Perfect First Layer Podcast

Creality K2, PLA Outdoors?, Tool or Tinker? and MORE!!!

This Episodes Questions:
Last Spring I printed a simple 100mm cube with a centered 25mm circular hole out of black PLA using standard slicer settings (2 walls, 15% grid infill).  I intentionally left it outside on a black metal surface all summer, where it was exposed to plenty of heat (over 100 degrees some days), rain, hail, etc.  Today the part seems to be in essentially the same good condition as it was the day I printed it.  Yet I seem to hear that a lot PLA is not suitable for outdoor use, that other materials such as PETG and various others should be used for anything other than indoor decorations. What are your thoughts on the durability factors of common filaments, and is PLA getting a bad rap?Thank you!Justin
Hey all. I've just gotten into 3d printing. I have the a1 mini and have been thoroughly enjoying it. I'm not really into exploring the tinkering aspect of 3d printing, but I'm curious: Just in terms of dollar cost, are there savings starting with a cheap tinkerers printer and then trying to upgrade to something like bambu level reliability? Loren
What is a common “mistake” you see in personally designed 3d models which make the prints less likely to succeed with good quality? How can a model be uniquely designed for 3d printing rather than traditional manufacturing methods?Ben

How Fast is Fast Enough?, Next Big Thing for 3D Printers, Filament Profiles and MORE!!!

This Episodes Question:
 
So I built my first V2.4 almost 2 and a half years ago and loved the machine and process so much that I had to have every printer in their Git repository (-legacy....should probably build it anyway)My second v2.4 under went a complete mcu/motor and hardware upgrade(ceramic bearings,gates GT3 belts leviathan 48v board LDO super power 2.8a motors,two seperate psu and CNC motion parts by Vitalli....now the question
Do you think that there is a mounting focus on speed?When is enough enough?If you took a Voron from 2024 to 2012 and showed Adrian Boyer would he have said "wow,we've made it!"
All these upgrade to my machines and I still don't push them past 200mm/8000k velocity/acceleration

Multiboard Wall, Hair Spray on Bed and MORE!!!

This Episodes Questions:
Guy (& Guys):Love the podcast. thanks. listening to it now while gluing magnets into prints...Hey, I'm a purple-can-aqua-net guy. I use more than a fifties housewife. What solvent do you use/recommend to remove built up aqua net from build plates? I print maybe 50 times between soaking with 99% IPA which works but it's slow and sticky. Wondering if you have a better solution (both definitions of the word). Thanks:JC

Shop Organization Prints, Modeling Workflow, Extrusion Troubles, and MORE!!!

This Episodes Questions:
Hi guys, I listen to your podcast all the time and I have an ender two pro and recently the extruder got out of adjustment and I can’t seem to get it fine tuned back the way it was out of the box. It seems to print about an 8th inch of this woven basket, which is a lot of retraction and then it air prints after that, and I checked the nozzle it’s clear, but the filament gets stuck in the extruder and is smashed. Is there an easy way to adjust it? William
Really enjoyed the discussion around prempting filament issues. Thanks for chatting about it on the podcast. I've now racked up over 1000 hours of print time on the X1C with a range of filaments - and associated trouble shooting. I can vouch that not all filament is created equal! I've started designing custom parts for around the house, and i'm wondering...What are your go-to tools/software and workflow for creating 3D printed solutions?Keep up the great show Norman
Hi guys, I know this question isn't for the majority of viewers but I was wondering if you could do an episode on custom built printers?What could each of you imagine making?- Max. build vol. dimensions?- What max precision or speed combinations could you achieve?- Could you build it to do an annealing process on print completion?- Have a "PIC" robotic arm & parts rack to embed parts and electronic components laying down and soldering tracers. Jay Hox

3D Chameleon, PLA or PETG?, Running a Print Farm and MORE!!!

