So much truth from Alcohodl.

I bought my first printer for my daughters.  They almost never used it.  I used it constantly, lol.  And then I started making things to fix stuff around the house.  To solve a particular problem.  I have used several 3D modeling programs, but have settled on two that I use most just because of speed and ease.  The afore mentioned Tinkercad, and I alsi use OpenSCAD.  You may or may not enjoy using it.  It is a text based 3d modelling software.  Open source and very basic, yet capable.  There are all the high end 3d modelling platforms like Blender as well which can be used.  But I have been able to make so many designs in TinkerCAD without paying for it and super quickly.  If you give it a shot make sure to do the tutorial.. that will help a lot.

OpenSCad is not GUI driven.  More of an old school "programmers" type of approach.  You build objects out of primitives and do all kinds of things to join them together etc:

https://openscad.org/

Some of my Tinkercad designs for various "fixes":

The red one on the second row is an example of the type of kooky thing I just make up... It is a "Toothbrush stand".  It goes in my medicine cabinet and has space for another toothbrush or toothpaste under it.  Just a little way to make more room in my cabinet.

it looks more like this.  



EDIT: with this low BTC prices I really thinking about to sell both.  

What happens if you make the object to detaily, will the printer just do its best or will it not print.
There are some tanks with a high level of details for free that I would like to try and print in 1:87 scale, but I'm worried they might be to detailed for the printer.

Like this one for example.

https://www.cgtrader.com/free-3d-print-models/games-toys/toys/m1-abrams-tank-model-kit

I have recently just got into 3D printing myself (funny how that happens hey)
Picked up an ender 3 V2 and really enjoying the experience.
I am now about to embark on building my own from scratch based on the Hypercube Evolution.
BTW I use CURA for slicing.
Seems to do a very reasonable job and I also play around with tinkercad and have had pretty good results so far.
Struggling a little with PETG printing though but PLA is is a breeze.

@Arrie:

About 3D printers, you've already got some good info from fellow WOers. If possible, get a printer with two Z-axis lead screws, not with only one screw that's positioned on the side of the bed. Also, if possible, get one with automatic bed levelling. This will get your printer as close as possible to a plug-and-play device.

I read you're the kind of person that doesn't want to DIY stuff. In that case, I fully recommend the Original Prusa i3 MK3S+ (pre-built). You can't go wrong with a Prusa at an affordable price point.

If you want to use more exotic materials, dimensional accuracy, end-use parts, engineering work, go for an Ultimaker (the dual extruder models like the S3 or the S5 for larger build volume). Expensive, but well worth it. A workhorse that will give you consistent results for years, whereas the cheaper ones will noticeably degrade over time.

I've been using 3D printers at work and personally since 2019. Now, I simply cannot survive without a 3D printer. I feel almost like a small god that can create anything at will. I rarely, if ever, print ready-made objects. I design everything myself using Autodesk Inventor (this s/w is even more amazing than any 3D printer can ever be). This is when a 3D printer truly shines. If you just download and print, it will get boring pretty quickly, and you will soon abandon the sport.

My 2 sats.

Ah! That's some of the funnest part.  So there are many editors and everyone probably has a favorite, but I really just like tinkercad.com . It has one of the friendliest learning curve (they are all a little steep in my opinion...) And you can do done really neat stuff with it quickly and easily.

... you need to have testicles before you can donate them

What size does he envision?  I would think I could make a fairly humongous pot for a bonsai with my average sized Prusa.  I do not know much about bonsais but the ones I have seen would fit in pots that fit the "25 x 21 x 21 cm" print area.

I must be doing the math wrong, but a round pot that was 20cm tall and 20cm across would easily hold ~ 5 liters of dirt with room to spare?

(3.14x10^2)x20 = 6280ml

Maybe I am off... but no matter it would be a average size flower pot in my opinion.

Print sideways? Depends how deep he needs them.

I'd ue my FDM machine for stuff like that though.

Just got an Ender 3d pro here to print some parts and the like for the miners and cars. Overall I am impressed as hell, thoughts:

Get the Pro, it has a really nice magnetic pad so you can peel off parts more easily and a heated bed.
And a better power supply, no issues with this one even when printing all night long.
Buy the $15 extruder upgrade, the plastic one that comes with it is cheap and a metal one is NICE

That's about it. Good quality device for a few hundred bucks....

Pretty serious 3d printing hobbyist here.  Have owned a few machines.  Since you are talking about printing for fine detail the resin printers are going to be a different class.  But since you bring up the Ender for the other stuff, I had to chime in on that sort of printer...

I have heard nothing but super good things about the Creality Ender, and I naturally an uber-cheapskate.  But I went with the Prusa i3, mainly to build it as a project with my daughter.

From my understanding you do not make many compromises for less than 1/3d the price with the Creality.  It is nearly as fine a printer as the i3.

BUT.

It was worth the extra money to behold the feat of engineering that the i3 is.  It is an amazing thing.  Beautiful design.  Really really awesome engineering.  It is built from parts that it has printed.  Joseph Prusa is an eccentric purist visionary and his products reflect it.

Advantages for paying the extra:

you get arguably STILL the best platform for the price range
you get a large passionate community
there are tons of mods and projects aimed at this platform.  I have printed a couple cool drawers for mine.
the raspi integration is cool.
but most of all you BUILD your printer.

That last one is important because no matter what printer you buy you will be needing to understand deeply how it works because these things need adjustment, maintenance and tweaking.  Having built my printer I know it inside and out, and if something acts funny, I know where all the screws are etc.

That said, I might also get an Ender as a second machine... 3d printing is very fun.