How to justify your TOM to your significant other!

thingiverse

We have all been there! How do you explain a several thousand dollars investment into another "toy"? My significant other (SO) had some issues with the amount of money and specially time I spent with the TOM. Not even http://www.thingiverse.com/derivative:9461 won her over (though it did get some extra time credit over all). I needed something significant ( in monetary terms ) to bring her over to our side. In my case, I had the (mis)fortune of breaking the end of my cars luggage compartment cover. The cover can be used in the 5 and 7 seat configuration so it has extensions that lock to the ends to make it longer for the 5 seat set up. The broken piece that connected to the left extension was around a bit and I tried the usual super glue cure with terrible results - not only it did not glue properly, it actually made me loose the broken piece altogether (now I see it was divine providence!). Upon contacting the dealer to try to buy the offending plastic part and after being politely told to stop being foolish and that Plan B (a whole new cover) was going to cost USD 550, I saw the light! :0 What if I fixed the cover and saved USD 550 (plus tax)? Hero for a few days maybe and even, just maybe a "isn't nice that you bought the 3d printer thingy?" Lofty goals but the difference between courage and ignorance is usually not that big. Instructions Find the most expensive broken thing in the house that can be fixed with a piece of plastic that fits in a 100x100x100mm cube Try to see if no one has already braved that path for you in Thingiverse? You will be surprised with what is out there (or in here for that matter). Take plenty of photos so you can have a before and after show to demonstrate to your SO and others the enormous savings you are creating with your 3d printer. Conjure some way to add a printed part to the solution. You get extra points if the solution is visible but not offensive - the limited number of ABS colors is a problem here! Be sure that the fix works and that the SO is witness to the lovely functionality your talent and the 3d printer have restored. If you have to choose, go for function over form ( as I so clearly did! ). Better ugly and alive than dead and pretty! So just to keep the concept fresh - be sure the thing is fixed or the wrath will rain upon thee! Be really, really sure that it is fixed. You really do not want your savior image destroyed after such a failure! Keep looking for expensive broken things (be sure that there are no witnesses if you have to produce them yourself or get a cat). I have added the .stl for the parts, because someone would eventually complain about it, though I am sure that the chances of someone having the same issue are zero! The impact on my Significant Other's opinion of my Thing-o-Matic after this repair has been phenomenal. Everything else I did before were only "trinkets". I now have to find something broken that needs a part that fits in a 200x200x200mm cube so I can justify a Ultimaker - I am not telling her about gluing pieces together just yet! :) Good Luck!