3D Printers

[JayP 433]

Before taking up this hobby, I had a Creality 3D printer I used on rare occasions. I purchased it used and had problems with it from the start. It was supposed to be user friendly but that definitely wasn't my experience.

Once I put together my first scape and realized I could print some helpful parts and tools, I decided to purchase a new Bambu Labs A1 Mini. It opened my eyes to how easy and fun 3D printing could be. In the time since, I've been printing more and more items, not just for aquarium use, but stuff for projects all around the house. I decided it was time for an upgrade to something with a larger build volume. I was planning to move up to the A1 initially but then began thinking, perhaps having an enclosed printer might be smarter, to future proof my needs and desires going forward. After a lot of back-n-forth debating between the Bambu P2S and X2D, I ended up with the P2S this weekend. I have an expanding list of new aquarium related items I want to print

So what printers do others here use and what are your thoughts?

 

[renesis 126]

I've been into 3D printing, cnc routers, laser cutters for the better part of 15 years now. Printers have come a long long way, and the Bambus are a dream compared to everything I've used in the past, even my resin printer collects dust now.

I use a Bambu H2D and X1C here, and the enclosure is great for harder to print materials, petg is a breeze and used heavily in our hobby, but even engineering materials like ASA become possible.

The AMS is amazing, and enables even more difficult prints when you use different materials for support interfaces, and also auto roll changeover when one roll runs out.



The P2S + AMS will serve you very well.

 

[JayP 433]

The AMS is amazing, and enables even more difficult prints when you use different materials for support interfaces, and also auto roll changeover when one roll runs out.

The more advanced AMS (with the drying feature) is what really pushed me to move up to the enclosed model. I may take advantage of printing in other materials down the road but it's not something I expect to do much.

By the way, looks like you're printing some barb adapters. I'm working on some custom barbs as well, for yugangs and Jebao pumps. Would be interested to see what you've done.

 

[renesis 126]

By the way, looks like you're printing some barb adapters. I'm working on some custom barbs as well, for yugangs and Jebao pumps. Would be interested to see what you've done.

Yes, mostly out of necessity, I don't like printing anything that needs to be watertight under pressure typically. I'm hoping these work. I got a bnib uv clarifier for really cheap and figured I could plumb it into my sump as a just in case feature I can turn on from the controller.

The problem is it's for a pond, and the fittings are monstrous, and I need only 3/4" which is the first fitting on the adapters, and it leaves no room for an elbow, or check valve or anything really.



So I made these out of petg so I can fit everything in. They pass the blow test, will see what happens when I run water through in a few weeks. I increased the flow rate to overextrude by about 2%, and printed with 6 walls, and 100% infill. Fingers crossed!

 

[JayP 433]

They look good. That makes me wonder though, how PETG holds up to concentrated UV. I know its rated for outdoor use. It's what I'm using for my barbs.

 

[RockyProndoa]

Bambu X2D with the AMS here. There are a TON of things to print for the aquarium hobby, some gimmicky, some not so much. I personally have had a ton of fun with all of it. I am still working on learning how to design my own stuff, so for now I am limited to designs others have created, but wow - it's really amazing what these little machines can do. Enjoy the new toy!

 

[Mr. Silly Goose 3]

I got my brother's X1C w/ 4x v1 AMS as a hand me down. I've got 2 connected with Sunlu heater attachments. I haven't scratched the surface of designing my own things, but plenty of things I've printed for around the house and my son. Lots of glider airplanes lately and magnatile organizers.

 

[JacksonL 1]

Before taking up this hobby, I had a Creality 3D printer I used on rare occasions. I purchased it used and had problems with it from the start. It was supposed to be user friendly but that definitely wasn't my experience.

Once I put together my first scape and realized I could print some helpful parts and tools, I decided to purchase a new Bambu Labs A1 Mini. It opened my eyes to how easy and fun 3D printing could be. In the time since, I've been printing more and more items, not just for aquarium use, but stuff for projects all around the house. I decided it was time for an upgrade to something with a larger build volume. I was planning to move up to the A1 initially but then began thinking, perhaps having an enclosed printer might be smarter, to future proof my needs and desires going forward. After a lot of back-n-forth debating between the Bambu P2S and X2D, I ended up with the P2S this weekend. I have an expanding list of new aquarium related items I want to print

So what printers do others here use and what are your thoughts?

View attachment 20032

How have you found the P2S for user friendliness?
I have no 3D printer experience, and while the tool changing new models look tempting, I am scared by the reviews that talk about a learning curve and having to calibrate everything.
Is the P2S as “newbie-friendly” as the marketing says?

I think I will hold off for Black Friday anyway in the hope of a good discount. But, trying to do my research in the meantime.

Anyone with more experience have an idea of how much of a game changer the tool changing is?

 

[JayP 433]

I think the biggest selling point for the Bambu models is the fact that they are so user friendly and easy to use for beginners out of the box, including their software. I also think they have the best reputation for reliability. I've read a lot about the hard core 3D printing community being upset with Bambu over their software use requirements, but none of that bothers me.

My first Creality Ender 3, which I'd read was beginner friendly, took quite a bit of time to get calibrated and the first prints were all garbage. My experience with the Bambu A1 Mini was just the opposite. All the initial calibration was automated from the start and the first prints came out flawless.

I was wondering if going to the enclosed printer would be much different, but so far, same experience as the A1. I will say that initial unboxing and setting up takes a little while because you have a lot of shipping screws to remove and things to screw or snap together, but there are lots of youtube videos for each model showing the steps to make sure you catch everything.

As for tool changing, I'll leave that to others like @renesis to comment on. For my use, I decided that multiple nozzles or tools just wasn't that important for me as I don't plan a lot of multi-color printing nor do I plan to do 3D printing as a side business. If you do think those things might come into play, then spending extra on a Bambu H series or moving to something like the Snapmaker may be worth it for the time savings and lower filament waste.

 

[renesis 126]

Anyone with more experience have an idea of how much of a game changer the tool changing is?

I don't have a tool changer, but I have 2 nozzles on my H2D. For my purposes work/hobby - 2 nozzles is perfect. It allows me to print multi-material a LOT faster than my single tool X1C, so larger jobs and multi-material (whether 2 colours+ or using PETG/PLA for easy remove supports on complex parts) goes on the H2D.

What multi-tool does do, is takes it even further, and lets you change colours/materials with minimal waste. I mostly buy white or black filament anyway - and rarely print colour items unless its one offs, so for my purposes it makes no sense, and if I do want to print something with more than 1-2 colours, I can still do it via the AMS, it just wastes some extra filament and takes extra time. So I would say really look at if you need more than 1-2 colours/materials at a time at speed. They are a game changer - but only for a specific range of prints.

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco 14]

I'm late, but I love my Bambu H2S with the AMS 2. Dream machine. Been printing for about a year, literally zero maintenance and no spaghetti, clogs, etc.

The app has been telling me to lubricate the rails for about 100 hours of printing now, but it seems just fine

 

[Aquajack]

I can't comment on 3d printers as I don't have one......yet.
But this brief article came up on my news feed about bambu printers and taking back local control using home assistant etc and third party tools.
May or may not be interesting to anyone but thought I'd share.