3D Printing Bought my first ever 3d printer. Bambu Labs P1S. Could use some advice on getting started

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Conway Stevens

Conway Stevens

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Picked up a black Friday sale on a Bambu labs P1S. Think it should do what i need. Not looking to make it a new hobby. But more of a tool. Questions would be.

Where is the best place to get Filaments? Price abd reliability function for the machine are important.

Best how to learn CAD? Specifically looking at fusion 360. Im a complete noob.

How much pc do i need?

Any specific requirements on where to place my printer? What kind of stand?

Any other thoughts or tips are welcome.
 
There's a free version of fusion 360 for hobbyists. I expect you know that.
I found the learning curve to be too high for me personally and ended up learning SCAD. There are a few nosecone generators available for SCAD, including mine and a few fincan generators, including mine.
Bill Kalsow has a nice one too.... @kalsow :)
SCAD will run happily on any old pc running linux. Or wiwndoze if you must.
I personally use any generic ABS I can lay my hands on at a reasonable price. PETG is pretty good for rocket bits too. PLA is not really suitable as you get a lot of distortion if you leave the part in the sun.
Open Rocket can now export files for printing. It will NOT export any fins that are not a flat profile and will not produce fillets. It does export a reasonable nosecone. But the SCAD generators will give better results as you can have stepped mating sections and mating into the nosecone.
Here's a few things that you can do already without having to reinvent things yourself....
Selection_551.jpgSelection_554.jpgSelection_560.jpgSelection_569.jpgSelection_570.jpgSelection_586.jpgSelection_620.jpgSelection_695.jpgSelection_695.jpg
 
Congrats - Bambu printers have a great representation in the market.

I get my filament from Amazon - 2 clicks and it's at your door the next day!

PLA and PETG do not off-gas much and can be used around people. Other filaments contains harmful off-gassing and should be ventilated or put somewhere will it won't matter as much - ie garage.

I use PETG for most all rocket parts - mostly Overture brand.
 
Congratulations on the new printer!

When I started out, I was on a desert island. For learning the ropes, I found Thangs, a search engine for models, was huge in helping me find parts for smaller rockets and tools. Later, I would take those .STL files and modify them in TinkerCAD. It's a good place to start with lots of tutorials. I then pushed myself to start learning OnShape and SCAD, though admittedly, I'm better with OnShape. I think working with any CAD app will enhance your experience but with so many models available, there's no urgency to become a CAD master. Take your time and enjoy the journey. For OnShape, like Fusion360, your designs are public so don't put anything out there you're not willing to share (or pay for a subscription). YouTube is a good resource for all the things. You just have to weed through the noise of irrelevant content (like anything else Internet-related)

I, too, use Amazon for my filaments. Having no educational resources other than those mentioned above, I started with PLA and then moved up to PLA+. Duramic is the brand that seems to work best for me but don't limit yourself. Just be careful of the off-gassing, as @Huxter mentioned. Personally, I'm working up to the Nylon with Carbon Fiber. PLA+ has been great for most of my projects, but I'm now in the area where plywood would be better but I don't have the tools or money to build my own fins or Centering Rings yet. Maybe Santa will bring me a Laser Cutter or a Bambu!

For the PC, you probably only NEED it for grabbing models and transferring them to the printer. I added an OrangePi computer to mine and I'm running OctoPrint, so I can fire up its web app and transfer gcode directly to it and control it remotely. I understand that the Bambu printers have something similar built in so that might be needed. I guarantee that your experience and toolset will grow organically, proportionally to the amount you use it.

Also, feel free to ask more questions here. There are lots of great people who are printing and are willing to help. Just be patient and don't rush it b/c it can be frustrating when a 10hr print falls over and "spaghetties" all over your print bed. That's just part of the journey.

Best of luck to you and welcome to the clubhouse.
 
Congrats on another hobby and rabbit hole :p
I have something like this for a stand. I keep it downstairs in the utility room. Having a stand that doubles as storage for the printer stuff...filament, tools, spare parts is really nice. Plus it makes it really easy to work on.
Garage Base Cabinet

Dave
 
@OzHybrid --

It is high time for me to set aside my graph paper and decimal rulers and mechanical pencils and learn to use a CAD Program.

I don't mean to be pendantic, I am totally lost in this new world and I really want to try SCAD ...

There is a SlackBuild script(*) for OpenSCAD but I can't find plain old SCAD.

Do you mean OpenSCAD when you say SCAD ?

Thanks !

-- kjh

(*) - a SlackBuild script is a script to configure, build and install 3rd party software on a Slackware Linux System.
 
Nice! This is a deep rabbit hole for a hobby! I love the 3D print community and the flexibility/creativity it provides. For me, it makes me think differently and approach things in a different way when designing and printing.

Like most have said, you will not find a faster and more reliable place to get filament than Amazon. It's likely the cheapest too. I'd start printing with PLA as it's the most forgiving and cheapest. Most of your first prints will be "tossers". Meaning you'll print them and then toss them to either print a better version or different version. PETG is a great filament and is just about as easy to print as PLA. Nylon and ABS are the "most difficult" (not really) because they have a few different requirements for printing due to heat retention and smell. You'll need an enclosure for them. There are other filaments out there for different purposes....LPLA, CF, Wood, etc...

