I'm thinking about buying a 3D printer

[MadAnt]

The weather yesterday was good enough for me to enjoy my old Grasshopper outside. The old Hopper was hopping around with poor traction of some high lift tires in the rear. Then BAM! I hit a curb at the right angle and broke the right front upright/knuckle and ripped the camber link mount out of the chassis. I when crashed, I first thought the AMPRO 3d printed control arm broke, but the nylon 3d printed parts held up just fine. That's impressive and that was not a light crash.

Thankfully with some spare parts and long screws the old Grasshopper was back in action within minutes.

So anyway, since buying 3d printed stuff from  Shapeways is not an option as of now and I don't want to pay another outfit because they might have a minimum order limit, I think I might get myself a 3d printer. I know it's not going to be the same process, but I could at least make stuff at home and also maybe design some stuff and experiment. I might be shopping at MicroCenter, so suggestions for something small is appreciated.

 

 

[yogi-bear]

The Bambau range are pretty good. I have the X1C, which is not small, but the smaller ones like the A1 lab and mini review well. I also have a Creality printer and while that is great, the customer service from Creality sucks.

[kevinb120]

I've been on and off about them thinking I have no more room for any new hobby time vampires and always go back to the X1C.  It's only a matter of time... Maybe after a spring batch of about 10 cars in backlog that need bodies painted.

[urban warrior]

Working with a 3D printer can give a lot of nice options for the avid modeller. But there are always things to consider, especially with functional parts in RC modelling. I believe the parts from AMPro in the starter post are something like nylon powder prints. Which makes the hardware quite expensive for the hobbyist. I don't know which other powder printers are on the market apart from the ~30K€ Formlabs Fuse. I personally have some secpticism against functional parts printed with a regular FDM printer. Don't get me wrong, I own a X1C too. After "skirmishing" around with a Creality Ender 3 Pro, I got tired of always trying to keep up with the constantly decreasing reliability of this "bed-pusher". I had hoped that the X1C will offer me some "fire-and-forget"-capabilities, which actually has not been proven yet, although the prints aren't too bad. And I have not yet dared to try out other materials than PLA (which may be easy to print but is the worst to last). I think the term "hobby time vampire" fits quite well here, because if you want to get good results you have to invest some time. And you will have to invest more time the cheaper your 3D printer gets. My personal struggle with FDM printers comes from my other hobby, which is more in the static modelling area. And comparing what a SLA printer can deliver as details is something completely different.

Bow detail of a 1/48th print for the MCRN SCIPIO AFRICANUS from the series "The Expanse", printed in PLA+ with 0.08mm layer height:

[silvertriple]

3D printing is really accessible nowadays, and it becomes more and more plug and play. I have a Bambu Lab X1C and a A1 mini and they are very good printers. My own experiences with other printer brands sucks : Creality, Anycubic and Elegoo customer services and part availability are not great, so it maybe something to consider, specially when you are a beginer. As a beginer, you really want to learn to print, and avoid additional printer issues making it quite difficult to understand if issue comes from your work or the printer : I can decently say a reliable printer helps to progress quickly (and for me, base on this I tend to orient my friends starting their 3D printing journey to Prusa and Bambu Lab for this single reason, with the parts availability and proper wiki available). 

Last comment: the unbroken printed parts on your Grasshopper have been printed on powder based process printers, and it is closer from injection molded parts than FDM printed parts. FDM printed parts have some limitation due to Z strength being less that X/Y strength, and it may require some design adaptations. Feel free to head to my various threads if you want to see some real 3D applications...

[VroomVroomRC]

Another Bambu Lab X1C user here, and I have only heard really great things about the A1 mini. The A1 mini is much smaller would probably be a better fit since space is a concern. Additionally, you wouldn't need an fully enclosed printer for printing with PETG or PLA (which is what I use mostly). As others have mentioned, printing has come a very long way and I haven't had to tinker and repair non-stop as I did with my old Flashforge Dreamer back in the day.

Btw, loving the Mad Max repairs on the front of your chassis!

[silvertriple]

I can only confirm about A1/A1 mini being good printer. I initially bouht my A1 mini in complement for the X1C to tackle some very rare use case : TPU/TPE with low shore (<80A) are not printable on the X1C unless modifying the tool head to be able to change the extruder tension (and even though, it would be a nightmare to load filament), and I like it so much that it prints more often than what I thought initially : I use it for fast prototyping, dimensional checks (PLA) or some functionnal parts in PETG, in addition to anything flexible, and it works great, and when a print fails, it is generally because I was way too much optimistic on my slicing settings...

[Alex97]

At the moment the bambu A1 range is the best budget (Sub £400) printer by a country mile. 

