my money…. And if I settled for a compromise, I’d just end up wanting something better later….
I wanted something I’d be truly happy with, so I searched the web endlessly, asked people at university who know engineering, and bought one only after researching it thoroughly.
Once you decide you want a 3D printer and start searching, you’ll find a huge number of models, from around ten thousand yen to over a million yen. You’ll probably agonize over which one to get, and honestly, it’s hard to tell what actually differs between them.
This article is for people wondering, “I want a home 3D printer as a hobby, but I don’t know what to look for when choosing one” “Which one should I actually buy?” I’ll walk through it, including the reasons behind my own choice.
What’s the difference?
With prices ranging from tens of thousands to millions of yen, you’re probably wondering what on earth sets them apart.
First, as a premise: print accuracy and the quality of the finished object don’t change all that much with the price of the 3D printer. Accuracy and finish vary greatly depending on the printing method, but within the same method, the differences are rarely dramatic.
Broadly speaking, there are two printing methods: FDM (melting filament with heat and building it up layer by layer) and optical/resin-based (curing with light). Generally, the optical type gives a cleaner finish (layer marks are less visible) and better accuracy, while FDM has the advantage of being easy to work with. I’ll explain the differences between these two in my next blog post.
Print accuracy and finish come down to the detailed settings you give the 3D printer. So even a cheap printer can print beautifully if you configure it properly, and it’s quite common for an expensive printer to fail to print at all if you set it up carelessly.
So what does change with price? Put simply, it’s the extra features.
To give a few examples:
Supports a wider range of filaments
Larger build volume
Wi-Fi connectivity
Heated build plate
Dual filament nozzles, allowing printing with two materials — and so on
On top of the basic performance, the price varies with which options are included. If you think about which features you actually want, the field of models will narrow down naturally.
Criteria for choosing
That said, you may not even know what features exist, or which ones are actually useful. So let me introduce a few points worth paying attention to.
Print size
The right size depends on what you want to make and where you’ll put the printer. Roughly speaking, the printer body itself will be about 1.5 to 2 times the size of what you want to print.
For small containers or pen holders, a small printer is fine, but if you plan to make things like headphone stands or cases, you need to think about size.
What I realized after buying one is that very large prints are a hassle and take a long time, so I didn’t print big things very often. But when I made a headphone stand, it needed quite a lot of space, and I was glad I’d bought a larger machine.
A bigger build volume also lets you print multiple parts at once.
Number of usable materials
Different materials melt at different temperatures. Optical 3D printers can only use light-curing resin, but FDM machines can use the commonly used PLA, ABS (a bit harder than PLA), TPU (with a somewhat rubbery feel), and some can even handle carbon fiber.
The more material types supported, the higher the price. Most machines can at least handle PLA and ABS.
I use almost nothing but PLA and have never found that inconvenient, so supporting many materials may not really be necessary… maybe?
Number of filament feed mechanisms
Some models have two or more nozzles for extruding filament. This lets you use multiple materials and, for example, color different parts of the object differently.
Water-soluble filament has also become popular recently; using it as support material lets you print even complex geometries.
Supports are something you absolutely have to consider when making an object, but with water-soluble filament you can print without leaving support marks.
That said, having multiple nozzles apparently means that, depending on the object, a nozzle can collide with the print.
Whether the bed is heated
This is a feature you rarely find on budget 3D printers.
The nozzle heats up and melts the filament to build the object, and a heated bed makes the molten filament adhere to the bed more readily, so the print is less likely to come loose.
Once printing is finished the temperature drops, which in turn makes it easier to remove the print from the bed.
Personally, I have benefited from this feature enormously. Because the print stays firmly attached to the bed, large objects don’t shift during printing, and tall, narrow objects can be printed as well.
Frame construction
Enclosed or open frame? Aluminum frame or plastic?
An enclosure keeps in the odors produced during printing (especially with ABS) and maintains a somewhat elevated internal temperature, which prevents warping caused by the print cooling too quickly.
An open-frame design lets you watch the print from every angle. It also offers better access when, for example, the nozzle clogs, making maintenance much easier.
The frame material affects how stable the printer runs. A metal frame is rigid and very stable. The downside is the weight, which makes the printer harder to move around.
Ease of operation
One thing you really shouldn’t overlook is how the printer is operated.
Options range from models with nothing but buttons, to an LCD-plus-buttons setup, to full touchscreens.
A common pitfall with cheap 3D printers is that they advertise a touchscreen, but once you actually use it the responsiveness is terrible. That alone can be a real source of frustration. Check user reviews for comments on touchscreen responsiveness, and be wary if the ratings are lukewarm.
Personally I find touchscreens very easy to use—you can operate them intuitively without even opening the manual—so I recommend them.
Other features
Let me also mention Wi-Fi and camera functions.
