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Whatcha Printing?

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I concur print it verticle ... not on its side with 2mm walls you have no overhangs so you'll be absolutely fine, as far as material pla tends to be more brittle and less resistant to heat ( even in direct sunlight can warp it over time) I use alot of petg it's more durable abit more flexible and prints at a hotter temp. I agree with the design using rhe knurled nut will do good for you , you could also use a brass 3mm melt in insert, using a soldering iron to install them so the the threads are on the knob instead of the part
 
I concur print it verticle ... not on its side with 2mm walls you have no overhangs so you'll be absolutely fine, as far as material pla tends to be more brittle and less resistant to heat ( even in direct sunlight can warp it over time) I use alot of petg it's more durable abit more flexible and prints at a hotter temp. I agree with the design using rhe knurled nut will do good for you , you could also use a brass 3mm melt in insert, using a soldering iron to install them so the the threads are on the knob instead of the part
That's the way I would do it too for this project. I have inserts from M2 to M6 on hand, but I figured Retro wouldn't have those.

@RetroThutmose, if you want to use inserts and get some M5 thumb screws instead, let me know and I can remodel the hole in the center to fit the inserts. This kit has an assortment...
https://www.amazon.com/Kadrick-Thre...=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9zZWFyY2hfdGhlbWF0aWM&th=1
 
I’m going to paint the panels, just test fitting for now

AFCFB73E-799A-4A09-9F36-4FC14EA9F19A.webp
ED649149-1C9A-44E0-98F8-5F3BDCB9B080.webp



Or this grille 🤔

7BF967CD-05B0-4BE1-8308-8605A497EA7A.webp


Got a roof panel going now
 
Had my first error that made me stop the print. Probably would have been functionally fine, this is just a phone mount for my wife's peloton, but I wanted to get a better understanding of what's going on here? What would cause the PLA to bunch up in this corner?
1000000294.webp
1000000295.webp
 
Had my first error that made me stop the print. Probably would have been functionally fine, this is just a phone mount for my wife's peloton, but I wanted to get a better understanding of what's going on here? What would cause the PLA to bunch up in this corner?View attachment 221122View attachment 221123
this appears to be 1 of 2 things, either the bed is not level and this corner of the bed has a slightly tighter tolerance between the bed and print nozzle causing the nozzle to grab the first layer and pull it up, OR it could be the bed temp is too cool and not adhering in this corner,

And now that i think about it, it could also be too far way and not getting the proper amount of squish during printing of that first layer.

IMHO i think it appears to be the bed is too close to the nozzle and the bed is not level, seeing how the rest of the print looks and you can kind of see how the nozzle tears into the previous layer
 
this appears to be 1 of 2 things, either the bed is not level and this corner of the bed has a slightly tighter tolerance between the bed and print nozzle causing the nozzle to grab the first layer and pull it up, OR it could be the bed temp is too cool and not adhering in this corner,

And now that i think about it, it could also be too far way and not getting the proper amount of squish during printing of that first layer.

IMHO i think it appears to be the bed is too close to the nozzle and the bed is not level, seeing how the rest of the print looks and you can kind of see how the nozzle tears into the previous layer
That makes sense to me. Bed was definitely 60c but I had printed a few things and changed filaments without rechecking the bed level
 
Had my first error that made me stop the print. Probably would have been functionally fine, this is just a phone mount for my wife's peloton, but I wanted to get a better understanding of what's going on here? What would cause the PLA to bunch up in this corner?View attachment 221122View attachment 221123
In my opinion, your bed looks pretty level, based on the brim. But the entire bed is a smidge too low. Unless that brim is more than one layer.

How is your ambient temp? Is there a heating vent nearby?

Another thing is that design, tapering down to a fine edge like that will tend to pull up the corners because as the filament cools, it shrinks a bit. So each subsequent layer is printed in place, shrinks a tad, and pulls inward on the edges. That kind of design is actually something I use to test my bed levelness, shrinkage, and temps, because it is ideal for getting these things set because the design tries to pull up the corners.

That's where an enclosed printer comes into play by keeping the inside of the printer nice and toasty, and cinsistent, preventing as much shrinkage and bed delsmination.

Solution, raise your bed slightly on each corner and try again. My first layers, I generally try for the filament to look a bit translucent. Make sure your ambient temp is pretty warm if possible, and doesn't vary every time your furnace/AC kicks on because of a vent nearby.

