Tech News
← Back to articles

3D Printing Holiday Gift Guide: What to Buy for Makers in 2025

read original related products more articles

Buying gifts for someone who owns a 3D printer can feel surprisingly tricky. Makers are picky about their tools, and not every gadget on the market is actually useful. Whether you're shopping for a beginner with their first machine or a seasoned hobbyist who already has a crowded workbench, this list highlights practical, high-impact gifts that every 3D printer owner will appreciate.

Filament Connector from Sunlu

Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Sunlu, $42.99

(Image credit: Sunlu)

What do you do with those scraps of filament at the end of the spool that are too short for anything important? If you have an AMS, you could set all your nearly empty spools on sequential mode and let the printer handle them. But it’s way more fun to weld the ends together and create a custom spool. The Sunlu Filament Connector is the only tool I’ve seen that will easily melt the ends to filament together without leaving lumps that could clog your nozzle. This tool heats up to 240°C, so it can splice together everything from PLA to Nylon. Just don’t splice your PLA to Nylon, that will never stick.

Nonsticky Nozzle Stuff from Slice Engineering

Slice Engineering, $14.99

Nozzles don’t have to get sticky and gross with filament build up, not when you have Slice Engineering’s Anti-Stick nano-coating. Paint the transparent repellent on a clean nozzle and it will stay clean for weeks…or months, depending on how often you print. A clean nozzle can prevent many types of print fails and keep filament from forming a blob on the toolhead. The coating works up to 300°C and is suitable for printing all materials. One bottle can hold over 100 coats.

Heat Set Insert Press from Mintion

... continue reading