I like Hatchbox and Overture is second. Amazon Basic is ok for tossers/test prints. You'll need to dial in each of the different brands and types...

Get a good slicer. I like Prusa. I hear Bambo Labs has their own that is a clone of Prusa so that may be a great start for you. Everyone I know who uses Simplify3D loves it...but, it cost $$.

If you want to design in Fusion, a good place to start is TinkerCAD. They are not the same, however, they have similarities that make the transition easier. TBH, most programs will work as the concepts are all the same. TinkerCAD is super easy and cheap (free).

Don't get discouraged! There is a learning curve but there is also YouTube! It takes hours to design and print a project. A simple nose cone may take 3 hrs to design and 6 hrs to print when you are getting started. Add in the tuning and changes, it could take a long time to get that perfect print. However, over time, things will speed up and get a lot easier. Using CAD takes a "hella" lot longer than printing and printing takes a while! That is probably the biggest surprise to most getting started. You can grab a file off of Thingiverse and slice it but it still may take hours to print.
 
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Fusion 360 sucks!!! Can't give one better as I have not learned it yet.
I get my filament from 3D Fuel .com, they are based in Fargo, so I get it next day most of the time.
I have made a lot of 3D printed rockets. Keep them out of the hot sun and car. They will melt.
I have found that if you are having problems, change the nozzle, that seems to take care of most of them.
 
I found Fusion 360 to be relatively easy to use although I am a mechanical engineer and have used several other CAD programs in the past so I was not a complete noob. Fusion 360 can't be that difficult because I recently introduced my 9 year old to printing parts for rocketry. He designed a BT-60 fin can by himself in Fusion 360. I did show him how I design one first and he more or less repeated my method. He has his own account and I just let him play around and learn. When he thinks he has a design ready to print I look at it and tell him the things that need to be modified because they won't print well. Actually, I think that is where the biggest learning curve is IMO. I don't think it's hard to design parts in Fusion 360 (as I said, my kid does it regularly now), the real challenge is producing a design that prints easily and well. Every single printed part I've flown on a rocket or used to assemble a rocket has been made without using support. My advice - learn to make parts without using support. There are many benefits to this approach - support material is pure scrap so you'll save money by not using supports, the print is faster because you are not wasting time printing supports and the surface quality is better because the support isn't touching the finished part surface. The downside is the parts are a little harder to design (it gets easier over time) and every once in a while you may need to split parts into pieces to avoid using support. Although I can't think of a single flying part where I've had to split it into pieces to avoid using support.

I also bought a P1S in the BF sale. It's not hard to get the printer up and running within 30-45 minutes from opening the box to your first print. The setup instructions take you that point and from there you're on your own. The first print was the scraper included on the SD card and it turned out well. I printed a single fin last night. It's an exact copy of the Wildman mini fin so it's not huge. Looking that the fin I can tell the printer is slightly over extruding. So the printer is going to require some fine tuning beyond the initial setup and calibration covered in the instructions to get it just right. So now I need to go through flow calibration. I also need to do some dimensional checks to see if any other tweaks are required. This is common for every printer and not surprising. I'm only pointing out that some additional tuning and setup will be needed beyond what is covered in the instructions. There may be some good YouTube videos out there covering these additional steps but every P1S review video I've seen skips this part. The reviewers follow the basic setup instructions and then skip to producing a handful of parts and talk about how the printer "just works". I'm not saying mine is bad out of the box, it's actually significantly better than my previous printer was out of the box but it's not as good as it can be or as good as I expect. It's maybe 85-90% there. The parts are definitely useable right now, just not as good as I expect them to be. Maybe I have high expectations.
 
.Calibration of the printer is ESSENTIAL for getting good results. DRY filament is ESSENTIAL for consistent prints.
There are 2 fundamental ways to calibrate your printer.
1 print a test cube. Wait for it to cool( not long) measure it accurately, weigh it accurately. from the weight you can calibrate the filament extrusion. from the dimensions you can calibrate the xyz axes. Your printer is now calibrated for that filament.
This is the easiest way if you will only print 1 type of filament.
2 Measure the xyz axis movement. Tell it to move 50mm. Measure that distance it has actually moved with digital verniers, Calibrate that axis till it gives the correct movement distance. Do the other axes.
Tell the extruder to extrude 50mm of filament. Measure how much is extruded. ( pick a point close to extruder and mark filament with a permanent fine marker at 50mm using your verniers. Measure how much is extruded and calibrate filament.
Your printer and extruder are now calibrated. Print a test cube. Compare the dimensions of the finished cube to what you told it. Work out the % difference for each axis. Save those numbers.
When you load your model into your slicer, scale each axis by the figures you have. Your new sliced scaled model should print the correct size.
Hope this helps.
Norm
 
I have never printed a test cube nor have I ever calibrated them. I bought 2 Ender 5 pros and have used them straight out of the box :)
 
