Abby Brown

So, is this the part where my 3D printing chapter starts to close? For anyone new here, my name is Austin, aka ZombieHedgehog. I’ve been printing nearly nonstop for over 4 years across everything from off-the-shelf machines to completely custom builds. I livestream multiple times a week on Twitch, post content on YouTube, and spend a probably unreasonable amount of time thinking about how to make printers, prints, and the overall 3D printing experience better. During the day, I work full time as an Electrical Engineer designing critical electrical substations. That means working on failed equipment replacements, expansions, and completely new sites to help keep up with the growing demand on the electrical grid. It’s technical, high-responsibility work, and it has definitely shaped the way I look at machines, systems, reliability, and problem solving. In 3D printing, my focus has always been bigger than just showing off prints. I do printer unboxings and first impressions because after using so many machines, I’ve developed a pretty sharp eye for spotting potential problems, smart design choices, and the little things that can make or break the user experience right out of the box. Custom printer builds are where my 3D printing journey really started. I began by designing my own parts to build the best machine I could with the limited budget I had at the time. Over the years that turned into everything from mostly 3D printed machines to fast CoreXY builds, experimental beta machines, and multiple heavily involved toolchangers. Some of those printers were even built specifically to bring to RepRap events to help inspire the next generation of builders. Printer mods are another major part of what I do. Whether it’s a custom build or an off-the-shelf machine, I’m always looking for ways to improve workflow, reliability, quality, performance, and of course make the printer look as cool as possible while doing it. Then there are the actual 3D printed projects. Over the years I’ve built RC cars, detailed display pieces, functional dart blasters, organizer systems, working instruments, trains, props, multicolor models, and plenty of strange ideas that somehow became real. I try to keep the projects diverse because 3D printing is so much more than one category of objects, and I want to show as many sides of it as I can. Filament is a huge part of that too. I honestly can’t count how many spools I’ve gone through at this point, but based on how consistently I print, it is probably over 500 spools and counting. Polymaker has been a huge supporter of the channel from early on, but I made sure my First Partner agreement stayed non-exclusive so I can continue testing filaments and equipment from other brands fairly. I care about printability, but I also care a lot about color choice, material choice, and planning prints in depth so the final result actually matches the idea I had in my head. Printer tuning has also been a constant obsession since my earliest machines. I love trying to find the best balance between quality, speed, strength, and reliability. I’ve created a lot of tuned profiles over the years and published some on Patreon for convenience, but I’ll always explain my methodology and thought process live on stream when people ask. To me, the goal is not just printing faster. The goal is making every print successful, intentional, and worth the time and material that went into it. All of this comes back to the same main goal: making 3D printing a better experience. I’m not doing this just to chase the most money possible. I’m doing it because I genuinely believe good content, honest testing, clear explanations, and shared resources can help people. I’m not perfect, and I never will be, but after years of printing, building, failing, fixing, and sharing, I know I can make an impact, even if it only helps a small percentage of people get better results or feel more confident trying something new. So is this a long explanation of why I’m stepping away from 3D printing? Of course not. It’s the opposite. This is me taking the next big step toward the educational content I’ve been planning for years. Over the next few months, I’ll be gathering suggestions, building resources, and continuing the larger Hedgehog Makes: The Future initiative I started last year to help push 3D printing forward. Thank you all for watching the content, hanging out during livestreams, engaging on social media, supporting the channel, and helping shape what this has become. And this is just the beginning😎