I did start a topic for all things laser.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/laser-engraving-amp-cutting-for-pinball#post-7290247

I'm using Prusament PLA. I know the bed defaulted to 60C and I increased it to 70C to get the PLA to stick. I did eventually get a nice looking first level calibration but I never really tested how well it was adhering to the bed with my fingernail. I will give that a try. Maybe it does need to be lowered a bit more. I stopped the calibration when the test pattern finally looked correct.

Lots of good advice in this thread. Thanks to everyone for the comments.

If using Prusament bed should be 60. I’ve run through at least 20 spools of it, and it is extremely consistent filament.

Your issue is either a dirty build plate, bad first level cal, or some of both.

Short version of a long story: I built a kit 13 years ago. The machine is amazing and, especially back then, a flippin bargain. However, I had to temporarily reverse payment to ensure I received all the parts and software.

http://www.digirout.com/DR200features.html

- Mark

So... I've never lasered. But I would think that a laser would not be appropiate for any of the operations that are not through-cut. Ex: The ledges that support inserts, and pecking screw locations.

- Mark

True, but the CAM software I use (V-Carve Pro) makes tiling (routing in sections) pretty easy. I'm a couple whitewoods deep, and haven't had any issues.

- Mark

While I have an older 2'(ish) x 2'(ish) CNC, I just ordered the cheapest 3018 desktop cnc I could find as a toy.

I do want to use it offline. Are all the different gbrl controller boards cross compatible with all the different gbrl offline controllers?
(Or are they proprietary?)

Thanks for the info!

- Mark

Hello. I wanted a white pingulp to match my powder coat. I’m thinking about printing a cup but was wondering if PLA would be ok? Not sure if the bolts will brake it when trying to tighten it.

PETG is better but PLA should be fine. Just don't overcrank the bolts, but it has decent strength.

Don't forget to think about how print orientation can affect strength (i.e. print the cup holder with vertical layers or horizontal). Wall count will affect the strength in the bolt area too. I guess worst case just 100% infill.

I did my cup holders in PLA. Just use extra perimeters and don't overtighten. You can also consider using a washer to spread out the force

I received my Bambu X1 a few days ago. I have to admit I am very impressed with the quality and speed I am getting out of the box with zero tuning. I have been really happy with my Prusas, but I think the X1 will quickly become my favorite machine. It looks like for the same multi part prints, I am seeing a reduction of at least half the print time at the same or better quality. I was not expecting that much improvement. What is really interesting is how the various filaments work with the generic presets with zero adjustments. For example, I bought some cheap PLA+on discount to try and was having difficulty on the MK3 with my tuned filament settings. Even after going through it's own temp tower calibration and specific adjustments I wasn't happy to use on prints I cared about and relegated the spool to just test prints. To my shock, the same spool printed perfectly in the X1 with the generic profile. Same goes for some silk PLA that I had stringing problems previously, printed 99% string free first try. Obviously these are just my results and there may be more contributing factors specific to my print environment and specific setup. So far, I am more than happy.

All that said, there are some annoyances that I have to get used to mostly with printing workflow. I print remotely to my detached shop and have been using Repetier Server for two printers on my LAN. The Bambu print through the cloud direct from the slicer isn't my favorite and I hope they can better detach the cloud requirement to the printer functionality. I would much prefer to slice to local file share and print directly from there as I have been doing, but I am not sure if that is even on the company's radar. I see there is an update today that allows you to slice and save gcode directly to the SD storage which is a step in the right direction.

I am printing a few of these gamecube controller stands for my son for Christmas and this was my first attempt at a multi color print with the AMS. It turned out awesome. There is a ton of waste which bugs me, but of course that and much longer print times are the tradeoff for single extruder muli print.
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I heard similar complaints about the amount of waste the multi color prints create. Also it looks like some red hues in the green filament used for the gamecube logo. Is that just how the filament looks or is that an artifact of the printer's process?

Good eye! Yeah it's a multicolor silk filament. How it is orientated through the extruder determines how the color comes out, either green, magenta or some gradient of the two. The way it this was loaded, on the color side of the model it came out mostly green.