This Episodes Questions:
Hello,I'm a dedicated listener of your podcast and I have a question that's been on my mind regarding 3D printing materials. Nowadays, PETG is available at a price point similar to PLA, sparking a debate among enthusiasts. Many argue that PETG is superior in every aspect, rendering the use of PLA obsolete. However, my personal experiments, corroborated by various online sources, indicate that PLA exhibits greater tensile strength and, in some cases, enhanced impact resistance—especially PLA+. This does seem to vary across different brands.While PETG undoubtedly outperforms in terms of temperature resilience and chemical stability, its reputed strength superiority is something I find quite perplexing. My theory is that PETG's significant deformation under gradual stress, as opposed to PLA's sudden failure under higher loads, might be influencing this common perception. I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. Thank you for the consistently excellent content! Kelly
Hey guys love what you do, I’m listening to the “Worn Nozzle” Podcast. You mention the 3D Chameleon multi filament changer. You guys should try to get him on the show, https://www.3dchameleon.com/ . The inventor is Bill Steele (I may have misspelled the last name) and if you will look at the dates of releases, Bill’s invention predates all the multi filament changers even Prusa’s MMU, Bambu’s AMS, etc. He is up to version MK4 and this unit is amazing. Don’t dismiss it as a gimmick, it works better than all these others out there including the new “enraged rabbit carrot feeder”.  Chris

Delta Voron?, Organic Supports, Wet Filament and MORE!!!

This Episodes Questions:
Hi everyone,I am jeroen pattyn from belgium  and im a 3D print hobbyist for 2 years now . Is there a possibility to use 2 different kinds of support on 1 model ?Sometimes i m thinking to use organics on one overhang and raster on the other . This for saving some time and getting better results .I was thinking first i could do this with the paint on supports in prusaslicer but i dont find a possibility . I have a prusa xl 5 head printer and a bambulab x1 CARBON  i would like to hear your thoughts on this one guys .Greetings from belgium and keep doing the fun job with the podcast .
Listening to the most recent podcast discussing volumetric flow rate. If you weren’t aware, this can be displayed in cura. Once the model is sliced in the preview tab, there’s a drop down where you can select options other than line type. One of these is flow, and it will show a color gradient on the model of what the volumetric flow rate is at different regions of the print. This can be used to see the max vol flow value too. Cheers! Ben
I’ve been 3D printing for about 8-months. I currently have a Bambu Labs X1C. I’ve never dried filament. I had the last meter or so of a roll of PLA get brittle and I just recycled it, but no other issues. I mainly print with PLA and PETG. I store them in sealed plastic cereal boxes with desiccant. They hygrometers in the boxes typically read ~10%. I keep fresh desiccant in the AMS, and the humidity meter in the slicer is typically under 3 our of 5. The social boards are filled with wars over “to dry, or not to dry”. Can you give us the true skinny on this topic?Two questions on filament drying: 1) Under what conditions do you dry filament? What types, and how do you know they need drying? 2) If you dry filament, what do you use. I know the X1C can dry, so I already have one option. I’ve seen people use food dehydrators. And then there are special purpose filament dryers. Thoughts and recommendations would be appreciated.Love your podcast! Paul

Filament Issues, Toxic Fumes, Which Beginner Printer? and MORE!!!

This Episodes Questions:
Hello!I'm new to the 3d printing world (one week) and have enjoyed learning from your podcast.How do you recommend diagnosing and fixing printing issues with different filaments?So far Ive only run PLA and PLA+ through the Bambu x1C - I've got some TPU, Silk and ABS coming so it'd be good to be prepared for when someting eventually goes wrong! Norman
I recently decided that I needed more printers, as one does, and building one was fun, so of course I need a Voron 2.4 350mm. Now, I *could* just use the Print-it-Forward and buy the pieces, but I wanted to print it myself. I built the frame, added the panels, and by moving the MK4 screen a bit, I managed to use the Voron-frame to enclose my MK4 so it could print ABS better. I don't have the greatest ventilation available, but there is some, and I don't notice very much smell. Is modern, quality ABS a bit better health-wise, or is it still kinda bad? I don't sleep in the same room Christian
My son, age 13, wants to buy a printer. His budget is $350 MAX. We have been doing lots of research in this budget range via YouTube, podcast and talking to people.We have been leaning towards the Ender 3 ke or the A1 mini, since the Prusa is just too far out of our budget right now.The usage would be for masks, small to medium size mechanical parts designing, mechanic tool box organization, speed is NOT priority (but nice to have), print quality is preferred.I want to know, now that some of these printers have been on the market for a little while, what would you recommend for a first time buyer today, considering the whole market and not just these two mentioned.Thank you David

New Co-Host Jerry Joins Us! Big Nozzles and Flow Rates, and MORE!!!

This Episodes Questions:
When printing with large nozzles, do the same volumetric flow rate limits apply or do they scale with the larger nozzle? Such as PLA in 0.4 nozzle at <20 cubic mm/s, then with a 0.8 nozzle are you still limited by the material to the same flow rate or can you increase temp and tune settings to a higher flow rate? Thanks! Ben

Worn Nozzle? Multi Color Systems, Printing PETG and MORE!!