David Schwantz said:
I have never printed a test cube nor have I ever calibrated them. I bought 2 Ender 5 pros and have used them straight out of the box :)
Click to expand...
Your belts stretch from time and heat. Your printer expands depending on the bed and box internal temperature.
Print a 50mm test cube and measure it. It would surprise me if all axes are correct. Or any.
Printing in ABS highlights the issue. It can have up to 7% shrinkage. A 100mm dia nosecone would print 93mm. That would drop into the tube. Not mate. Also, if you print a fin can and it's 7% undersize, it won't fit over the tube you want it to fit onto.
At small sizes you can just fix it with a bit of sanding or add a bit of tape to the nosecone shoulder. As the size goes up the issue gets magnified significantly.
We'll call you "Lucky Dave".... for now.... :)
 
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See, I never measure. When I print to go over a tube or in a tube I always do a small test print of a 1/4" or so. Then I go ahead and mate it to the part, if I need to scale it up or down this is when I do it.
 
David Schwantz said:
See, I never measure. When I print to go over a tube or in a tube I always do a small test print of a 1/4" or so. Then I go ahead and mate it to the part, if I need to scale it up or down this is when I do it.
Click to expand...
If you calibrated it, you could just print the size you need. Only takes about 10 minutes when you get used to it. Or you could just print a 50mm calibration cube and fix everything using the second method. Scaling in your slicer.
 
P1S is a great machine, you will love it.
I buy almost exclusively Overature filament from amazon. It is consistnely $22-26 a spool, shows up in two days, and the brand is very consistent. I print nearly all PETG for rocket stuff, and PLA for fun stuff. I have printed some TPU just to try it.

Everyone blows on about dry filament, but I havent seen a lot of differnece unless a spool has been sitting out for months. I bought the cheapest food dehydrator, cut the centers out, and if I need to dry something, throw it in for a day at 150 degrees.

The only mod I made to mine was adding the vibration feet, calibrated it and starte printing. I just have it on the harbor freight workbench. I literally have done nothing else excpet print dozens of spools of filament with near zero issues. Wipe the PEI sheet down with rubbing alcohol every few days, dont touch it with bare skin, and it will stick like a dream. I did try the bambu hardened nozzel, and had terrible sticking issues with PETG, went back to the stainless. It probably has 20+ spools on it and still near perfect quality.

As far as CAD, I use tinkercad 100%. I know its limited, but so is my time to learn something else. I can make nearly everything I do with it. I wish I had the patience to learn Fusion.
 
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roytyson said:
I print nearly all PETG for rocket stuff, and PLA for fun stuff. I have printed some TPU just to try it.

Everyone blows on about dry filament, but I havent seen a lot of differnece unless a spool has been sitting out for months.
Click to expand...
That is your answer. If you are only printing those three filaments, you will not see much of a difference till a few months. Then, you will a decrease in quality and increased jams.
 
Conway Stevens said:
Picked up a black Friday sale on a Bambu labs P1S. Think it should do what i need. Not looking to make it a new hobby. But more of a tool. Questions would be.

Where is the best place to get Filaments? Price abd reliability function for the machine are important.

Best how to learn CAD? Specifically looking at fusion 360. Im a complete noob.

How much pc do i need?

Any specific requirements on where to place my printer? What kind of stand?

Any other thoughts or tips are welcome.
Click to expand...
I use onshape.com. Hints for beginner's: rotate a triangle and you got a nonecone. Extrude circles and you have tube adapters. Extrude a triangle you have fins Chamfer the fins and you have some aerodynamics.
Get creates of uline.com shipping tubes dirt cheap.
Put it all together and you'll have a blast!
 
Conway Stevens said:
Really appreciate everyones input. Lots to learn. Somewhat a bit overwhelming.
Click to expand...
The obvious, but often overlooked resource, is right here on TRF. You can ask any question and get multiple responses. Often different and no less a valuable input. There a bunch of people on here with plenty of experience that can likely help you answer or solve any issue.

No need to be "overwhelmed"...frustrated at times, yes, but not overwhelmed! ;)
 
cwbullet said:
I have to agree. Huge learning curve. I actually learn from your questions also.
Click to expand...
I know there will be dome time spent learning and doing and whatnot... but... When i decided to get the 3d printer it was that i wanted more so of a tool. In past ive paid others to make and print stuff for me. But sometimes timelines of when i need stuff or what i really want may differ in my head then theirs made me dicide to go ahead and get one... trust me lol i have resisted up to this point as i didnt want to take on more. Still not planning on making this another hobby so to speak. More of a skill and tool like i would look at soldering or fabrication of things used in rocketry. I want to be able to do enough with it to make the things i need for my life long rocketry obsession. Rocketry and all i do in Rocketry building, flying, extreme projects, mixing and making propellant/motors, being a TAP/L3CC is enough to keep me busy.. id like to be able to make my own propellant tools, av bay parts and similar stuff.

Hopefully with a little bit i should be able to do that.
 
cwbullet said:
That is your answer. If you are only printing those three filaments, you will not see much of a difference till a few months. Then, you will a decrease in quality and increased jams.
Click to expand...
CW, I'm still learning, as such, I don't understand this comment. Answer to what? What happens after a few months to decrease quality and increased jams? Thanks!
 

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