3D Print Chat

Bumping an old thread, long story short my son (7 years old) has taken a huge interest in 3D printing and seems to really excel in STEM activities, he wants a printer now and I'm pretty ok with it. That being said I have pretty much narrowed it down to a Bambu P1S with the AMS attachment, rationalizing the cost and getting this unit because it's definitely an activity we can do together and it seems this printer has good reviews and we probably won't outgrow it....so, the normal stuff he can download and print for free seems cool (fidgets, toys, etc) but I would like to learn how him n I can design our own stuff...I found program called "Blender" that seems to be pretty straightforward but what is everyone using or what would you guys recommend for a new guy just trying to break into this 3d print world?
 
BajaKyle said:
Bumping an old thread, long story short my son (7 years old) has taken a huge interest in 3D printing and seems to really excel in STEM activities, he wants a printer now and I'm pretty ok with it. That being said I have pretty much narrowed it down to a Bambu P1S with the AMS attachment, rationalizing the cost and getting this unit because it's definitely an activity we can do together and it seems this printer has good reviews and we probably won't outgrow it....so, the normal stuff he can download and print for free seems cool (fidgets, toys, etc) but I would like to learn how him n I can design our own stuff...I found program called "Blender" that seems to be pretty straightforward but what is everyone using or what would you guys recommend for a new guy just trying to break into this 3d print world?
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I tried blender when I first started CAD/3D Printing, I hated it so much, eventually I got turned on to Fusion (still using). Blender is better for building and modifying mesh layouts, where fusion is more "engineering focused" I guess you could say? Its a full design to production suite basically, instead of being focused on video game models and animation like blender. Both are free, I'd try both and see which you prefer, I personally just could never get into blender.
 
Fenix Motorsports said:
I tried blender when I first started CAD/3D Printing, I hated it so much, eventually I got turned on to Fusion (still using). Blender is better for building and modifying mesh layouts, where fusion is more "engineering focused" I guess you could say? Its a full design to production suite basically, instead of being focused on video game models and animation like blender. Both are free, I'd try both and see which you prefer, I personally just could never get into blender.
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I haven't played with anything yet so I will definitely look into that thank you.
 
Learning a parametric based CAD program would be my recommendation to set up building functional models instead of artsy models from Blender. Solidworks is a great example but definitely not free. Freecad, Onshape, and Sketchup are commonly used free programs that have plenty of online tutorials. Once you understand the workflow of drawing a sketch and either building from it or using it to subtract than you add more difficult functions. My middle son was 9 when he learned the basics on Solidworks and probably could've started earlier if the interest was there.
 
You can get "solidworks for makers" for I think $25/year. It's a heck of a deal. I find the free/low cost solidworks/fusion are best for non-organic shapes, while others (blender) are better for figurines and curvy shapes.
 
Bodj recently asked about printing PETG and I have struggled bigly for quite awhile before finally figuring it out. The biggest issue is that it sucks all the moisture from the air and makes it stringy and globby enough to ruin your print.

My basic approach for printing:
-Build box around the printer with door to keep heat even. My box is wood to stabilize humidity further
-Place the filament in the heated environment. The extruder does a decent job lowering humidity in a closed space, I've seen 15% inside when 35-40% ambient humidity. I have holes drilled in the top of my wooden enclosure and a trash can covering the reel, pretty basic but works.
-Store filament in a plastic cereal box with dessicant beads to keep dry. This actually dries the filament albeit super slow. Mine read 10% humidity after a couple hours and have stayed there as long as it's been closed.
-PETG specific, reduce bed temp to 40C after first layer to help with elephant footing and base warping.


https://www.amazon.com/DWËLLZA-KITC...917667&sprefix=cereal+bo,aps,163&sr=8-43&th=1
https://www.amazon.com/Desiccant-In...prefix=blue+desicant+bag,aps,163&sr=8-11&th=1
https://www.amazon.com/Hygrometer-H...918546&sprefix=humidity+sensor,aps,197&sr=8-6
Filament box.jpg
 
That's good info. I'll have to revisit it when I try printing PETG again. I've got ABS down pretty good now, but PETG would be nice for food grade stuff or things that need to be more flexible.
 
I tried printing ABS for the first time last weekend and it failed miserably. It was also old filament that had been sitting out for years and I had no time to try to fix the gross warping there was. It even shrunk so much it cracked between layers.

I've never heard of PETG being more flexible, I know the single wall supports are more brittle and crack apart unlike PLA or the ABS I failed at. It is stronger than PLA when loaded in layer from experience with little RC A-arms.


Shameless plug while this thread is bumped, I released an IFS design for the SCX24 that I've been tinkering with for a few years now. Clearly not a resounding commercial success, lol.
https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/game/scx24-independent-front-suspension-4wd-ifs-kitPXL_20250726_022513217.webp
PXL_20250726_010048830.PORTRAIT.webp
 
I'll have to look at my print/bed temps, but I found the key is no fan running at all. My machine has a built in enclosure, so I keep it closed at all times, fan off, and that's about it. I've found it to print pretty effortlessly, to be honest.
 
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