Thinking about getting into 3D printing?

digitalscream

Sooo...bit of an oops, I seem to have fixed the old printer, so I now have two working fast machines (and an old slow one).

That means...I needed a better workspace.



Wife isn't massively chuffed about it, but I really am trying to keep it all compact. I do need to make an enclosure for the Neptune 4, though; keeping a relatively high ambient temperature really does help print quality (if a part cools too quickly, say from a breeze in the room, it can curl up off the print bed).

To be honest, I think she should just be happy that I'm not trying to get the old slow Neptune 3 working too...

Nitefly

Well, you could start by chucking out all those shoes - nobody would miss them, would they? 

digitalscream

Nitefly said:

Well, you could start by chucking out all those shoes - nobody would miss them, would they? 

Funnily enough, that may have come up a time or two.

digitalscream

Today's prints...



A pair of angle clamps, seem like useful things to have around. Black parts done on the new Bambu P1S, white parts on the (now fixed) Neptune 4. The P1S did it in about 2h30m, the Neptune 4 in 3h40m (or thereabouts). Both are pretty damn solid, even with just 20% infill.

Even more impressively, all the parts made on each printer perfectly fit the parts made with the other, which was the main point of the test.

If anybody wants the files for that print, they're here:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1024366

digitalscream

Yesterday's prints...



Screwdriver wall mounts for @octatonic - came out basically perfect, with a tiny bit of hair on the extremities. Relatively high layer height (hence the steps), just for strength...the layer interface is the weakest part of any print, so fewer layers == stronger parts.

Absolutely loving this Bambu P1S printer, though. I literally just turned it on, loaded the model on my PC and hit "print" - 45 minutes later, they were ready. It's such a massively different experience to all the other printers, because I can trust it enough to just kick off a print and walk away.

octatonic

@digitalscream is the Elegoo Neptune 4 still the one to get?

digitalscream

octatonic said:

@digitalscream is the Elegoo Neptune 4 still the one to get?

In the sub-£300 market, I'd say so. If you've got a bigger budget, though, the Bambu P1P and P1S are so far ahead of the competition it's unreal. I dislike the closed-source nature of them, but it changes the whole endeavour from "3D printing is my hobby" to "making things is my hobby".

The Bambus are only about 10-15% faster than the Neptunes, but...put it this way: when I was using the Neptune 4, I'd be constantly checking on it for signs of failure and correcting on the fly. With the P1S, I just hit "print" and walk away. I've only had one failed print, and that was because of a badly-wound spool.

octatonic

digitalscream said:

octatonic said:

@digitalscream is the Elegoo Neptune 4 still the one to get?

In the sub-£300 market, I'd say so. If you've got a bigger budget, though, the Bambu P1P and P1S are so far ahead of the competition it's unreal. I dislike the closed-source nature of them, but it changes the whole endeavour from "3D printing is my hobby" to "making things is my hobby".

The Bambus are only about 10-15% faster than the Neptunes, but...put it this way: when I was using the Neptune 4, I'd be constantly checking on it for signs of failure and correcting on the fly. With the P1S, I just hit "print" and walk away. I've only had one failed print, and that was because of a badly-wound spool.

Got it. 
Cheers.

Did you consider the Prusa Mk 4 against the Bambu?

digitalscream

octatonic said:

digitalscream said:

octatonic said:

@digitalscream is the Elegoo Neptune 4 still the one to get?

In the sub-£300 market, I'd say so. If you've got a bigger budget, though, the Bambu P1P and P1S are so far ahead of the competition it's unreal. I dislike the closed-source nature of them, but it changes the whole endeavour from "3D printing is my hobby" to "making things is my hobby".

The Bambus are only about 10-15% faster than the Neptunes, but...put it this way: when I was using the Neptune 4, I'd be constantly checking on it for signs of failure and correcting on the fly. With the P1S, I just hit "print" and walk away. I've only had one failed print, and that was because of a badly-wound spool.

Got it. 
Cheers.

Did you consider the Prusa Mk 4 against the Bambu?

Very, very briefly. The sticking point was the lack of input shaping - the Mk 4 is very slow without it, basically no different to a last-gen printer like the Neptune 3. Add that to the fact that it was over a grand based solely on the idea that input shaping (and the speed increase) would come "soon" in a later firmware update and...nope, I'm not spending that much on a printer that might be worth the money one day. Even now that they've added input shaping, it only puts the Mk 4 on roughly the same level of speed and quality as the Neptune 4 (without input shaping), IMO.

Then I had an epiphany which ruled out all the bed-slingers, and it's one that not many people seem to talk about - if you're printing in your house, temperature variations cause massive differences in the way the parts cool. I had a major problem with prints warping and lifting from the bed with the Neptune printers - it was getting to the point where I couldn't realistically print anything that needed to be bang-on in all three dimensions if it took more than an hour or so to print. Even somebody opening the door and walking into the room would cause problems.

