Dipping my toes in to 3D printing

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Diddums

Diddums

Caporegime
Joined
24 Oct 2012
Posts
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Location
Godalming
Hello folks, I've always been curious about 3D printing and now I've also had a few ideas that could actually give me stuff to print.

A few questions if I may please:

Is it worth me designing something first and getting someone else to print it, in case I suck at it / it doesn't grab me?

How hard is it to design stuff?

Assuming I get to the point of wanting to make more stuff, what sort of budget would I be looking at?

I'd be making items that I'll sell, so the quality will need to be decent. Nothing big, mainly adapters, I'd say no bigger than 20cm cubed to start off with.

Any recommendations for any of the kit / filament?

Thanks all :)
 
Cheers all, the Bambu A1 seems to be the way to go.

I suspect I know the answer to this already, but has anyone had any success with used printers?

Also, can the Bambu print all the mainstream filaments?

And whilst on the topic of filaments, any to avoid? Any preferences?

Cheers again all, really starting to like this idea.
 
Definitely looking at the Bambu A1 combo deal, but dunno if I'll ever print multi-coloured stuff, and it looks immensely wasteful and time consuming. Still, perhaps I should walk before I can run!

The only other concern I have is that anything I print will be sent to Bambu's cloud first, before I can print it. The odds of my inventing a life-changing device are pretty much nil but I'm still not sure I want to willingly hand my designs over to China.

On the plus side, regardless of which printer I choose (which at this point is very much looking like it's going to be the Bambu), all of the ideas I have so far can have jigs printed too for quality control purposes. Ultimately I'd like to print stuff that I can actually sell for a few quid rather than just useless tat.

I'll never get rich from it but the odd extra beer token or two wouldn't go amiss.

And Bambu have their black friday sales on until the 3rd of December :D

One more question, why do some printers need enclosures? Is it the UV effects on the plastic? Fumes? My use case tells me that ultimately I'd like to be printing in ABS, is it worth going straight to an enclosed printer?

Thanks again for all the advice, it's very much appreciated :)
 
Ordered. Thanks for the advice all, I'm sure I'll be begging for more help when I inevitably make a mess of it all :D

g8snHFs.png
 
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Well here it is then, having set it up and put it through the calibration procedure I learned very quickly that this table isn't suitable, the thing wobbles and vibrates like mad :D

I'm going to have to come up with a more permanent solution.

f5HfyYW.png


The first two prints are going to be the popo bucket:

makerworld.com

A1 simple Poop Bucket by laumerphilipp

Bambu Lab A1 Poop Bucket Just a simple but effective Poop Bucket for the new A1. If you have any suggestions for improvement just write in the comments. Best regardsPhilipp
makerworld.com makerworld.com

And the carousel:

makerworld.com

Swatch Display Holder & Carousel for Bambu Lab Filament Swatches Remixed by proto_boy

Check out this nifty display stand designed to neatly showcase all those vibrant filament swatch samples that come with your A1, purchased separately from the Bambu site, or even your own handpicked collection of top-notch filaments. This print is a breeze - no need for support or brim. This...
makerworld.com makerworld.com

2024-01-13_f10c0777add18.gif


And my first "custom" print is going to be a see through lid for the carousel which will both test the see through filament, and make something useful.

I'm like a kid at Christmas :D
 
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So I'd like to start my first print tonight, but I have a question or two. Firstly, I see people mentioning glue all over the place, I don't need to glue anything do I? Just feed it filament and a design and let it crack on?

Just don't wanna get caught out later with stuff I need but don't have.

Also need to remember to lubricate the axii as the printer told me to yesterday :D
 
Thanks @IanAG.

Well, so far I've printed a Benchy, a scraping tool (the Bambu comes with a blade for one), the carousel (just need to order a bearing for it), and my wife's now obsessed with it too so it's currently printing a modular shoe rack thingy.

I can't believe how little filament it uses, I'm genuinely impressed!

This is more addictive than crack :D
 
DBT85 said:
Actually, it surprises me how little activity there is on here for 3D printing.
Click to expand...

I suspect it's largely down to perception, when the hobby was still in its infancy these things required more attention than a speed-addicted toddler. How times have changed, we've printed about at least a dozen bits and bobs and the thing has just got on with it, it's less demanding than an inkjet printer, lol.

My wife is hilariously obsessed with it, she's printed about ten times more than I have and is constantly looking for more stuff to print :D
 
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