SMRRF 2023: First Impressions

Posted on 23/12/03 in 3D Printing

Tags: smrrf, reprap, event, community, 3d-printing

Dragged myself out of bed early on a Saturday for the Sanjay Mortimer RepRap Festival in Oxford, and it was worth every minute of M25 traffic and a slightly chaotic parking situation. The energy was high, the projects were varied, and the community spirit stood out immediately.

What SMRRF is about

SMRRF is a UK RepRap festival run by the Sanjay Mortimer Foundation, celebrating open source making and the wider 3D printing community. If you are curious about the background, start here: Sanjay Mortimer RepRap Festival.

Highlights from the day

Hands-on projects everywhere, from custom toolheads to functional prints and intricate cosplay parts.
Friendly, low-ego conversations with makers who were happy to share settings, slicer profiles, and the mistakes that led to the good results.
Plenty of material and hardware vendors demoing interesting filaments, hot ends, and motion systems.
Impromptu troubleshooting sessions between strangers that felt like a live version of a Discord help channel.

If you missed it

A nice way to get a feel for the event is the SMRRF 2023 video roundup playlist: SMRRF 2023 on YouTube. It captures the atmosphere, the talks, and a lot of the show-and-tell that makes festivals like this fun.

Notes to self for next time

Leave earlier, plan parking properly, and bring cash for coffee.
Pack a short list of questions for vendors and creators. It helps make the most of face-to-face time.
Bring a couple of show-and-tell prints to spark conversations.

Walking out, the main thought was simple. The UK 3D printing scene is thriving, and SMRRF is a great place to meet the people behind the projects.

Thanks for reading. If you were at SMRRF and have a write-up or video, send it over. It would be good to collect a few perspectives from the day.