3D Printing

Communities DIY Corner
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I am thinking about getting myself, I mean my kids, a 3D printer for Christmas. I’ve been looking at used ones on Marketplace mainly but am open to getting something new but under $300‐350.

What are some things I need to look for when purchasing a printer? A self leveling bed seems like a must.

Besides a printer and filament, what else am I going to need?

I have Fusion360 installed and I have a bit of trouble designing stuff, but I think that is due to 20+ years of working with 2D CAD. I probably need software that is easy for the kids to use as well.

I am sure there are other things I am missing.

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The bambulabs a1 mini is a really compelling machine for the ~200USD price it’s at right now. bambulabs seems to be head and sholders above all the other players in the fdm market right now, unless you get into the more advanced categories like high temperature printing, idex or non-planar.

I ended up getting some replacement silicone hotend socks, a couple different sized nozzles and some build plates and I’ve been set for almost a year so far.

Fusion360 is one of the more easy/intuitive to use 3d design software. SketchUp might be easier to use but I find it frustrating because there are so many things it can’t do.

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Thanks. I was looking at the Bambu Lab a1 and a1 mini this afternoon. I can also get the Ender 3 V3 KE for $200.

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Get a bambu. Later you get get a mini AMS for it. multi-color prints are alot of fun.

[Future edit] I can’t recommend bambulab printers anymore due recent anti-consumer crap they’ve decided to pull.

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I’d have to 3rd the Bambu recommendation. Great printers that just work. You’ll tinker yourself to death with the ender.

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Get the Bambu.

I just bought an X1 Carbon yesterday on their Black Friday deal after testing out my friends for a month. They are the real deal and let you print without fussing around.

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I received a promotional email from bambu today. it’s even cheaper now.

I might actually get one. I have X1C right now with two AMSes.

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that’s crazy, I don’t see how they can sell them for that price considering how much better they are then others on the market.

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I am sure they still make money, but after those discounts the margins are probably paper-thin.

I do wish I could support Prusa instead, but bambu just murders them with their prices.

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They try to keep you in the Bambu ecosystem for consumables and filament rolls with RFID tags

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You are not required to buy their filament though. And if you buy in bulk, the prices are actually competitive.

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Is the bambu filament any good? I’m still trying to burn through my supply of microcenter’s inland PETG+ and and Tough PLA, which are not pleasant to print and okay respectively.

So far PCTG filament has been my favorite to print but hardly anyone manufactures it.

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For exotic stuff like PC, probably, but I can’t notice any difference with standard PLA and PETG

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From what I know, Bambulabs basic PLA is actually made by Polymaker. It is a very good brand, I print with their filaments all the time. Bambu does sometimes have a problem with color consistency between spools. Not sure about other plastics.

Actually it looks like it might be eSUN, not Polymaker. Polymaker supplies them with support material.

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hmmm… that doesn’t bode well; most of microcenter’s house brand is rebranded esun and I haven’t been impressed.

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eSUN abs+ has been decent. I know they changed formula in the last few years, but it still prints ok. I haven’t tried their other filaments other than the sample bambulabs pla rolls that came with the printer.

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my experience might be colored by not having an enclosed/heated build chamber

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For ABS/ABS+ it is a must. Don’t really need active heating chamber, just need an enclosure.

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I’ve read reviews that eSun has stringing problems but the model i used didn’t really have that problem

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This is the sku I used, printed at 225c with 65c heat bed. Prusa mk4 with MMU3
.4 nozzle .2 layer, 4 perimeter, it’s a very fast printer, much faster than mk3, but you have to completely assemble both MMU and the printer which is a pain in the ass

The week of Black Friday until yesterday it was 10$

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Esun/Inland PLA+ prints extremely well for me. I buy Bambu ABS and PLA because it is reasonably priced especially if you buy 4 or 8 packs of filament. The only specialty filament from Balbu I have bought is ABS-GF and PET-CF. Haven’t printed with them yet but from what I have seen of other people’s experiences I expect it will work well.

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