This paper considers potential issues in the private use exemption for the reproduction of circuit layouts as offered by s 21(1) of the Circuit Layouts Act 1989 (Cth) (the Act) in light of new commercial and domestic applications of 3D printing devices able to rapidly produce Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) such as the Brisbane built EX1, since re-dubbed as the Argentum, or the more recently announced DragonFly 2020. Currently, private use exemptions for the reproduction of commercially protected circuit layouts, or, `eligible layouts' are allowable under s 21(1) of the Act where the reproduction of the eligible layout is `for the private use of the person who does the making'. Defences for the reproduction of eligible layouts for private use under s 21(1) of the Act are balanced against piracy concerns under s 21(2) of the Act where the reproduction of the eligible layout constitutes commercial exploitation or is otherwise distributed non-commercially `to an extent' that would prejudice the rights of the eligible layouts holder. However, in light of the reduced barrier to entry of technical expertise in the reproduction of circuit layouts offered by 3D printers able to replicate circuit boards, issues may arise in the application of the private use exemption in determining what may constitute prejudicial reproduction to the eligible layout rights holder pursuant to the imprecise wording of the `to an extent' caveat of s 21(2) of the Act for non-commercial distribution. Furthermore, given the advances in scanning technology, such as through point cloud devices or photographs, and its application to 3D printing, further issues arise in determining whether the current caveat on distribution afforded by s 21(2) of the Act is sufficient in preventing the large scale reproduction of the eligible layouts where parties scan directly for their own use. In answering these questions, this paper will consider the balance between allowing the private use exemption to encourage ex...