Having your bed temp too high can actually cause prints to warp more than running a lower bed temp. I run at 62°, and that works fine for me, but you need to find where yours prints best at. If I print with my bed turned off, I actually have less warpage than with prints with the bed turned on sometimes. My CR10 S7 Mini taught me that, as it doesn't even have a bed heater, and when the prints stick, it prints beautiful parts 😉
 
In my opinion, your bed looks pretty level, based on the brim. But the entire bed is a smidge too low. Unless that brim is more than one layer.

How is your ambient temp? Is there a heating vent nearby?

Another thing is that design, tapering down to a fine edge like that will tend to pull up the corners because as the filament cools, it shrinks a bit. So each subsequent layer is printed in place, shrinks a tad, and pulls inward on the edges. That kind of design is actually something I use to test my bed levelness, shrinkage, and temps, because it is ideal for getting these things set because the design tries to pull up the corners.

That's where an enclosed printer comes into play by keeping the inside of the printer nice and toasty, and cinsistent, preventing as much shrinkage and bed delsmination.

Solution, raise your bed slightly on each corner and try again. My first layers, I generally try for the filament to look a bit translucent. Make sure your ambient temp is pretty warm if possible, and doesn't vary every time your furnace/AC kicks on because of a vent nearby.

Having your bed temp too high can actually cause prints to warp more than running a lower bed temp. I run at 62°, and that works fine for me, but you need to find where yours prints best at. If I print with my bed turned off, I actually have less warpage than with prints with the bed turned on sometimes. My CR10 S7 Mini taught me that, as it doesn't even have a bed heater, and when the prints stick, it prints beautiful parts 😉
I was not interpreting my leveling correctly. It was not bad but I can make major improvements. I've got it in an enclosure in the garage with a heater on it. It was up to 90 inside the enclosure. Element was at 210 iirc, bed 70. Bed is steel with a nice textured surface on the print side. I'm following advice from the community. Running auto level, adj knobs, run auto level again, adj knobs, etc.

I'm pretty close. Probably need to do it 2 or 3 more times to verify it's consistent.
 
I was not interpreting my leveling correctly. It was not bad but I can make major improvements. I've got it in an enclosure in the garage with a heater on it. It was up to 90 inside the enclosure. Element was at 210 iirc, bed 70. Bed is steel with a nice textured surface on the print side. I'm following advice from the community. Running auto level, adj knobs, run auto level again, adj knobs, etc.

I'm pretty close. Probably need to do it 2 or 3 more times to verify it's consistent.
That's PLA temp on the hotend. Way too low. Try 230. See what happens. You should be somewhere between 220-250 on the nozzle. What "community" are you referring to?
 
That's PLA temp on the hotend. Way too low. Try 230. See what happens. You should be somewhere between 220-250 on the nozzle. What "community" are you referring to?
I thought that was a bit low too. Are the recommendations on the filament spool a good starting point? Or the machines preset profile? I was using what was on the spool. I suspect my level was good on center and my z was spot on, but I will keep experimenting and improving
 
I thought that was a bit low too. Are the recommendations on the filament spool a good starting point? Or the machines preset profile? I was using what was on the spool. I suspect my level was good on center and my z was spot on, but I will keep experimenting and improving
Your bed temp is fine. Crank the temp to 230. You have an all metal hotend?

Raise your bed just slightly and print a brim offset from the part, just to test. Stop after a couple laps around and adjust the bed until the filament looks a bit translucent.
 
i was about to order a bambu labs a1, then saw that they recently changed how their system works and what slicer is able to be used, is this an issue thats going to bother me as a newb? or is this more of an issue for people who are doing 3d printing as a major part of their lives?
i just want to be able to print parts for my trucks and other random smallish things, I'm not trying to design crazily intricate castles or anything lol.
but would this recent change have influenced your decision on purchasing the a1? untill i ran into that issue it seemed everyone was on board with saying the a1 is a great entry platform, but if its going to lock me into using their propietary software and such i think thats kind of a reason to look at a different brand, id like the opinions of you printers if possible?
even with the change should i still grab the printer?
 