[MadAnt]

6 hours ago, Alex97 said:

bambu A1

 

7 hours ago, VroomVroomRC said:

Bambu

 

8 hours ago, silvertriple said:

Bambu Lab

I'm going to avoid Bambu Lab and any brand that requires a connection to the network and forces the user to update via an internet connection to a TOS that I don't agree with. 

 

 

 

 

8 hours ago, silvertriple said:

Last comment: the unbroken printed parts on your Grasshopper have been printed on powder based process printers, and it is closer from injection molded parts than FDM printed parts. FDM printed parts have some limitation due to Z strength being less that X/Y strength, and it may require some design adaptations. Feel free to head to my various threads if you want to see some real 3D applications...

Yes, I do know the parts on my grasshopper have been printed in a powder, but part like those I can pay to have other companies print for me, they would just need a minimum order. What I'm looking to is make some stuff like cosmetic items, battery trays, boxes, carb spacers, molds and stuff for prototyping. I would to at least print in nylon and petg for the other stuff I would like to do which is also other stuff other than RC. Yes, big car stuff too lol.

[GTodd]

First of all I'm a stinking novice when it comes to 3d printers.   I bought my son a creality ender 3 VE last year.  He hasn't had any issues with it, no need for CC yet ( NOT AN EXCUSE FOR POOR CC), and we have had no issues with it.   We did give him an enclosure for the printer which helps regulate heat and helps ensure the prints don't fail.  I've heard that Bambu is good too.  I've printed a few RC and other items and they held up well.  The ender can do Nylon and Graphite which is what you want for RC stuff, I'm sure the Bambu can do it as well.  

 

The biggest issue is garbage in garbage out.  Pick a slicer and learn it.  The more time you spend creating and refining your files the better your print will turn out.  Free stuff on thing verse etc are good starting points but each machine and environment are different so refining the file is key. 

 

Good luck, it is a fun hobby.

[kevinb120]

10 hours ago, urban warrior said:

Working with a 3D printer can give a lot of nice options for the avid modeller. But there are always things to consider, especially with functional parts in RC modelling. I believe the parts from AMPro in the starter post are something like nylon powder prints. Which makes the hardware quite expensive for the hobbyist. I don't know which other powder printers are on the market apart from the ~30K€ Formlabs Fuse. I personally have some secpticism against functional parts printed with a regular FDM printer. Don't get me wrong, I own a X1C too. After "skirmishing" around with a Creality Ender 3 Pro, I got tired of always trying to keep up with the constantly decreasing reliability of this "bed-pusher". I had hoped that the X1C will offer me some "fire-and-forget"-capabilities, which actually has not been proven yet, although the prints aren't too bad. And I have not yet dared to try out other materials than PLA (which may be easy to print but is the worst to last). I think the term "hobby time vampire" fits quite well here, because if you want to get good results you have to invest some time. And you will have to invest more time the cheaper your 3D printer gets. My personal struggle with FDM printers comes from my other hobby, which is more in the static modelling area. And comparing what a SLA printer can deliver as details is something completely different.

Bow detail of a 1/48th print for the MCRN SCIPIO AFRICANUS from the series "The Expanse", printed in PLA+ with 0.08mm layer height:

 

Just watched the Expanse through for the third time.   Yea I have flight simultaors/racing simulators/diecast car(repair and restore many)r/c cars, helis(only down to mircos now), Lego, and what must be 50+ static armor and ship kits I don't have the eyes nor time for. plus whatever trend my wife or daughter need my 'hobby assistance' on.   So 3D printing is hard to fit in, even if I just print up some cool storage bins or dragons to appease my ladies from time to time...  I'm worried about the learning curve and materials, etc.  Just wish someone would PRINT SOME **** SCORCHER ENGINES and put them on ebay....   

I've mainly rolled back to R/C again for a mix of hobbies, easy and large to work on, and Tamiya hardbody scale retro cars fill a lot of 'urges' with some forgiveness that scale modeling doesn't have.  I still have a bunch of traxxas stuff to just 'send it!'.   Plus a fully built Tamiya with paint and upgrades is cheaper than one decent die-cast car these days and takes up more shelf space.  A nicely built Fighting Buggy painted up to look like it's in the Tamiya museum is about $450, and that's a 'fancy one'.  Far cheaper than a new CMC 1:18.  And you can still run the prettiest shelfer around the basement or driveway.

I mostly want the bits and pieces like interior trays or engines and the occasional mod to fit bodies or change wheelbases/track width etc.  Kinda stinks everyone's gone to just selling files.  Then you can't print them and sell them.

[Alex97]

You are over thinking the "issues" with Bambu, if websites/companies really want your data they'll get it and let's be honest who reads the T&C for any company. All of the best printers will require an internet connection and it makes life so much easier as you can use the app to monitor prints and even sent prints to the printer. 

