After making the 3D Printed Neodymium Magnet Material Hold Down, I thought I would design something in 3D using more complex shapes, and print an inlay on the 
. Here is a outline of Wisconsin in black PLA, and a test inlay in draftboard. Same technique of embedding the magnet in the plastic behind the inlay.
Goal would be to make these as gifts, and not just state outlines. Just looking for ways to use the 3D printer and the together.
Yep. Okay, you have 49 other states to do…better get cracking. 
1 per day maybe. And I’ll skip the boring states that are just rectangles. 
Another genius idea from you! The potential is limitless.
What?!? You get like six states with one rectangle. Those are the money states, or they would be if anyone lived there.
People do live there, they just don’t have refrigerators, and wouldn’t need these magnets. 
careful, your fancy fridge magnets only work on a fridge with a steel door - a rarer and rarer thing these days especially in your fancy states with electricity.
Lucky for me, actual steel is still used in building construction. Or I wouldn’t have a place to hang my calendar.
I think it’s an evil plot by neat people who are trying to impose their uncluttered lifestyles on the rest of us!
The sides are still steel, though, so you can clutter those up to your heart’s content.
When we bought a fridge for the new house my wife had to bring a magnet with to ensure the SS style one she wanted would allow for magnet use.
I do that, too. It’s not that I wouldn’t buy the house… but I’d require a $2.5K reduction for purchase of a new fancy electric fridge with a real steel front.
Naaaa… he started with the best!
Not only that, he’s gotta make sure they interlock to make a full refrigerator set
Texas is too big for the GF.
Well, 
definitely would have to charge more for Texas…material costs. Alaska too.
What would I look for in considering a 3D printer?
People are asking if they can come over and use the GF. I am thinking about getting a 3D printer and creating a Maker space (copy written?).
Whichever one you get…get it in advance and learn how to use it before allowing others to do so. 
3D printing is a lot more involved/finicky than laser printing. Get a cheap printer and you’ll be spending all your time unclogging nozzles for new users, and leveling the bed.
Make sure you get one that keeps it’s level, has an enclosure for those printing ABS, and can be cooled for PLA. Plan on having a dry storage area set up for the filaments, they deteriorate rapidly when exposed to humidity.
You want a workhorse that can survive beginners. I personally like the MakerGear machines. (Got two M2 Duals…you set the level once on those and it stays in place for six to eight months without adjustment. You can come back to it after two years of sitting collecting dust and it fires right up and goes to town. They’re extremely well made machines that require very little maintenance.) I believe the new M3 models even have a self-leveling function now.
Good luck!
I started with the “so easy anyone can do it” M3D (I think it was a Kickstarter thing), and discovered quickly that (unlike Glowforge) 3D printing is NOT something you can make dummy-proof. After a few months of frustration, hair-pulling, and basically rebuilding it from the ground up to try to make it work better, with NO HELP from M3D, because during all that time I was never even able to get access to the owner forums (nor were thousands of other frustrated owners) or any response from support.
I did my research on the next one, and (after joining and exploring the owner forums FIRST!) bought a Lulzbot Taz. It’s COMPLETELY open-source – they will give you the STL files and specs for everything on the machine, and let you download the firmware, so NOTHING is hidden or secret…and there’s a huge community of people out there to get help from when you need it.
Mine’s been kind of neglected while I’ve been getting through the honeymoon period with my Glowforge, but I’ve been VERY happy with it. 
I’m looking forward to it being even better – I’ve got almost all the parts printed / purchased to do some stability upgrades on it with the help of @piercet, who is one of the legendary Taz experts on the forums and happens to live right down the road from me!
There are tons of options, and I am completely new to 3D printing, so I can comment on my experience so far. I went with the Dremel 3D45 on a whim, and have been happy with it so far. Some of the challenges I’ve faced are probably normal for anyone who is learning to use a 3D printer, and most likely not related to the Dremel at all. There are definitely cheaper products on the market, but I went with this based upon reviews and some minimal research. I like the fact that mine has a bed that will self-level, and has a heated bed. I did not have good luck printing Nylon, which is the filament that they send with the unit. I had probably an 85% failure rate. Once I switched to PLA, my issues decreased dramatically. I also invested in Simplify3D, and this also helped reduce the failure rate. It does a better job at reducing plastic, and method of building support structures is more efficient. I get clogs in the nozzle, but think that’s pretty normal. I like that it is enclosed, but this also is limiting in the build height compared to other units. I spent the first few weeks printing things I found online, like from Thingiverse. I’ve also just started using Fusion 360 to create my own designs. I don’t like the fact that Dremel makes you use their filament, as it’s pricier. I do have some cheaper filament that I plan on re-spooling, but that may or may not void the warranty. It’s been fun learning the ropes, and I like that I can leave a print job running when I’m not there and monitor it remotely. Something I’d never do with the Glowforge.
As far as creating a Maker space, the Dremel allows you to give access rights to the web interface to other makers, and they can upload their own designs and print remotely or queue their print jobs. Good luck, and hopefully this helps.
