We sent Nate (@NatesPrintShop) to this year’s Midwest RepRap Festival not with a booth, but with something better—spools of Amolen filament and a whole lot of maker spirit. What he brought back was a heartwarming glimpse into the most passionate corners of the 3D printing world.
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Just got back from MRRF 2025 and honestly? My heart (and printer) are full. The Midwest RepRap Festival in Goshen, Indiana, is like the Super Bowl for 3D printing nerds—except way more chaotic and with way better filament.
This wasn’t my first MRRF, but every year it somehow tops the last. The energy is unreal. The moment you walk into the fairgrounds, you’re surrounded by custom printers, wild prototypes, color-shifting prints, and people who are just as obsessed with layer lines as you are. It’s loud, it’s nerdy, and it feels like home.
I didn’t set up a booth or anything official—I just went to hang out, talk shop, and hand out some free filament. Yep, I brought a few extra spools and gave them away to other makers who looked like they could use them or were just genuinely excited to try something new. There’s something cool about passing filament to a total stranger and then seeing what they make with it. It’s what this community’s all about.
Between table-hopping and catching up with people I’ve only ever known through TikTok or Discord, I barely had time to sit. Got to check out some insane builds—printers running Klipper on everything from Pi Zeroes to full-blown gaming PCs, massive CoreXYs, Vorons humming away, and one guy printing full helmets in a single pass with a 1.2mm nozzle.
But the best part wasn’t the tech. It was the people. MRRF is packed with folks who get it. We talked failed prints, firmware quirks, nozzle sizes, and how nobody’s printer room is ever actually clean. It was a reminder that the maker world is full of support, sarcasm, and seriously brilliant ideas.
Already counting down the days until MRRF 2026. Next time, I might bring even more filament to give away—because the only thing better than printing something cool is sharing it with someone who gets just as hyped.
Until then, I’ll be at the bench, covered in PLA dust, dreaming up the next big print.
— Nate
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Curious to try the filament Nate shared at MRRF?
Explore our newest colors and specialty bundles → amolen.com