 

If you are dead set on not having a printer that requires an internet connection you'll be forced to buy older and more dated printers that are a lot less reliable. 

 

I've had 4 A1 minis and I run a small business selling 3d printed parts, I've had next to no issues with Bambu and when there has been an issue they always resolve it very quickly and send out replacement parts FOC. 

 

[magnumb]

Bought a cheap creality of amazon and got it dialed. Prints better than most anything i've been seeing.

Setup is key. Need to make sure all movements have as little play as possible and moves as free as possible. Required some shimming and some small upgrades. Temp is critical as well as cooling setup for hot end tip and feed speed. 

[silvertriple]

4 hours ago, MadAnt said:

I'm going to avoid Bambu Lab and any brand that requires a connection to the network and forces the user to update via an internet connection to a TOS that I don't agree with. 

Well, for one, I believe that many pay much more attention to those TOS because Bambu  Lab is a Chinese company, but it's likely that any of the brands relying on a cloud have quite a few vague elements in their TOS likely to be changed to be clarified, and therefore same problem will apply one day or another (and perhaps even Prusa, as they start to implement some mobile application and very very very similar approach than Bambu Handy for consumer printing)...

At the end, things are evolving towards more connected 3D printers, allowing to launch print easily while not next to the printer (which may have some use in some case, but not really advisable if you don't know what you are doing)...

Now that being said, I'm going to stress again the reliability point : starting with a 3D printer unreliable can be pretty frustrating, because when issue arrise, you don't know if it comes from you or the printer itself. Most of the manufacturer in the mass market currently never finish their printer, and open source is a way to offload the firmware and updates of discontinued printers to the people ready to work this way... At the end, that's more or less the way open source works in the 3D printer world (for most of the printer manufacturer claiming they have open source 3D printers). My own experience with the Creality Ender 5 plus is that passed the first 12 months, many spare parts are not available from the manufacture, and you will have to rely on generic part to adapt... And for the firmwares and updates, initial firmware are often having issues, and if you are lucky, you get an update that works, and after that you will have to rely on yourself or what you can find on internet...

At the end, my experience with the Ender 5 plus may not be representative of the overall situation. But the 5 printers my brother have are all printers he got for free by decieved owners not able to print with them, because they "didn't work". And I can tell you : all of them work, as long as you have them properly revised, and all connections reworked with a solder iron... So it might be very well representative at the end.

And nothing like this with my Bambu Lab, they worked out of the box, and in the case I had an issue, the customer support was very responsive. But yes, there is terms of services that changed, but I don't really care : I print, print and print. And with non Bambu Lab filaments and still, It just works. And profiles are available for more filaments brands in the slicer at each Bambu Studio updates... You may not go Bambu because what is said in those video. But bear in mind that Prusa may do exactly the same one year down the line. Their approach on open source has already changed somehow, and the Prusa of today is not the Prusa of yesterday and won't be the Prusa of tomorrow...

[guggles]

The problem for me with 3d printers is that I have already waited long enough through the adoption curve, That I might as well be a late stage adopter. When they finally make a consumer level 3d printer that can print with fine surface finish and details, but also strength too. 

The 3d printers now are very good, but the parts still are not durable enough for many of the uses I want. The resin printers are even more amazing at printing very small details, but the material can not take much heat, and the parts are weaker than 3d printed plastic. 

[Dead_head]

I find 3D printing a great addition to the RC hobby, I started out with a cheap Ender 3 and have slowly progressed as I've learnt more and more. Now run a Creality K1 which is great for quick production and a Bambu Labs P1S with AMS which is just amazing for quality parts. It's well worth the investment and is a great hobby within itself, I've printed RC boats, tanks and all sorts of parts.

[GreenBar0n]

12 hours ago, kevinb120 said:

...Just wish someone would PRINT SOME **** SCORCHER ENGINES and put them on ebay....  

There are some stipulations about printing a purchased design file, and selling the prints on ebay. That may be why you don't see many choices. There are three different VW motor files for the Scorcher, one of them is free, the other two have a small cost and a license that can be purchased for printing them commercially.

I have a bunch leftover from testing, most of these are the free motor with the dual exhaust built in.

Wouldn't charge much more than shipping for any of those in the pile. These were all printed with a QIDI Plus4 printer (this is not s sponsored post, or a solicitation). PM if any of those would work for you, I didn't end up using them for my project.

 

 

[Wooders28]

I follow a page on YouTube for 1:1 project car stuff, but he's recently done one about 3D printing (I say recently, 6 months, that's recently in ny head...🙄) 

Pretty much same reply as the guys above, Bambu.

