About Dan
📍 Pittsburgh, PA
Dan Whitaker has been 3D printing since 2016 and runs both an FDM and a resin machine out of his home workshop in Pittsburgh. He compiles 3D Printer Picks' recommendations from spec sheets, new-release tracking, and the consensus of people who actually own the gear.
I'm Dan — I've been 3D printing since 2016, when I picked up a cheap open-frame FDM machine and spent the next two years learning everything the hard way. These days I run both an FDM and a resin printer at home, mostly for functional parts and the occasional batch of miniatures.
I started 3D Printer Picks because finding a straight answer to "which printer, which filament, which build plate" had gotten genuinely hard — the results were either AI filler or sites claiming to have tested dozens of machines they clearly never touched.
So I'll be straight about what this site is. I don't run a test lab. What I do is read the full spec sheets, track every new release, and pay close attention to what people who own the gear say after months of using it — then compile the picks that actually hold up. My own years at the printer are there to sanity-check it all. That's it. No hype, no fake hands-on claims, just researched recommendations from someone who's spent a long time in the hobby.