As part of the 3D Printing Tips project, Owen Walcher authored the following books around 3D Printing, aimed primarily at the home, hobby and small business market of FDM 3D Printing. These books and website were published by Ask a Friend Publishing.
Introduction to 3D Printing
Introduction to 3D Printing: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide
Introduction to 3D Printing gives new makers a practical foundation for understanding how additive manufacturing works and how to get useful results from their first machine. The book walks readers through the complete workflow, from choosing tools and materials to preparing digital models, slicing files, calibrating the printer, and improving finished parts. It introduces the major printing technologies, including FDM, SLA, and SLS, while keeping the focus on concepts a beginner can actually apply. Readers also learn how design choices, printer settings, material behavior, and post-processing affect print quality. Rather than treating 3D printing as a mysterious push-button process, this guide explains the relationships between each step so beginners can diagnose problems, make informed adjustments, and develop the confidence to move from simple test prints to functional and creative projects.
How to Buy a 3D Printer
How to Buy a 3D Printer: A Beginner’s Guide to Choosing the Right Machine with Confidence
How to Buy a 3D Printer helps first-time buyers sort through a crowded market without getting buried in specifications or marketing claims. Instead of recommending one machine for everyone, the guide shows readers how to match a printer to their budget, experience level, materials, workspace, and the kinds of projects they actually want to make. It explains the major components of an FDM printer, the features that affect print quality and usability, and the practical differences between entry-level, hobbyist, and prosumer machines. Readers also learn to consider ownership costs, maintenance, replacement parts, material compatibility, build volume, and other factors that are easy to overlook before purchase. The result is a straightforward framework for comparing printers intelligently and choosing a machine that fits both current needs and future ambitions.
3D Printing Materials Explained
Mastering 3D Printing Materials: A Comprehensive Guide
3D Printing Materials Explained focuses on one of the most important variables in successful printing: choosing and managing the right material for the job. The guide explains the behavior, strengths, limitations, and typical applications of common filaments such as PLA, PETG, ABS, TPU, and Nylon, along with specialty and filled materials. Readers learn how temperature, cooling, adhesion, moisture, storage, support strategy, and slicer settings interact with material properties and affect the finished part. The book also explores more advanced materials and emerging developments while providing practical guidance for troubleshooting material-related failures. Whether the goal is appearance, flexibility, strength, heat resistance, durability, or experimentation, this volume helps makers move beyond simply loading a spool and hoping for the best. It provides a structured way to select, prepare, print, store, and evaluate materials for reliable results.
3D Printing Side Hustle Toolkit
Unlock the Hidden Potential Sitting on Your Desk—Turn Your 3D Printer into a Profitable Side Hustle
3D Printing Side Hustle Toolkit is for makers who want their printer to do more than produce hobby projects. It explores practical ways to turn 3D printing skills and equipment into supplemental income without assuming a large shop, expensive machinery, or an established business. Readers are introduced to dozens of potential products and services, along with methods for identifying ideas that are useful, repeatable, and realistic to sell. The book covers the operational side as well, including materials, software, pricing, packaging, choosing between local and online sales channels, and basic marketing. Rather than promising instant profits, the focus is on finding manageable opportunities, testing demand, controlling costs, and building from what works. Whether the goal is occasional weekend income or the beginnings of a larger small business, the guide provides a structured starting point for converting printing capability into something customers will pay for.
Beginners Guide to Slicer Software
Master Slicing for 3D Printing—Even as a Complete Beginner!
Beginner’s Guide to Slicer Software explains the critical step between a 3D model and a successful print. Slicer software determines how a printer will build each layer, yet new users are often confronted with dozens of settings without understanding which ones matter. This guide breaks those controls into practical concepts, including layer height, infill, walls, supports, temperature, retraction, speed, cooling, and adhesion. Readers learn how slicers generate G-code, how settings influence print quality and strength, and how to build useful profiles for different printers and filaments. Troubleshooting sections connect common defects such as stringing, warping, poor adhesion, and layer shifts to the settings most likely to cause them. The goal is not memorizing every option. It is learning how to reason through slicer choices so adjustments become deliberate, repeatable, and easier to diagnose.
Intermediate Guide to Slicer Software
Advanced techniques for tuning your slicer for optimal results.
Intermediate Guide to Slicer Software is designed for makers who already understand basic slicing and want tighter control over print quality, speed, reliability, and material performance. The book moves beyond default profiles into systematic tuning of retraction, flow, pressure advance, cooling, supports, bridging, overhangs, and material-specific settings. It also examines more advanced workflow tools, including custom G-code, automated profiles, preview and diagnostic features, and techniques for identifying problems before committing hours of machine time and filament. Readers learn how to balance competing goals such as surface quality, dimensional accuracy, strength, speed, and waste rather than optimizing one setting in isolation. Covering materials from common PLA and PETG to TPU, ABS, Nylon, and fiber-filled filaments, this guide helps experienced users develop repeatable profiles and a more disciplined approach to solving difficult print problems.
Comprehensive 3D Printing Slicer Guide
Beginner and Intermediate Guides, plus advanced slicer troubleshooting guide.
The Comprehensive 3D Printing Slicer Guide brings foundational and advanced slicing concepts together in a single reference for makers who want deeper control over FDM printing. It begins with the core decisions that determine how a model becomes a printable toolpath, then progresses into adaptive layers, modifier meshes, material-specific tuning, multi-material workflows, troubleshooting, and advanced optimization. Readers learn how to recognize and correct problems such as under-extrusion, ringing, poor surfaces, and inefficient supports while balancing quality, strength, print time, and material use. The guide also explores larger and more complex applications, including functional parts, modular designs, embedded electronics, and large-format printing. For readers interested in taking their skills beyond personal projects, it also introduces practical ways to apply 3D printing commercially. It is designed as both a learning path and an ongoing bench-side reference.