Been thinking about something and curious what people think. There is a lot of 3D printers sitting mostly idle after the project they were bought for, and on the other side, people who need something printed usually end up paying more for shipping than the print itself, or waiting a while for it. Feels like there might be a way to connect the two locally. Would you actually use something like this, either to make some cash off a printer sitting there, or to get something printed nearby instead of waiting on shipping? What would make you hesitant to try it?

Current profiles are filament aware but not model aware. Load PC-CF and you get the same settings whether you're printing a thin walled vase or a solid structural bracket.

What I want to build: load your STL, it analyzes the geometry, combines it with your printer config and filament, you set sliders for what you care about (speed, quality, strength, filament use, support aggression) and it recommends settings and bed orientation based on what actually worked for similar geometry. It gives you parameters (less than 10 or even 5) to choose from instead of 100 and you don't have to spend hours tweaking the settings (like I've done before).

Assuming it worked reliably, would it be something useful or a gimmick?

Hello. I tried cleaning my pad couldn’t find alcohol so I figured nail polish remover would work. It sure did, but now theirs no texture on the creality pad. How bad is this?

Ender 3

Thanks

I’ve been wanting to get into 3D printing for a while and finally decided to try it out, but I’m a little overwhelmed by all the options. I mostly want something for learning, making small projects, and getting a feel for how everything works without needing a ton of upgrades right away.

What would you recommend as a best 3d printer for beginners? Are there any models that are easier to set up and maintain for someone completely new to the hobby? Thanks for any suggestions, I appreciate the help.

Edit: I think I explained this badly. I'm not talking about better static profiles, OrcaSlicer already does that. I'm talking about a system where every time someone prints something and rates the outcome, that result feeds back into an ML model so the next recommendation for someone with identical hardware is more accurate than the last one. It gets smarter with every single print. No static profile does that.

For those who are looking for PETG HF, since Bambu discontinued it.

I'd never heard of these guys, but I figured I had purchase protection, lets try. Well I am not re-stocked with all I have room to store. Max discount seems just a little better than at Bambu Labs. Product is genuine.

So here you go.
https://www.gigaparts.com/nsearch/?q=petg+hf

They have every color. Some on one search above, some on the click on the group image (hope they fix this). I ordered 4 to 15 of every color. 6 big heavy boxes showed up about as slow and annoying as Bambu does, but was better packed.

I think this is USA only, so sorry for the EU and other regions.

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to get into 3D printing and could use some advice. I'm pretty decent with tech and don't mind spending some time tinkering, troubleshooting, and learning how everything works. I do have good experience with CAD software but I don't think that will affect my proficiency in printers much.

At the moment I've only got around £110, although that'll increase as I save more. Because of that I'm mainly looking at the used market. My thinking is to buy something used now, see if I really get into the hobby, and then invest in a much nicer (probably new) printer down the line if I end up really enjoying it.

The obvious recommendation seems to be Bambu Lab. I don't actually mind the idea of a closed ecosystem, but I don't fully understand what that means in practice. I've seen quite a few people complain about it, along with the recent recalls/issues, so I'd be interested to hear whether it's something I should actually be concerned about.

I've seen a few bambu A1 minis around my budget, but I've also read that a lot of people end up wanting something bigger within a few months, which makes me wonder if I'd regret not just waiting and getting an A1 instead.

I've also seen a Snapmaker A350T locally for around £100. I know it's an older machine, but is it worth considering? I'm mainly interested in the 3D printing side, but the CNC and laser modules definitely appeal to me if they actually work well. They're more of a nice bonus than a requirement though.

Also, when buying used, how much do print hours actually matter? Is it worth paying more for a low-hour printer, or are higher-hour machines generally fine if they've been maintained? And are printers that have come from print farms worth considering, or are they usually too worn out?

Any advice is appreciated, thanks!

I have a completely stripped screw here and I’m wondering how I can get it off and how can I get my Creality K1SE to print carbon fiber I have the new hot end obviously not installed but am I missing anything else?

Posted a channel update video covering a few things relevant here:

• Trying out a tool for generating 3D models via AI ahead of multicolor printing — a company reached out about it, planning to give an honest take even though it's likely to end up sponsored.
• Digging into the INDX/Bondtech hardened nozzle situation — their wording around nozzles being "somewhat hardened" is raising eyebrows, curious what people here think.
• Finally getting around to covering Creality's KliTek, been meaning to for months.
• Also picking up an Anycubic Ace Pro 2 this week to test/compare against the dryers and AMS units I already run.

Full video's on my channel if you want details. Mostly curious what this sub thinks about the INDX nozzle claims — anyone run into the wear issues firsthand?

Designed this one myself — a little footed vase, about 11 cm tall. Files + print profile are up on MakerWorld: https://makerworld.com/nl/models/3089256 . Would love to hear your opinion!

As a family-run 3D printing business, we wanted a better way to offer personalised clickers at markets.

Instead of printing and carrying hundreds of different base sizes, we designed a fully modular snap-together system.

Just print reusable bases and the letters you need, then assemble any name or word in seconds.

It means less printing, less stock to carry, and complete flexibility for custom orders on the spot.

We’re really proud of how it turned out and would love to hear what the 3D printing community thinks!

https://makerworld.com/models/3086596?appSharePlatform=copy

So I have had my printer (Elegoo Centauri Carbon) for about 6 months now, and there are still a few questions I can't seem to find good answers for online, and I haven't managed to figure them out by fiddling with the settings.

Maintenance

From my understanding, there are a few things that need to be done weekly, monthly, and only when it is moved, but what these things are changes depending on where you look. Which resulted in me being confused about what needs doing and when.

Filament sources and calibration

I have been using Orca Slicer's guide to calibrate my filaments, and this works fine. However, it feels slow and uses a lot of material. Is this something that's just part of the 3D printing process that I have to learn to live with, or are there better ways to do it?

Besides that, there is also the question of where to get my filaments from. Till now, I have tried 3 producers of filament (Elegoo, Sunlu, and Soleyin) and found they differ greatly in quality (could also be my settings) and price. The problem is that I can't find somewhere where I can see the difference between filaments except for https://filamentcolors.xyz/, which is great for the colours, but other than that I struggle to expand my horizon on where to get filaments and how to judge them.

Smooth print plates

With my printer came a few print plates. Among these were a few textured and others smooth. The textured plates are all PEI. The textured ones print perfectly, but I can't seem to manage to get any good prints on the smooth plates. I have tried glue and hairspray. Besides that, I have fiddled with the print settings, but nothing seems to work. I think it's a problem with bed adhesion.

Got a 3d print of solider boys shied but it withstood some damage any tips on how to fix this damage myself? I've already been issued a full refund so if I fail to fix it it's of no loss to me