3D Printing Thread

[DalekSec]

A thread for all things 3D Printing,

 

About a year ago I nabbed a old Prusa Mk3 that was gathering does in one of our offices and started to learn how it works. As over Covid i did a Fusion 360 course and learned how to use it, I've now put these skills to work and 2 months ago i managed to persuade the business to buy a Bambu X1E (Well i wanted a Mk4 but CTO is a Bambu fanboy so wasnt going to win that battle!)

 

And now i've just got signed off for another X1E (Tried for a Prusa XL but no!). So now I have in my arsenal 2x Bambu X1E, Prusa Mk3 and a Prusa Mini+ (home printer, saving to get a Mk4s with mmu). So far according to my print job spreadsheet we have saved over £7k+ this year in me printing off parts we use.

 

Does anyone else out there have a 3D printing interest, be good to have others to chat to it about!

[Ditto]

My eldest son has a basic Malyan 3D printer, can't remember the exact model but has a 15cm square build plate and magnetic print sheet. Apart from a few bits of maintenance it is still working well - must be 3.5 years now.

 

Younger son has got increasingly into 3D printingso is looking for his own model. He's selected the Bambu Lab A1 3D printer. Not the mini and not the colour, but I understand that can be added later. For under £300, it looks to me to be a great choice, so hopefully an easy purchase. Just before I do, any comments on that 3D printer or recommendations that I should also consider at a similar price point.

[DalekSec]

The 2 main players are Bambu or Prusa,

 

Personally i prefer Prusa, fully open-source, can upgrade from their oldest model to their newest by buying upgrade kits, a lot better community and support. But are more fiddly to setup and print.

 

Bambu is great is you want a printer that 'Just works'. i have 2 Bambu X1E's at work as they do the job but at home i use Prusa as i like the customisation of it.

 

Way i explain it is: Prusa is like Linux you can customise it to within an inch of what you want but takes time, Bambu is MacOS a lot more locked down but does everything you need well out of the box.

 

If you want to know how a 3D printer works, get a Prusa, if you just want to print buy a Bambu

 

(Plus point is you an build the Prusa from parts in a Kit if you like building things!)

Edited December 17, 2024 by DalekSec

[aydee]

So far according to my print job spreadsheet we have saved over £7k+ this year in me printing off parts we use.

What kind of things are you printing? Our DT Deptartment has recently invested in 2 x Prusal XL's, but no one has used them at all this term, as the kids both dont have the software avaliable or the ideas on how to incorporate them into their work.

I would love to be able to use them, mainly to just use the investment but im definatly an outsider to the 3D Printing world!

[DalekSec]

What kind of things are you printing? Our DT Deptartment has recently invested in 2 x Prusal XL's, but no one has used them at all this term, as the kids both dont have the software avaliable or the ideas on how to incorporate them into their work.

I would love to be able to use them, mainly to just use the investment but im definatly an outsider to the 3D Printing world!

 

Jealous would love an XL!

 

I work for a Telecomms company now not Edu, we use them to print a lot of small bits like name places, man hole cover plates, random van adapters.

 

Savings 1000s just by glueing down the faceplate ontop of the manhole covers instead of having to dig out all the concreate and redo it all!

 

More recently a company we buy a junction box off of would cost £1 per box to label with our name (we buy 1000s of these a year) i can bring a nameplate that fits in for 13p, so overall a massive saving

[PotNoodleTech]

I do it personally - but my printers are out of date now, 2 x Voron V0.1 1 x Qidi X-CF Pro and 1 x Qidi X-Maker

 

Slow by modern standards but still work. Maybe one day I wil get something faster/better.

 

Ilike the QIDI's as theyre enclosed and can print more professional materials ABS, Nylon, carbon infused etc.

 

In school we have a fleet of Ender 3 pro's as they're easy/cheap. We've just bought 20 Bambu A1 minis for primary schools. Hopefully I'll get to play with one soon.

[Ditto]

I ended up ordering the Bambu Lab A1 soon after my OP. It just arrived which is a surprise as there was a glitch on payment, but I am pleased as delivery in time was a worry. I'll report back how well it works in the New Year!

[Ditto]

I ended up ordering the Bambu Lab A1 soon after my OP. It just arrived which is a surprise as there was a glitch on payment, but I am pleased as delivery in time was a worry. I'll report back how well it works in the New Year!