That problem is completely solved by most of the current-gen Core-XY printers (eg the Bambu X1/P1S, Creality K1, Qidi X-Plus 3 etc) because they're enclosed and have chamber fans that keep the internal ambient temperature more or less constant. Now, you can solve this with a bed-slinger by putting it in an enclosure and relying on the bed temperature to keep it warm, but that then causes problems because the whole printer is now inside the chamber - including temperature-sensitive components like the power supply, the control electronics etc - so you have to relocate those parts outside the printer to a) keep it working, and b) reduce the chance of fire. On top of that, you need an ambient temperature sensor inside the chamber to control the fan...it's just too many problems to bother with when enough manufacturers have already fixed it, for my taste.

digitalscream

Knocked together a simple filament rack - about 6 hours to print, and I wanted to try out Bambu Studio's cut tool (it creates a peg on one half and a corresponding hole on the other). I need to tweak it a bit, because it's not perfect - you can see the gap half way up the supports - the pegs are just a little bit too long. On the other hand, the fit is so snug that you don't really need glue to hold it together.



Aside from that, just cut some 15mm chrome pipe I had lying around and...spot on.

Really enjoying the fact that I can just kick a print job off and walk away - can't overstate how much it feels like I'm making things as a hobby, rather than 3D printing as a hobby.

m_c

I wouldn't store filament exposed like that, as it absorbs moisture and reduces print quality.
I keep mine in sealed boxes with some reusable dessicant packs and a humidity meter when not being used.
Lock'n'lock do a rectangular box that four 1kg reels fit in perfectly when not in use.
They also have a round container ideal for a single reel.

digitalscream

m_c said:

I wouldn't store filament exposed like that, as it absorbs moisture and reduces print quality.
I keep mine in sealed boxes with some reusable dessicant packs and a humidity meter when not being used.
Lock'n'lock do a rectangular box that four 1kg reels fit in perfectly when not in use.
They also have a round container ideal for a single reel.

I tend to use most of it quickly enough that there isn't enough time for the moisture to become a problem (although some of the coloured reels have been around for a few months).

This is a temporary solution, though - the plan is to build a proper humidity-controlled box for it. Not sure whether I'll build a new shelf rack in the process - that one is a cheap crap unit from Lidl, and it's flimsy as hell.

m_c

I have looked at building a proper cabinet and putting a dessicant dehumidifier in it, but boxes work almost as well and are far cheaper. Just need to stick the dessicant packs in the microwave occasionally.

New filament isn't actually likely to be that dry, due to how the filament is made. I mostly use PETG, and fresh reels will often print quite badly, so they always get 24-48hrs with some freshly dried dessicant before use.

digitalscream

Fair - as far as I know, PETG is a lot more sensitive to moisture than PLA, and I haven't had any need to switch away from PLA as yet (although I've got a couple of projects which may benefit from TPU at some point).

digitalscream

So...I'm experimenting with a couple of things, with a view to printing merch for The Guitar Show. Figured I'd make some stuff that's actually useful to you lot, so the first experiment is a neck support:



 The hole on the front is for a logo insert (it is merch, after all). Needs a little cleaning up, but it's mostly there - just need to fine-tune the angle of the cutout, and it's ready for larger-scale printing.

Not sure how many I'll get made, particularly since there's other stuff too, but they'll all be available for free on tFB's stand.

Shark_Eyes

This is great. Such an obvious use for a 3D printer.

DuploLicks

digitalscream said:

…but it's mostly there - just need to fine-tune the angle of the cutout, and it's ready for larger-scale printing.

Yup, 1.5ft high by 2.5ft wide & it will make a great seat to rest those weary legs

looks great, well done

digitalscream

Shark_Eyes said:

This is great. Such an obvious use for a 3D printer.

Indeed. I'm also trying to come up with a design for pedalboards - I've got a couple of designs, one of which requires the user to add the wooden slats themselves, and another which is 100% printed (with threaded rods for strength). Trouble is, the bill of materials for the latter is significantly higher, and would be difficult to just give away. On the other hand, the just-add-wood option lets the user decide the size of the board themselves, which may actually be an advantage.

Shark_Eyes

digitalscream said:

Shark_Eyes said:

This is great. Such an obvious use for a 3D printer.

Indeed. I'm also trying to come up with a design for pedalboards - I've got a couple of designs, one of which requires the user to add the wooden slats themselves, and another which is 100% printed (with threaded rods for strength). Trouble is, the bill of materials for the latter is significantly higher, and would be difficult to just give away. On the other hand, the just-add-wood option lets the user decide the size of the board themselves, which may actually be an advantage.

There was someone at a synth festival that did 3D printed eurorack cases which they then added rails to, but I wondered if just creating 'end pieces' like your idea would be better. Especially if you could also create a variation which could act as a middle slot.

Something like this: https://i.imgur.com/I8fY7jK.png

Please excuse the crappy tinker cad concept.

Roland

Making just the end pieces is very practical. Anyone wanting a bigger board just has to add longer slats.