In Episode 13 (September 19, 2025), Sam showed how he printed two Built This Week keychains at home: one for him, one to mail to Jordan. He used a customizable model from MakerWorld and his Bambu Lab X1C. There's no AI in this one, and the whole thing takes a few clicks. Generating the custom file took about a minute.
The week before, we had shown how we turned 3D-printed charms into store-ready product photos with Nano Banana (that build is here). Listeners then asked what we actually do with 3D printing, so Sam walked through the simplest possible print, starting at 07:34. We're both 3D printing enthusiasts and both own the same printer.
And it, you know, it was as simple as finding the the keychain, then customizing it.
— Sam Nadler, Episode 13
Two BTW keychains came off the printer, and one went in the mail to Jordan. Sam's bigger point was that a home printer is "your own little factory": as long as it fits in the build area, you can print shelving, canisters and so on. He prints fidget tools, kitchen tools like ladle holders, cable organizers, pill canisters and birthday gifts for his daughters. Jordan showed a phone holder and a pencil holder from his desk.
Changing text on a keychain is the easy case. Sam said that customizing a more complex model, like the tank on his desk, is "a little bit outside of my three d printing skill set." That's where he sees room for AI:
But having an AI tool that could, like, easily customize these complex files so I could take something that already existed and and tweak it the way I I wanted would be, I think, an exciting application for AI and three d printing.
— Sam Nadler, Episode 13
He admitted he hadn't looked for such tools yet. Jordan added a caveat at 10:09: the printers work well, but they still need a significant amount of maintenance and upkeep, which is why 3D printing still feels early to him. He expects the machines to need less care over time, and wants to connect AI to 3D models so you can "dream up and print whatever you want."
The same episode also has Jordan's AI build, a 3D cholesterol medication visualizer made by chatting with Claude.
Sam found a customizable keychain model on MakerWorld, typed in the text he wanted (his example was 'Jordan'), clicked generate, waited about a minute, then downloaded the file and sent it to his printer.
Both Jordan and Sam use a Bambu Lab X1C. Sam printed the two Built This Week keychains on his.
Sam hadn't tried any AI tools for it yet. He said editing complex models is beyond his 3D printing skills, and that an AI tool that could take an existing file and tweak it would be an exciting application.
Jordan said the machines work well but still need a significant amount of maintenance and upkeep to run properly, which is why 3D printing still feels early to him.