Extremely positive feedback on the Bambu Lab A1. Delivery was good. Assembly was fine, the only issue was sliding back a base cover to secure some screws. It didn't 'just slide ', but required downward pressure at the far end to allow plastic patches to ease apart. Other than that very easy. Bench print was as good as I've seen. Build quality seems to be extremely good. Self levelling appeared to be 'press and go' . I didn't see that step as I was cooking for 10 whilst supervising construction and setup. What has impressed the most is print speed. It's so much quicker than our previous one. Which means it does need to sit on a sturdy table as the print head flies around. Overall, very impressed.

[Ditto]

A couple of images for you from the newly purchased Bambu A1 Lab. My younger son is going to build a garden bench table. He's done a lot of research and is going to construct it from recycled plastic wood - so called EcoWood. We just took delivery of the 'wood' from a company based in N. Wales, with delivery all the way to the Surrey Hills. I explained this was for a GCSE project. Initially the delivery cost was heading upwards of £150. But pre-cutting the longer lengths, we got it down to one pallet instead of 2. The company then offered to delivery for free and provided some free samples on top to practice working with. The company is www.plastecowood.com and I could not praise them enough - they have been truly outstanding, fantastically helpful and really engaged with a young chap tackling a practical project. Once the project is complete, I'm hoping to get a free ad run for them in a school newsletter.

Back to the image, this is a 3D, 15% scale image of what is to be built. The table was printed table top down. My son used a new support structure, something I can only describe a a tree trunk with fractal like branching to the support point. The seat surfaces are a little rough, but the supports were so much easier to remove than previous support struts used. All in all, I was thoroughly impressed, as was the older sibling and that takes some doing

 

[rheibel]

Got a Prusa MK2 long ago, since then have upgraded it to a MK3 Multi material and got the new XL. School has also replaced there makerbot with prusa MK4 and a Prusa mini. basicly they are very reliable workhorses and as the software is free its simple to deploy to all the computers we want to. other consideration is they are EU made and regulated as a company so its simple to ensure complaiance with regulations. much harder with random cheap chinese printers. Bambolabs also make a good product and if we had not had a prusa may have been the one we went for as a department.

[6Foot2]

Link: The Iconic 3DBenchy Enters the Public Domain | NTI

 

3DBenchy, a 3D model designed specifically for testing and benchmarking 3D printers, is now in the public domain. Originally released on April 9, 2015, by Creative Tools, the model has become a beloved icon of the 3D printing community. Following Creative Tools' acquisition and merger into NTI in 2024, NTI has decided to release 3DBenchy to the world by making it public domain, marking its 10th anniversary with this significant gesture.

 

The Origins of 3DBenchy

 

While working at Creative Tools, Daniel Norée designed the boat model as a benchmarking tool for 3D printers. Paulo Kiefe, CEO of Creative Tools until 2018, shared Norée's enthusiasm for 3D printing, named the model “3DBenchy,” and established its online identity by uploading it to 3D printing repositories.

 

Released in 2015 under a Creative Commons: No Derivatives license, the model's design was protected from modifications, ensuring its effectiveness as a calibration tool. The immense popularity of 3DBenchy quickly made the original model widely recognizable. The 3D printing community embraced it wholeheartedly, creating numerous versions despite the licensing restrictions. However, Creative Tools never had to enforce the “No Derivatives” clause, as the community respected 3DBenchy’s original purpose.

 

Transition to public domain

 

When Creative Tools was acquired by NTI in 2024, NTI became the custodian of 3DBenchy. As a leading full-service supplier of digital solutions for the construction, design, manufacturing, and media & entertainment industries, NTI had no interest or plans to monetize the use of 3DBenchy.

 

In January 2025, rumors surfaced that remixes of 3DBenchy were being removed from Printables due to the enforcement of the original license. However, NTI did not initiate this action. Prusa Research, the company behind Printables, later confirmed that a third-party report - not NTI - prompted the enforcement. NTI clarified it had not sought to remove downloads or derivatives of the model and had taken no legal action in this regard.

 

This incident highlighted the enduring importance of 3DBenchy within the 3D printing community. Recognizing its cultural significance, NTI, Daniel Norée, and Paulo Kiefe collaborated to decide on transitioning 3DBenchy to the public domain, ensuring it remains accessible and remixable for everyone.

 

Passing the Torch

 

With this licensing change and to preserve the open-source legacy of 3DBenchy, the website www.3dbenchy.com and associated social media accounts will be entrusted to Paulo Kiefe and Daniel Norée. The only stipulation for this transition is that 3DBenchy remains publicly available to all.

 

A Celebration to Remember

 

Mark your calendars for April 9, 2025, as 3DBenchy celebrates its 10th anniversary! A special surprise is planned for the 3DBenchy community to commemorate this milestone. Stay tuned for exciting updates and downloads on www.3dbenchy.com.