Anyone into 3D printing?

I think I’m about ready to pull the trigger on one of these things. I’m not feeling like doing a big deep dive research project on this but this seems to be the one in the $300 price range people are talking about.
Does anyone recommend anything different?

J-mobzz said:

I think I’m about ready to pull the trigger on one of these things. I’m not feeling like doing a big deep dive research project on this but this seems to be the one in the $300 price range people are talking about.
Does anyone recommend anything different?

https://a.co/d/bzxklJf

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Everything I have read recently says if you just want a printer that works, get a bambu lab. The A1 is about the same price.

My buddy's Bambu lab P1S is rad. They got it in January and have printed a crap ton of stuff. He has 4 kids and they're always playing with that thing.

I'm jumping in a bit late here on the convo, but I have the Bambu X1 Carbon and had the A1 before it.. Its easily the best printer I've ever owned or used in the last 12 years. Its printed all sorts of stuff. I'd strongly suggest getting the P1S from them. Its quite a bit cheaper than the X1C, but still has the ability to print exotic materials like carbon fiber reinforced Nylon. I've done carb hats, air filter plates, radio bezels, switch panels and a few other bits and pieces for my offroad rigs with the X1C because of the material options. The A1 is a fantastic printer but its easily worth the extra coin to get the fully enclosed one as the materials it can print are somewhat limited.

The Bambu printers are really well know for just working. I’m into that. There are a lot of printers out there that take a significant amount of trial and error to get them working just right. FWIW

N-Smooth said:

The Bambu printers are really well know for just working. I’m into that. There are a lot of printers out there that take a significant amount of trial and error to get them working just right. FWIW

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^^^ this too. my X1C has only had a single real failure exactly once because I run cheap plastic in it. some junk in the filament plugged the nozzle. Otherwise keep the bed clean and it just works. Its nice to treat the printer as a tool instead of a project on its own.

k1n3k said:

I'm jumping in a bit late here on the convo, but I have the Bambu X1 Carbon and had the A1 before it.. It’s easily the best printer I've ever owned or used in the last 12 years. Its printed all sorts of stuff. I'd strongly suggest getting the P1S from them. It’s quite a bit cheaper than the X1C, but still has the ability to print exotic materials like carbon fiber reinforced Nylon. I've done carb hats, air filter plates, radio bezels, switch panels and a few other bits and pieces for my offroad rigs with the X1C because of the material options. The A1 is a fantastic printer but it’s easily worth the extra coin to get the fully enclosed one as the materials it can print are somewhat limited.

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Was beginning to wonder if you’d ever roll around here!

k1n3k said:

Its nice to treat the printer as a tool instead of a project on its own.

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This is exactly what has stopped me from buying a printer in the past. I’ve got enough projects and I’m not looking for a new one

It sounds like I should probably just go with the A1. The real question is, is it big enough to be usable? Or should I just up my budget to buy something that actually is big enough to do things I want.
For example, say if one wanted to print the lower receiver of something, it seems like it would probably fit diagonally on the A1

J-mobzz said:

It sounds like I should probably just go with the A1. The real question is, is it big enough to be usable? Or should I just up my budget to buy something that actually is big enough to do things I want.
For example, say if one wanted to print the lower receiver of something, it seems like it would probably fit diagonally on the A1

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Its plenty big for probably 95-99% of the crap most people print. It will fit a lower for sure, fits nicely. You might be looking at the A1 Mini if a lower is barely going to fit. though for stuff like this, still would HIGHLY recommend an enclosed printer to prevent part warpage and layer delamination.

k1n3k said:

Its plenty big for probably 95-99% of the crap most people print. It will fit a lower for sure, fits nicely. You might be looking at the A1 Mini if a lower is barely going to fit. though for stuff like this, still would HIGHLY recommend an enclosed printer to prevent part warpage and layer delamination.
View attachment 178468

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Do you have a specific enclosed printer you would recommend?

k1n3k said:

I'd strongly suggest getting the P1S from them. Its quite a bit cheaper than the X1C, but still has the ability to print exotic materials like carbon fiber reinforced Nylon.

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The P1S is enclosed.

P1S is the one I have been eyeing as well.

I have never done any 3D printing but I have followed this thread for a while now and I think it may be time to jump in. I was looking at the A1 combo or the P1S combo that have been recommended but have some questions. With the end of year sale, the price seems ok and they are offering discounts on accessories when ordered together.

Is the 4mm nozzle that it comes with a good starting point or should I order another size to go with it?
What filament is a good general purpose material to get started with?
What software am I going to need to buy in order to do some simple design work and print?

The end of year sale is literally a scam. I have been watching the P1S since summer. They bumped the "Regular" price just before thanksgiving and show it discounted to what it's been all year. Not a reason not to get it, but don't let that make your mind up.

I have printed over a dozen 1kg spools of filament on my ender and only used a 4mm nozzle.
90% of my prints are PLA. I like Overture PLA + or PLA pro but have only used a couple different brands.
I have printed about a spool of PETG, I think it was Inland brand.
I have also used about half a spool of Inland TPU.

For software, I use Onshape for CAD design on the parts I've drawn. I use Cura for a slicer that converts the .stl file to a .gcode for the printer. If you get a bambu, I think they have their own slicer.

lhracing said:

Is the 4mm nozzle that it comes with a good starting point or should I order another size to go with it?
What filament is a good general purpose material to get started with?
What software am I going to need to buy in order to do some simple design work and print?

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.4mm is the best all around nozzle, however if you're wanting to print anything with carbon fiber fill or glass fill then grab a hardened .6mm nozzle too. 4mm tends to plug up with the solids passing through it. Look to see if the drive rollers in the extruder are hardened in whatever printer you get. Carbon fiber is really abrasive and will erode soft steel or brass parts pretty quick.

Best stuff to get started with is probably PLA and PETG. Easiest stuff to print and usually the cheapest. PLA for stuff inside the house, PETG for outdoors. ASA is fantastic for automotive stuff.

Look at Fusion360 for CAD software, to just download models my go-to places are printables.com, thingiverse.com, and Grabcad. Mcmaster-Carr has a lot of their inventory designed in various 3d models for different cad systems too, thats been suuuuper helpful. As for running the printer, most printer manufacturers have either built software that works with their equipment, or suggest using some of the free open source software out there.

J-mobzz said:

Do you have a specific enclosed printer you would recommend?

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Bambu P1S