Congratulations! What did you get? I'm up to 4 of my own, the first one I built from a junky kit, really taught me how they work and how to fix issues. I also have an Ultimaker 2, which is a hunk of overpriced garbage, and 2 Prusa MK3S's, which are the best FDM printer you can buy IMO. I've also assembled 15 Prusas from kits for the makerspace at the school.
I use mine all the time, usually for little bits and bobs, like winders and hangers. The best use is what you're doing, as a prototyping tool prior to making the part in metal, whether CNC or casting. Feels much better to chuck a 5-cent plastic piece that doesn't fit than it does to have to scrap one you spent hours machining or casting
. I have a weird thing about LED lights, designing and building them, so I make all kinds of parts, shades, and lenses on the printers. I've also done some projects just for fun, such as my 1:3,600 Star Destroyer with a 10 mm Millenium Falcon attached to the back of the bridge. My project for the winter is to make a 6'x6' 3d terrain map of my county, with relief printed from LIDAR data and painted to match the aerial imagery. I've also made firearms-related stuff, CW paddles and other ham radio stuff, and a ton of little bits for photography and video.
Once you get into it, that printer will be running a lot! I always keep a couple spools of black, white, OD green, and clear PLA on hand. Since most companies make filament in batches, sometimes colors are out of stock for a bit.
If you have any questions, let me know. I'm no expert, but I've been using printers for a few years now and I've made a lot of mistakes to learn from!
