I was thinking about this question today as someone used our work printer for some personal stuff.
As for me, I am printing little things that I would say make it worth it. I’ve printed lens adapters for my camera for example. That’s worth a good 14 to 30 bucks per print. My most favorite photo was with an adapted lens that came from a projector. I also printed IEMs and those things are worth it. Listening to music is second to none on those things. Plus I printed the same shell but for ear protection and again the fit is perfect and sure there’s post processing to get smooth surfaces but in the end it looks like a professional made it. So I think 3d printers are worth it.
I’m in the same situation - started with the same printer, put money and parts into it to get it to be reliable, and now I can just login to Octoprint and send something with 99% of prints just working. I wipe the build plate down, blast it with a few squeezes of canned air, and it just works.
But now these kids and their Bambus and multi-color print abilities…get off my lawn. Seriously, kids, you’re in my light and I’m trying to get this hotend adjusted…
Lol I’ve got an Ender V2 - and my brother just upgraded to a Bambu. He’s such a removeder… I’m jealous.