Okay, so, I got this new thing called the Neptune 3, which is a 3D printer, and I was like, “Alright, let’s do this.” First off, I opened the box. It was like Christmas morning, but with more plastic and metal. I followed the instruction manual – which, surprisingly, made sense – and started putting the pieces together. It was mostly snapping things into place and tightening some screws. Nothing too crazy.
I made sure all the V wheels were set correctly. That was crucial, you know, ’cause I read somewhere that if they’re not, you’re gonna have a bad time. Also, I checked the voltage ’cause this thing can handle both 110V and 220V. Where I live, it’s 110V, so I made sure the switch was flipped to that. Wouldn’t want to fry my new toy on day one, right?
Getting Started
After I assembled everything, which, by the way, wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be, it was time to connect it to my computer. I plugged in the USB cable, opened up the slicing software – which is just a fancy name for the program that tells the printer what to do – and clicked on my printer model. Boom, it showed up on the screen. But, if it didn’t, I would’ve had to install some drivers. Luckily, I didn’t have to go down that road.
Now, I’m no expert, so I just used the default settings. I figured, “Hey, let’s start simple and then get fancy later.” I found a model online – a little boat ’cause why not? – and loaded it into the slicer. Then, I hit print. I heard some noises, which was expected, nothing too loud or annoying, just regular printing sounds. It was kind of mesmerizing watching this little machine do its thing.
- Unboxing: Took everything out, made sure nothing was broken.
- Assembling: Put all the parts together, tightened screws, checked V wheels.
- Voltage Check: Made sure it was set to 110V.
- Connecting: Plugged it into my computer, opened the slicing software.
- Printing: Used default settings, printed a test model.
And guess what? It worked! I mean, it wasn’t perfect, but for a first try, it was pretty darn good. I held that little plastic boat in my hand and felt like a freaking wizard. There’s definitely a learning curve, but it’s not as steep as I feared. I’m excited to see what else I can create with this thing. This is gonna be fun!
