For the past few years, I've thought many times "man, I should get a 3d printer, that would be cool." Or "my high school aged engineer-brained son would love a 3d printer."

But then I start thinking about it, and I realize..."what would I ever use it for?"

Time and time again, I see posts about 3d printers and all I ever really see is that people use them to make doo-dads and trinkets that don't really do anything except take up space on a desk or a shelf.

I know some people make doo-dads and sell them on etsy or whatever, but I would literally have to sell hundreds of thousands of them to make it worthwhile, which I'm not going to do. And we have enough little doo-dads and trinkets in our house. We don't need more.

About once a year I think, "man if I had a 3d printer, I could make that." But I'm not sure I could even make what I wanted on a 3d printer without someone already having a 3d design that I'd have to pay for. So, instead I go to ACE hardware and just buy what I thought I could make on a 3d printer.

So, bottom line...is there something I'm missing? What can you do or what could I do with a 3d printer besides doo-dads and trinkets that would make it worth purchasing?

Are they hard to learn how to use? If I had a design in my head, how hard is that to put into a 3d program and make it? Do I need to take a CAD class? Or is it just a fun little hobby for computer design enthusiasts?