i was about to order a bambu labs a1, then saw that they recently changed how their system works and what slicer is able to be used, is this an issue thats going to bother me as a newb? or is this more of an issue for people who are doing 3d printing as a major part of their lives?
i just want to be able to print parts for my trucks and other random smallish things, I'm not trying to design crazily intricate castles or anything lol.
but would this recent change have influenced your decision on purchasing the a1? untill i ran into that issue it seemed everyone was on board with saying the a1 is a great entry platform, but if its going to lock me into using their propietary software and such i think thats kind of a reason to look at a different brand, id like the opinions of you printers if possible?
even with the change should i still grab the printer?
The Bambu software is free, and open source. Meaning there is a community of users out there, likely in a Discord group, who are tweaking and improving the software. As far as I know, the Bambu A1 is right up there at the top of the middle of the road budget friendly FDM printers. It isn't the cheapest in its size range, but at its price, it seems like it's the one to get. The A1 with AMS is definitely the one I would grab if I were buying another small FDM.

If you need me to, I'll go download the software and play with it to help walk you through it. But while you're waiting on it to show up, do some binge watching of some of the more popular guys on YT.

Now, I am sure these guys are getting kickbacks for their reviews. I dunno. I stopped watching 3d vids years ago. But when I was heavy into starting a print farm, these were the guys I followed...

Thomas Sandlanderer is a super smart German dude and has a ton of info on all things printing.
https://youtube.com/@madewithlayers?si=_vyZ82sA67NQv2ix

The 3d Printing Nerd is a good dude. He has tons of info on a lot of stuff.
https://youtube.com/@3dprintingnerd?si=FYWmSODC_nLvHMSA

Maker's Muse was just a kid when I was watching him, but he impressed me back then. Super smart dude.
https://youtube.com/@makersmuse?si=dVI8wJQHNCNq3rBY
 
The Bambu software is free, and open source. Meaning there is a community of users out there, likely in a Discord group, who are tweaking and improving the software. As far as I know, the Bambu A1 is right up there at the top of the middle of the road budget friendly FDM printers. It isn't the cheapest in its size range, but at its price, it seems like it's the one to get. The A1 with AMS is definitely the one I would grab if I were buying another small FDM.

If you need me to, I'll go download the software and play with it to help walk you through it. But while you're waiting on it to show up, do some binge watching of some of the more popular guys on YT.

Now, I am sure these guys are getting kickbacks for their reviews. I dunno. I stopped watching 3d vids years ago. But when I was heavy into starting a print farm, these were the guys I followed...

Thomas Sandlanderer is a super smart German dude and has a ton of info on all things printing.
https://youtube.com/@madewithlayers?si=_vyZ82sA67NQv2ix

The 3d Printing Nerd is a good dude. He has tons of info on a lot of stuff.
https://youtube.com/@3dprintingnerd?si=FYWmSODC_nLvHMSA

Maker's Muse was just a kid when I was watching him, but he impressed me back then. Super smart dude.
https://youtube.com/@makersmuse?si=dVI8wJQHNCNq3rBY
ywah I'm 90% certain but I'm specifically referring to this
https://blog.bambulab.com/firmware-update-introducing-new-authorization-control-system-2/
i am seeing a lot of chatter on those forums about how this is a major issue for a lot of users. but I'm wondering if thats an issue that i wouldnt even experience since id most likely be starting out with their stuff and wouldnt run into issues, but i see that everyone seems to prefer the orca slicer, and now thats no longer an option. with that in mind would you still recommend the bambuu over another brand
 
ywah I'm 90% certain but I'm specifically referring to this
https://blog.bambulab.com/firmware-update-introducing-new-authorization-control-system-2/
i am seeing a lot of chatter on those forums about how this is a major issue for a lot of users. but I'm wondering if thats an issue that i wouldnt even experience since id most likely be starting out with their stuff and wouldnt run into issues, but i see that everyone seems to prefer the orca slicer, and now thats no longer an option. with that in mind would you still recommend the bambuu over another brand
I don't see anything in that that would worry me. It looks like they are just trying to make your printer unhackable. And disabling Orca use is probably just plugging a security threat.

I can't imagine it's that big a deal. For what you're going to be doing, I doubt any of that will affect you. But I can't ssy for sure. There's no way they would do anything that makes their printer less valuable, at least not permanently. You don't get to the top by pissing off your users.

What community are you referring to?
 
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