Why you need a 3d printer

[LVLAaron]

 

[LVLAaron]

I've probably tripled my amount of usable drawer space making custom Gridfinity bins. And everything is neat and tidy.

 

[tac284]

I’ve had a Bambu Labs carbon in my cart for awhile now, I’m doing what I do best… procrastinating.

 

[LVLAaron]

I’ve had a Bambu Labs carbon in my cart for awhile now, I’m doing what I do best… procrastinating.

I bought an X1C. Used it for 4 hours, the print head released the blue magic smoke and it stopped working. It blew several voltage regulators. Took me 2 weeks to get a response from support. 2 weeks of back and forth telling them I don't want parts, I want a replacement. They wouldn't do that, so it took another 2 weeks to get an RMA label for a refund. I still don't have my refund but they've had the unit for several weeks.

I bought a Prusa MK4 instead.

 

[tac284]

I bought an X1C. Used it for 4 hours, the print head released the blue magic smoke and it stopped working. It blew several voltage regulators. Took me 2 weeks to get a response from support. 2 weeks of back and forth telling them I don't want parts, I want a replacement. They wouldn't do that, so it took another 2 weeks to get an RMA label for a refund. I still don't have my refund but they've had the unit for several weeks.

I bought a Prusa MK4 instead.

Similar experiences like yours on some of the YouTube channels had me worried, part of why I haven't bought. I liked some of the features of the X1-C but Prusa seems to be a little more tried and true. What are you using for drawing software?

 

[DR_2297]

I have a Prusa. Extremely reliable so far. Use it to print a bunch of boutique stuff for sale.

Have a Solidworks makers license ($99 / yr) that I do all of my modeling with. I use Prusa slicer for processing.

 

[LVLAaron]

Prusa has been around forever, and has a great community and strong documentation.

I'm (slowly) learning Fusion360. For the Gridfinity boxes, there are Fusion plugins, or versions that work with OpenSCAD

 

[sdean]

I've probably tripled my amount of usable drawer space making custom Gridfinity bins. And everything is neat and tidy.

You still have to put things back where they were. I have always had a problem with that. You were neat before. But it sure looks good.

 

[LVLAaron]

You still have to put things back where they were. I have always had a problem with that. You were neat before. But it sure looks good.

It's easy to put it back when it has a special home... That top skinny drawer was filled to the brim with all of that stuff and was always a mess... Now each type of tool has it's own stackable bin.

 

[tac284]

Any of you seen a need for the enclosure? I don’t foresee doing parts large enough that I would need to maintain a level of heat to keep things flowing.

 

[hoz53]

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As an old guy i have to say that strikes me as a bit anal but Im also jealous as Id like to have the know how and the printer itself to be able to make stuff like that. I seem to have plenty of technical challenges allready without stacking more on top. I need one of those lasers also to label my carbide primer tools and a bunch of other stuff. Some of these old people my age say they have nothing to do but i dont think i will ever run out

 

[LVLAaron]

Any of you seen a need for the enclosure? I don’t foresee doing parts large enough that I would need to maintain a level of heat to keep things flowing.

You only need an enclosure for the "advanced" materials like ABS/ASA/Nylon.

Prusa Material Table | Prusa Knowledge Base

Our filament guide table includes all sorts of supported…

help.prusa3d.com

 

[tac284]

What’s the overall height of the machine with filament on top?

 

[LVLAaron]

just under 2 feet

 

[tac284]

just under 2 feet

Thank you

 

[LVLAaron]

If you're a tinkerer... McMaster has 3D models of everything. If you need gears, for example... grab their model and print it.

 

[AlNyhus]

Very, very nice.

 

[boltfluter]

What Al said. Always nice to have a dedicated spot for a tool. Much higher chance of it being there when you need it again. Nice job.
Paul

 

[L1986]

I’ve been looking into buying one…the dremel models get good reviews but it’s like everything tech related these days…there are literally thousands of options and I have no idea where to start…would you suggest the Mk4 for a beginner? Not completely tech illiterate but definitely not super savvy either…would rather not buy a POS and have to replace it!

 

[Jdne5b]

Most reloaders probably have enough technical sense and problem solving skills for nearly any 3D printer.

I started with an Ender 5S1, added a 5+, and then a Bambu P1S. The Bambu is light years ahead, is very user friendly with one caveat…. It’s closed source so when things go wrong a lot of the trouble shooting help you find on the internet may not apply because it’s settings and things you can’t control on a Bambu. Aside from random adhesion issues that are fixed by properly cleaning the bed, it’s been a very good experience.

The ender 5S1 on the other hand was decent. It has firmware flaws which made the auto leveling useless. Once I figured that out and turned off auto leveling, learned how to manually level the bed, it was a very good printer.

What takes the Ender 5s1 7-8hrs to print, the Bambu does in 3.5. And the Ender 5 is faster than most bed slingers.

Bambu recalled the A1 which would be a good option for a beginner. Once that’s released again it will probably still be a good option.

Last night my wife wanted a phone stand. Instead of buying a $10.00 piece of plastic from Amazon, I printed her one for $0.12 worth of plastic.