There are ways to reduce the waste to some degree, but the nature of how you have to purge for a single extruder, it's just a fact of life. It's not unique to the X1.

Yes, I’ve printed a few for friends, and they have all held up quite nicely. I just did 100% infill around the bolt holes (use an infill modifier in slicer).

Print orientation is how the holder sits (open end up).

.2mm, 2 walls, 15% infill

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I did something pretty much the same in Cura slicer - set the mount infill to 100% and the rest normal. Chuck Hellebuyck has a video showing how to set up the different infill levels in Cura:

Which pingulp file are you all using? Seems like I’ve seen a couple different versions.

I use this one (the version that is a single piece - left or right): https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2268960

My Bambu P1P is en route! No idea what I’m doing, should be fun! Fun to see them ship out earlier than expected.

A friend of mine bought a very expensive scanner, I believe it's an Einscan, about 8.5k for it. He asked me for some items to scan for practice so I was happy to provide. Here is a recent stargazer pop bumper cap he scanned and I resin printed. I was running low on the white and threw in some gray during he print so thats the reason for the 2 tone. But you can see the scanner even captured the hot stamp star and lines. Amazing detail. Fit perfectly too. More parts to come soon.

Brian

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I bought a used einscan pro, never could get it to work (always lost tracking no matter how slow I went or how much I tweaked settings and added more light) so I ended up reselling it. Looks like whatever system he has works much better. I have watched demos and it's pretty amazing how it can take 2 separate scans of each side and align them into one solid model.

Any luck solving your bed adhesion issue?

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5721151

Bally cabinet head tag. I made mine with vinyl but there's a 3D text version and you can do a filament change for a different color. Notched version so if your original rivets are still in there like mine were, you can fit it over them for a friction fit.

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I lowered the z-axis some more and it did stick better. I ran the calibration a few times while doing your trick of running my fingernail across it. Thanks for the tip.

Do different filaments require different z-axis settings? I switched out the filament from PLA to PETG and PETG didn't seem to print as well. I did swap beds from a smooth PEI to a textured. Other than that, no other changes. I left the temp settings at whatever the MINI+ defaulted to for PETG. For me, PLA seems to print better in general though.

Different filaments shouldn't matter for the first layer but changing from smooth to the textured sheet typically requires a re calibration of the first layer. Prusa machines have different configurable presets for this reason, so you can swap quickly.

PLA is definitely the easiest to print with though. I didn't have much trouble using the defaults in slic3r when printing PETG but most filaments other than PLA take a bit of trial and error before you get them working nicely. PLA is like easy mode for 3d printing

Yes, you will need to perform a first layer calibration for each type of filament you use (e.g. PLA, PETG, etc.) and on each bed type you use (Smooth, Textured, Satin, etc.) Prusa allows you to save these calibrations, name them, and easily switch between them before beginning a print. In general, the PETG first layer should have the nozzle slightly closer to the sheet to adhere properly. This is the case for me personally on all three sheet types I utilize and since I print primarily with PLA & PETG on three different sheet types, I currently have 6 saved calibrations.

The nozzle needs to be further away from the bed for PETG. Less "smush". I put my Z offset up .06mm. YMMV

I converted a food dehyrdator into one but never found it to be all that useful. The only rolls I had where I thought they were having issues due to water didn't get fixed after going in it. I don't think they're necessary unless you have a reason to think your filament is having issues due to hydration. A dry box would be the first place to start if that's a problem IMO.

I use a storage box full of silica gel beads.

Just curious what you guys all think of thangs.com for getting 3d models? Any other sites preferred?

Thingiverse, Printables. “Thangs” just cross-searches other sites. Thingiverse doesn’t have the best API so it’s best to go right to the site

I have a Sunlu S1 dryer with an add-on circulation fan (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4628798) and I consider it an essential piece of 3D printing gear. I keep my filament in sealed bags with a generous quantity of desiccant, but that doesn't ensure the filament is as dry as it should be.

