3D printer upgrades you can print yourself, printer by printer

The short answer

The printed upgrades worth doing on almost any printer, in order: a purge bin if the machine changes colours, riser feet if it sits on a desk, a scraper or tool holder, a fix for the spool path (a bearing hub or a PTFE guide), and a lid riser if it is enclosed and you print PLA. Each is a one-hour print in PETG with one measurement to take first. Below are the specific parts per printer. Every link is a ready-made model on a SpeakCAD library page: a free account opens it in the browser and lets you type your own measurement into the viewer; downloading the file uses credits.

Print these first, and measure this

Print upgrades in PETG or ASA rather than PLA: they sit next to a warm machine, and a PLA foot under a 15 kg printer creeps. Anything inside a heated chamber is ASA.

Bambu Lab A1

• A1 purge waste bin: a 150 x 110 x 90 mm box under the rear-left chute so AMS lite colour changes stop landing on the desk.
• AMS Lite PTFE guide clip: holds the four tubes in an arc so they do not kink at the hub.
• AMS Lite spool holder riser: lifts the AMS Lite 60 mm so the spools clear the bed when the printer sits on a shelf.
• Build-plate scraper: a handle for a standard 100 mm scraper blade, angled to meet the textured plate flat.

Bambu Lab A1 mini

• Riser feet: 25 mm of lift for airflow and the power switch; the first print for a desk machine.
• Poop chute and waste bin: carries the purge 120 mm out to a removable bin.
• AMS Lite riser: 30 mm under the AMS Lite so the PTFE path is an arc instead of a kink.
• Side spool roller stand: four 608 bearings for heavy or cardboard spools fed from the side.

The A1 vs A1 mini comparison explains why the two share almost no printed parts: different chute, different feet.

Bambu Lab P1S

• Riser feet: 30 mm so the base breathes and the door clears a desk lip.
• Poop-chute extension bin: carries purge forward so it does not pile against the door.
• AMS top riser frame: lifts the AMS 30 mm off the glass so the lid can be propped for PLA.
• Glass door handle: the replacement for the stock handle when it peels.

Bambu Lab X1 Carbon

• Lid riser corner spacers: 20 mm of lift for PLA and PETG so the chamber does not heat-creep the extruder; they fit the P1S too.
• Purge wiper replacement: the small blade that wears a groove after a few hundred hours, printed in TPU.
• AMS PTFE guide clip: four tubes in a tidy arc above the AMS.
• AMS desiccant tray: a vented tray that clips into the AMS floor for loose silica gel.

Bambu Lab H2D

• Riser feet: heavy-duty 60 mm blocks sized for a 30 kg machine, 30 mm of lift.
• Build-plate wall rack: stores three 350 mm class plates on edge; prints as two 180 mm halves.
• AMS HT spool rest: parks the fifth material beside the printer instead of on the floor.

Prusa MK4S

• Frame tool holder: clips to the 6 mm frame plate with slots for the hex keys, nozzle wrench, spatula and cutters.
• Frame webcam mount: a 150 mm hinged arm with a 1/4-20 head for timelapses and remote checks through Prusa Connect.
• LED light bar mount: hangs a 10 mm strip channel from the top of the frame for first-layer checks.
• Print-sheet wall rack: three 250 x 210 mm sheets on a wall instead of stacked on the printer.

Prusa CORE One

• Riser feet: 30 mm so the bottom intake gets air and a tray slides under the front.
• Purge bucket: sits under the chute on the frame's own holes.
• Spool-holder drybox riser: lifts the side spool 40 mm so a 2 litre drybox fits under the inlet.

Creality Ender-3 V3 SE

• Scraper holder: bolts to the 2040 upright with two M5 T-nuts; the classic first print.
• Spool holder with 608 bearings: a hub that spins on bearings instead of plastic on plastic, which cuts under-extrusion on long prints.
• Webcam mount: an articulated arm on the top beam; point it along X on a bed slinger, not Y.
• Bed levelling knob: a 40 mm thumbwheel for the M4 screws, replacing the one that cracks.

Creality K1 and K1C

• Lid riser: holds the glass 25 mm up for PLA, in four dovetailed corners with a PTFE notch.
• K1C poop deflector bin: sends purge off the right side instead of onto the bed heater wires.
• Top filament guide with 608 bearing: routes filament from a rear spool over a pulley so it stops scraping the frame.

Elegoo Neptune 4 Pro

• Scraper holder: M5 T-nuts on the upright, with a pliers pocket.
• LED bar mount: lights the bed for a camera, run off the 24 V supply.
• Bed cable strain relief: clamps the heated-bed cable so it stops flexing at the connector, in PETG or ASA.
• Build plate wall hanger: three spare PEI plates on edge so the coating never touches another plate.

Elegoo Centauri Carbon

• Lid riser: 20 mm corners with a PTFE notch, for PLA in an enclosed machine.
• Riser feet: 25 mm of air for the rear exhaust and damping on a light desk.
• Purge bucket: clips on the right rail and catches purge before it reaches the plate.
• Top PTFE guide: feeds from a spool on the lid or a drybox beside it with a 60 mm bend radius.

Anycubic Kobra 3 and Kobra S1

• ACE Pro PTFE guide arm: lifts the tube above the Kobra 3 so it stops snagging the gantry.
• Kobra S1 lid riser: 20 mm corners that vent the chamber for PLA.
• Kobra S1 riser feet: lift and damping for the enclosed model.

Sovol SV06

• Filament guide with 608 bearing: a pulley on the frame top so filament stops rubbing and kinking as the carriage moves.
• Nozzle storage block: twelve labelled M6 holes with a magnetic base that sticks to the frame.
• Spool hub adapter: cones that centre a 52 mm bore on the slim stock rod.

Flashforge Adventurer 5M and 5M Pro

• Filament guide: an 80 mm arm that lifts filament off the top spool so it stops rubbing the lid.
• Spool hub adapter: the same centring cones, for spools that wobble on the pin.
• Build-plate scraper: the handle is printer-agnostic and takes any 100 mm scraper blade.

Voron 2.4

• Door handle for 3 mm panels: clamps the acrylic with two M3 screws, in ASA for a 60 °C chamber.
• Rear spool holder for 2020: a 1 kg spool on two 608 bearings, bolted with M5 T-nuts.
• Pi Camera Module 3 mount: a ball-jointed arm on the frame for Mainsail timelapses.
• Hex key tool holder: the 1.5 to 3 mm keys, cutters and tweezers on the frame.

What to check before you print any of them

1. Measure the mating feature on your machine, not the one in the description: foot diameter, outlet size, extrusion width, panel thickness. Revisions change these.
2. Check the orientation the page suggests; feet print pocket up, clips print on their side.
3. Use PETG for anything under load or near heat, TPU for feet that should damp, ASA inside an enclosure.
4. Print one before printing four. A foot that is 0.5 mm tight on the rubber pad is a sentence to fix and a free re-download.

Opening and resizing these

Each page above opens its ready-made model in a free SpeakCAD account, in the browser on a phone or a computer, on a virtual bed the size of your printer's, picked from the 380+ in the slicer catalog. Type the measurement you took into the viewer (a wider pocket, a 2040 slot instead of 2020), then download the STL or 3MF, or G-code sliced with the printer's official profile (a .gcode.3mf for Bambu Lab). Downloads use credits, from $5 once with no subscription; the live demo is free with no account if you want to see the editor on a real part first. Day 3 of the first-week plan is one of these.

Where that leaves you

Print the bin, the feet and the tool holder in the first month; they change how the printer feels every day. Leave lighting and cameras until you know you watch prints. Measure once, print one, then print the set.