### I'm putting both my printers in 'cold storage' for the foreseeable future. ### Preamble I started 3D printing things in 2020, and I guess it's been six years‽ I never would have guessed it has been that long. I've made countless things, most of them brackets or miscellaneous specific parts for machines/appliances, even some toys for family. It brings me immense satisfaction and joy to have an idea for something, model it in CAD and then bring it to life overnight or while I'm at work. ### Why did I? Well, for starters there is such a thing as too easy. I was finding that I would design something for a hyper specific problem, and then a problem would disappear before the print even finished. That resulted in many prints that 1. would either fail and be thrown away, or 2. would finish then be useless. Neither of those are a good option, and both feel very wasteful. Space for my 3D printing was also at a premium; I had it nested into the corner of our storage room in our basement, and within a poorly made, solid, but very large enclosure. The initial plan for the enclosure was to assist with printing temperatures by having consistent ambient temperature. The cabinet ended up being great for when I got into resin printing, and printing more durable things with ABS material. It allowed me to vent the fumes directly outside through carbon filters and some PVC. Safety is an ever growing concern for me. Having 250* Celsius molten plastic and VOC-riddled fumes, when I have a toddler roaming around the house is a worry. While I did purchase multiple air monitors to make sure the system was venting properly, I couldn't quite get the thought that I was harming my son out of my head. ### Well now what? I'm not really sure. I've temporarily filled the 3D printing enclosure with some woodworking tools, but I'm planning to completely demolish it by end of the summer. I'm having a one year moratorium on all 3D printing until my son is older and I can dedicate a space and time to it again, or get rid of the machines completely. It's something I really enjoy doing, and made me think of interesting solutions to problems I encounter. I guess it's a "see you later" not a goodbye.