 

 

[GTodd]

21 hours ago, Alex97 said:

You are over thinking the "issues" with Bambu, if websites/companies really want your data they'll get it and let's be honest who reads the T&C for any company. All of the best printers will require an internet connection and it makes life so much easier as you can use the app to monitor prints and even sent prints to the printer. 

 

If you are dead set on not having a printer that requires an internet connection you'll be forced to buy older and more dated printers that are a lot less reliable. 

 

I've had 4 A1 minis and I run a small business selling 3d printed parts, I've had next to no issues with Bambu and when there has been an issue they always resolve it very quickly and send out replacement parts FOC. 

 

This isn't true my friend. There's no need for Internet to be hooked up to the printer. Creality for one does not. 

[GTodd]

20 hours ago, magnumb said:

Bought a cheap creality of amazon and got it dialed. Prints better than most anything i've been seeing.

Setup is key. Need to make sure all movements have as little play as possible and moves as free as possible. Required some shimming and some small upgrades. Temp is critical as well as cooling setup for hot end tip. 

This, all day. 

[Alex97]

2 minutes ago, GTodd said:

This isn't true my friend. There's no need for Internet to be hooked up to the printer. Creality for one does not. 

What I said was "forced to buy older and more dated printers that are a lot less reliable. " The ender3 design is 8+ years old now. 

This statement still stands, take a look on the Bambu Facebook groups and you'll see hundreds if not thousands of comments from people making the move from Creality printers due to the number of issues and unreliability of ender3 range of printers. Yes with some tinkering you can improve them however they'll never be anywhere near as good as the more modern printers. I had three Creality printers and wouldn't go back, they are slow and need too much work to iron out the issues. You also don't have to connect Bambu printers to the web to use them, you can use an SD card however isn't a pain having to keep swapping it out. 

 

Also when printing nylon an enclosure will help with warping and you also need a hotend that goes over 250°c. 

[MadAnt]

21 hours ago, Alex97 said:

All of the best printers will require an internet connection

Then I guess I would would be stuck with something not as good or have nothing. Having to be connected to the internet, requiring users to do updates and requiring to be connected to the cloud/someones remote server is unacceptable in this case. The printer is being used as a tool, I'm not connecting it to the internet, that's not even possible sometimes. If a tool can't work in my average work environment, it's useless to me.

 

[MadAnt]

14 minutes ago, Alex97 said:

you can use an SD card however isn't a pain having to keep swapping it out. 

If it works it works, some people have limited options.

[GTodd]

20 minutes ago, Alex97 said:

What I said was "forced to buy older and more dated printers that are a lot less reliable. " The ender3 design is 8+ years old now. 

This statement still stands, take a look on the Bambu Facebook groups and you'll see hundreds if not thousands of comments from people making the move from Creality printers due to the number of issues and unreliability of ender3 range of printers. Yes with some tinkering you can improve them however they'll never be anywhere near as good as the more modern printers. I had three Creality printers and wouldn't go back, they are slow and need too much work to iron out the issues. You also don't have to connect Bambu printers to the web to use them, you can use an SD card however isn't a pain having to keep swapping it out. 

 

Also when printing nylon an enclosure will help with warping and you also need a hotend that goes over 250°c. 

Creality is the Nickelback of 3D printers. They are the go to popular brand that everyone loves to hate.  You can get the same over priced features on a  creality but with SS card/external hard drive option. 

Bambu sold out the consumer and will provide your information to the gov with out warrants, dead to me just like some gun safe brands. 

You can get different hot ends for the creality as well. 

Look there are some features about the creality innate and bambu that I love but I love my privacy more.

[Wystan Withers]

Several years ago I bought and Ender 3. Not Pro, not V2 or whatever they are up to now, and yes, it is absolutely where the old joke 'Buy a 3d printer, spend 3 months printing improvements for it, and then when you get it done you stop and think, "now what was it I wanted to print?"' At this point only the most basic frame parts are left from that initial unit. That said, I'd argue I understand the machine in a way that I doubt I would have had I simply spent the $500-750 I have in it at this point on a Prusa that worked better out of the box (or Bambo these days). Honestly it never even crossed my mind to contact Creality customer service for anything- I suppose if I had spent $1000 out of the gate I would have expected more from the manufacturer but I knew I was buying a Model T not a Mustang.

I suppose my sixpence here is that I enjoyed the tinkering and the creative problem solving/upgrade path, or should I say countless Hop Ups (cough cough) that got me to a printer that (now) does what I want it to do when I ask it to do it. YMMV, I'm a single guy with no kids so demands for my time are far fewer, and learning your slicer and a CAD program will suck as many hours as you wish to feed them.