Diving into 3D Printing: Mistakes, Insights, and Small Victories
For quite a while owning a 3d printer was my dream. I started monitoring the technology when it first emerged (around 201x or so), and back in the days there were lots of options to assembly a custom printer. Only later commercial printers started to appear, and I wanted to have one, but I never had the courage to make a commitment. But eventually I started saving money, and little by little I've decided the time has come.
Originally I planned to maybe start a business with 3d printing, but after watching a video or two, I've quickly realized: in order to become profitable, I need a whole printing farm with dozens of printers. I didn't have neither the space nor the money to invest that big, so I quickly abandoned the idea.
However, one blogger on Youtube I recently watched adviced to start documenting my learning and progress. I thought it's a good idea, so I've decided to do the same.
After watching people printing cosplay props, I've decided to go with something of moderate size, but more on the hobbyist level. Initially I wanted to purchase Creality K1 Max, but the price was slightly above my budget.
After doing some additional research, I've made a decision to go with Bambulab P1S. It was a bit cheaper by itself, plus a temporary a discount was available. I needed the case, because my wife told "There'd better not be any stinky fumes — or else!" (spoiler: it stinks anyway), and also I didn't want to fight dust. So Bambulabl A1 was out of the question, so was the flagship Bambulab X1 Carbon, (it's almost the same, but with that fancy looking LCD screen). A simple grayscale LED screen was enough for me, and the other things I could do through the official Software.
I would say my choise was highly influenced by this video (Bambulab, give the influencer a prize!):
I wasn't disappointed, as Bambulab is considered to be one of the market leaders in the budget segment. I also liked the idea to extend it with the AMS Hub one day. Among disadvantages I can name the vendor lock-in, despite the fact that there are some open source alternatives for parts.
The printer arrived several weeks after, and the packaging was quite impressive, it felt like unpacking a new MacBook, in a way. The printer comes with some filament, and it must be loaded properly.
I was a bit confused how to do it, and I wasn't smart enough to watch a video on Youtube. So, I almost broke the hotend.
Later I figured the right way to swap the filament:
- Press the "Unload" button on the printer or in the app. The hotend will start warming up.
- If you have filament already installed and you wish to swap, cut the filament by pressing a physical button on the hotend, and then gently pull the string.
- Replace the bobbin with the new one, put the new string in.
- Press the "Load" button on the printer or in the app.
- Wait for the filament to start extruding.
- If it doesn't, push the string a bit harder, and then press "Extrude" button in the printer menu a few times.
I've printed a simple cube, just to test the printer. It was a success, and I was happy with the result.
The printer comes with automatic bed leveling, which is a great feature.
The default plate is a Textured PEI Plate, it doesn't need any adhesion glue, but the bottom of your printed part will come out waivy. So, in my opinion it makese sense to order a smooth plate and the adhesion glue altogether right away. You apply the glue reasonably thin, and when it dries, it's ready to print. After a few prints, it needs to be replaced, the old glue can be removed with a bit of Isopropanol 99.9%, and then re-applied.
So far I only had experience printing with PLA and PETG. They have different properties.
- PLA Basic of various colors
- Printing: easy, very forgiving
- Durability: low, not suitable for heavy loads and intensively moving parts, easily breaks and deforms
- Outdoors: no
- PETG
- Printing: medium, I only used it two times and both times I wasn't happy with the result. I guess more practice is needed.
- Durability: very good
- Outdoors: yes, to some extend, but I haven't tried it yet
There are many subtypes, such as PLA Silk (gives the print shiny surface), PETG HF (for better printing quality), PLA Wood (wood-like texture), PLA Stone (stone-like texture), Gradient PLA (gradual color change), etc. I have some of them too, but haven't tried them yet.
☝️ For Bambulab printers you don't have to purchase Bambulab filaments, any other brand from Amazon will do.
There are
I know there are lots of slicers out there these days, but the default proprietrary slicer - Bambulab Studio - turned out to be quite good.
The first print I made was of course Benchy, the classic 3d printing model usually used for the first ride. It's almost like smashing a bottle of champagne against the ship's hull when it's ready to touch water for the first time. The print came out perfectly.
So far I've only used the following marketplaces:
MakerWorld allows loading models directly to the Bambulab Studio, because it's Bambulab's own marketplace. The others are a bit more diverse, but you always can download an STL version of the model and print it no problem.
If a model you are making isn't a robot or another sophisticated thing, you don't need AutoCAD or SolidWorks, simple old school Blender will do just fine. You basically need to create a scene with millimeters as the unit, model it and export to STL. Yes, it's that simple.
You may use my scene if you like. It contains a 10x10x10mm cube and a boundary box matching the printing volume of the Bambulab P1S. The boundary box must be removed before exporting, ofcourse.
If you build a model that is supposed to be attached to or hold something else, pruchasing a Digital Calliper is a good idea. It's much more handy and precise than a ruler.
With threaded inserts you can connect two parts together using a screw. I had some difficulties with them at the beginning.
In the first place I wanted to build an extension for a camera tripod I've purchased lately. I quickly realized that the bolt threads not only differentiate by size and pitch, but also by the type of the system.
There are two types:
- The Metric system, millimeters. All our familiar M3, M4, M5, etc belong to it. The system is typically used for screws, nuts, bolts, etc.
- The Imperial system, inches. It has a different sizes, such as 1/4", 5/16", 3/8" and so on. This system is used for camera equipment, water pipes, etc.
You can read more here: Metric System vs. Imperial System: Differences and Use.
So after purchasing a set of threaded inserts and getting frustrated with the fact they don't fit, I've decided to google a bit more, and finally found 1/4" inserts that were compatible with the tripod (with imperial threads).
I've also found a pair of badass shiny 1/4" screws to use on the other side of the extension.
Someone else's work:
My own models:
As a next step I'd like to explore the techniques of using bearings in my models, such as 608ZZ Bearings.
I have a lot of plans, from building wheel and track chassis with suspension, to a walking robot and an underwater drone. If only I had enough time for all of my projects! :)
Well that's pretty much it! I'll keep the article updated as I go.
Cheers!