Wi-Fi lets you send print data to the printer wirelessly. Normally you load the file onto a USB drive or SD card and plug it into the printer, but Wi-Fi saves you that trouble.
The camera function means a camera is mounted inside the printer so you can check on the progress of your print while you’re away.
If you often leave the printer running for hours while you’re out, a camera may be worth having.
Recommended models
Creality Sermoon D1
This is the model I actually use.
It is an enclosed model, but the panels are transparent, so you can watch the print from every angle. The frame is aluminum, making it very rigid.
Because the bed moves along the Z axis, prints don’t shift while printing, and the printer runs very quietly. I keep it next to my bed, and I can take a nap without any trouble while it’s running.
With a build volume of 280 × 260 × 310 mm, it can handle fairly large prints. It is operated via touchscreen, which is very intuitive.
It supports PLA, ABS, and TPU, and has no Wi-Fi or similar features, so the impression is simply a solid, high-performance 3D printer.
One drawback is that loading filament into the nozzle takes a bit of a knack. The first time, you might spend ten minutes wrestling with it.
Other than that, I’ve had no inconveniences and am very satisfied with it.
It costs just under 100,000 yen, which is a bit pricey for home use, but the performance is more than worth the price.
This is probably the best-performing and most user-friendly model you can get for under 50,000 yen.
The build volume is 220 × 220 × 250 mm, and it supports PLA, TPU, and PETG.
It covers all the basics: the bed is heated and it is operated via touchscreen.
The body is metal and nicely rigid. There is a storage compartment under the bed where you can stow various tools—a quietly welcome touch.
It costs under 50,000 yen, putting it among the cheaper home 3D printers.
This is a model that will leave you with essentially nothing to complain about, so if you’re thinking of buying your first 3D printer, why not give it a try?
The Prusa i3 is a 3D printer made by a Czech company.
What’s distinctive is that they make their 3D printers using 3D printers—their factory is reportedly filled with their own machines.
It is world-famous, and among printers in the 100,000-yen range it is the most highly recommended and simply the best you can get.
It comes as either a kit or a pre-assembled unit, with the kit available for around 100,000 yen.
The basic specs are beyond reproach: a heated bed and quiet operation while printing. The build volume of 250 × 210 × 210 mm is enough for most purposes.
What’s remarkable about this model is how hot the nozzle gets, which means it can handle a very wide range of materials: PLA, PETG, ASA, ABS, PC (polycarbonate), CPE, PVA/BVOH, PVB, HIPS, PP (polypropylene), Flex, nGen, nylon, woodfill, and more.
The only drawback for me is the interface. I haven’t actually used one, but instead of a touchscreen it uses a physical dial for control. The display shows text only.
It looks like it would take a little while to get used to operating it.
In terms of basic specs alone, it comfortably outperforms 3D printers costing over 200,000 yen. I agonized quite a bit over whether to go with the Sermoon D1 or this model.
Incidentally, although it isn’t sold on Amazon, Prusa’s website also offers the Original Prusa MINI+. Its print volume is smaller, but the price is kept to around 50,000 yen, making it an excellent product as well.
Flashforge is a fairly popular 3D printer company in Japan, and a quick search turns up reviews of their products all over the place.
Among their lineup, the model I’d recommend here is the Creator Pro.
This model has two nozzles, so you can print with the two types of material mentioned above at the same time. What’s more, the unit costs around 80,000 yen, which is by no means expensive for a home machine.
It handles materials such as ABS, PLA, and HIPS, and the print volume is W227 × D148 × H150 mm, which is a bit small compared with other models.
The filament holder is located at the back, so it isn’t visible from the front. The downside is that swapping filament is a bit of a hassle.
Control is via physical buttons and a text-only LCD, so the interface probably isn’t as nice as a touchscreen. Still, it’s perfectly usable once you get used to it, and with Japanese-language support and a large user base in Japan, a quick search will turn up instructions for just about anything, so you shouldn’t run into much trouble.
Because the front is enclosed, temperature control is very easy, but you can only check the print from one direction, and maintenance is somewhat awkward.
Even so, being able to use two materials at this price is extremely appealing.
![[商品価格に関しましては、リンクが作成された時点と現時点で情報が変更されている場合がございます。]](https://hbb.afl.rakuten.co.jp/hgb/257504f1.74308428.257504f2.4f37200f/?me_id=1365223&item_id=10000300&pc=https%3A%2F%2Fthumbnail.image.rakuten.co.jp%2F%400_mall%2Fmoosoo%2Fcabinet%2F17%2F07762552%2Fimgrc0162295961.jpg%3F_ex%3D240x240&s=240x240&t=picttext "[商品価格に関しましては、リンクが作成された時点と現時点で情報が変更されている場合がございます。]")