Here's my quick test to see if filament will benefit from some dryer time. Hang the filament as usual and then heat the hotend to print temperature. Watch the plastic that comes out of the nozzle during warmup (push a bit through if necessary) and look for air bubbles. If you see any kind of bubbling or popping - anything other than smooth plastic flow - then drying will help. I've even had cases where brand new filament in vacuum sealed bags printed better after a few hours in the dryer.

If your print environment is dry enough you may not need a dryer, but in my case the change in print quality before and after drying can be remarkable.

My advice is to put blue Loctite only where you have adequate torque to remove the fastener if you ever need to. Blue is pretty benign, it doesn’t require that much to break the bond, but in the wrong spot, with a lot of thread contact, it can be “problematic”. If working with previously untested threads, I tend to do a check to see how much removal torque can be generated using the fasteners preferred drive type like slot, Philips, hex, etc… and then apply more or less loctite depending on my first test removal.

No need for it at all, but knock yourself out if you want to. I've not had a fastener come loose on my MK3S+ ever since I built it 3 or 4 years ago.

I looked into some, but then decided my warming oven will do the same thing.

Waste of money and not needed IMO unless you store your filament in a non-climate controlled envioronment.

I wouldn't use loctite, no. This is not a high-vibration or load application. Just follow the instructions in the manual, especially all steps involving Harbro. Those are the most important.

I also love my filament dryer and consider it essential. You'd be suprised how wet a "new" roll of budget filament can be. When you make so many tweaks on the machine to ensure you get the best quality prints, it's foolish not to ensure your material isn't also ideal.
Hard requirement for TPU and PETG.

Anyone modeled Stern speaker brackets for 5.25” flush mount speakers (like Kickers)?
Not the adapter, but the whole speaker plate. I’ve only seen these for the non-flush speakers.

I did share one on Thingiverse. But you need to drill the nuts and add them yourself.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5208804

Does anyone have guidance or a link/video on printing and making a shooter rod? Eg like a Godzilla head or something. Curious if there’s best practice on materials (is PLA ok?), how best to fuse/glue, drilling out a certain bore size for a standard rod, what rod to modify, etc. I figure there must be some pros in here!

Edit: I’m more curious about the process, rather than any specific shooter print itself.

I made a golf ball shooter rod for the Tee'd Off machine I had and all I did was drill a hole in a golf ball and use epoxy to glue the rod into it. I don't think the process would be much different for a 3d print. Get a suitable model, modify it to put a rod sized hole in it and then glue it in.
I took the stock rod and used a hammer to smash off the handle. Shooter rods are pretty cheap so I wasn't worried if I messed it up.

I would not want to drill the hole after printing because without 100% infill you can get fracturing and the drill hole will not necessarily be the right size due to the cavities created by the infill. I guess you could do 100% infill just in the area you want to drill but it would be much easier to throw it in a CAD program, make a shape the size of the rod and subtract it from the model.

I don't have the experience to say for sure that PLA would be strong enough but I would think it should be depending on the model. Any small details like ears on a face might be fragile in PLA, but I'm always pretty careful with my shooter rods and don't slam plunge with them or anything like that.

ABS might be nice though if you know how to vapor smooth with acetone. That would make for a really strong model that would be ready to paint too.

I make my own shooter rods, did guardians and GNR the bullit, easy to do, just find a good model, print is drill it and glue it with epoxy glue. Then the painting etc is just fun to do. There are many great models to find, some of these are shift knobs that can de scaled. Standard shooter rods are cheap and this makes the hobby affordable.

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Image of gnr one?

While not 3D printing, Hobby Lobby has a bunch of themed drawer knobs. You could buy a blank shooter rod, tap it for 4/40 threads (I think) and screw them together (maybe shorten the bolt). They have a huge selection: https://www.hobbylobby.com/Home-Decor-Frames/Knobs-Hardware/Knobs/c/3-110-1057
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tapping hardened steel would be difficult, and you would need to use a double threaded standoff, plus i dont think a screw that size would hold very well.