This Episodes Questions:
How do you know when a nozzle is worn out? if printing normal PLA and PETG, do you have an expected lifespan such as X kg of filament? Comparing cheap AliExpress nozzles of basic material with name-brand or special alloys or coatings, is longevity increased or is the gain primarily on performance and heat transfer? Ben
Thanks for the great podcast. I enjoy it a lot even if you're discussing machines, materials and techniques I'll likely never use myself! There are endless YouTube channels on the subject, but what I like about the podcast in particular is the discussion, and your willingness to challenge each other about views you hold, in a constructive way. Keep it up!I have an Ender 5-S1 and can print reliably in PLA now. Of course, it started out printing OK but went downhill as I experimented with it and destroyed and then replaced the surface plate. Anyway, now that I've got it all going I'd like to start printing PETG too. While I'm a lot more clued up now, the problem is I don't necessarily remember all the steps that led me to bring the PLA print quality back up to spec – I was just blindly following different clues and recommendations due to my lack of experience. If you were in my position, how would you approach generating a good profile for PETG? I'm thinking in terms of what types of test prints, and the order you'd do particular tests, along with anything else you'd suggest. Simon
Are the phrozen or even the anycubic ams or multi color units any good ? Are they just bambulab clones.I love yalls content keep it up, Thanks in advance Tobias

Ender 5 S1 Mods, Printing ASA, .06 or .04 Nozzle? and MORE!!!

This Episodes Questions:
Just finished the latest episode where you guys talked about FreeCAD. I almost snapped when Guy said it was not parametric, or that "just recently changed". It's been like that since day one, almost 22 years ago.What Guy referred to was the Topological Naming Problem, the thing that happens when you remove a feature that another feature depends upon. Something that was mentioned happening to Guy in Fusion as well. Have great news, in the 0.22dev branch it has code that mitigates that issue (can never be solved, because there is an infinite number of possible models to design and an infinite ways of breaking things) and in August or September the 1.0 version is going to be released with that fix and many, many improvements present in the 0.22dev. I encourage you to be on the fence for when 1.0 is released.And yes, FreeCAD uses the graphics card with OpenGL.Cheers from Argentina, Gabriel
The Ender 5-S1 is my only machine. Aside from the sonic pad and the acrylic enclosure, are there any mods that you'd consider worth the time and investment? If yes, what would be the cost and how tricky are they to pull off for someone with good DIY skills and equipment, but only moderate 3d printer knowledge? I'm in the UK (I can do the currency conversion, but not all products available to you might be available easily here, though I'm willing to import if it's worth it).Thanks again! Simon Troup
What are the major categories or different applications you would classify printers into? I’m thinking along the lines of a voron 0 for small high quality, something with a large print volume, something enclosed and high precision, etc. I ask this as I consider selecting a second printer, what are some considerations to decide on what would most expand my capabilities?I have an E3V3 KE with some minor mods (structural, silicone spacers, nozzles) and I have it well tuned and printing great. Do I get a second one for continuity and ease of use, or would I be better served getting something to fit a different niche?Love the podcast and all the different angles you bring to the discussion!Ben
I was curious to know what type of ASA you were trying to print as I have printed E-Sun, Inland and Polymaker. I have never had a problem with keeping it on the bed. I've even printed it on an ender 3 pro in the open air and it stuck just fine. I do use Magioo on my print beds, so just curious what you guys were using that was warping. I have a K1, an Ender 3 pro and Ender 3 pro s1 and a sv06 Sovol and printed ASA just fine on all of them. The SV06 and the s1 are in those cheap creality  plastic enclosures.Thank you for the response. Chris
I love the podcast. Guy, I've been following you on the fine woodworking side for several years, and gravitated to this podcast when I got my first 3D printer, an AnyCubic Kobra 2 along with Raspberry Pi and Octoprint, in December. I've upgraded to Bambu Labs X1 Carbon. The Kobra 2/Raspberry Pi required me to spend my time mastering the technology, rather than just printing cool stuff. I realized I did not need another rabbit hole, so I went with the X1. The analogy I use when asked by other 3Ders is that rather than being the guy who soups up the car, I just want to go for a ride! But, I digress.I've heard mixed reviews on the advantages of a 0.6mm hot end vs. the stock 0.4mm that comes with the printer. Speed and strength are noted as the primary advantages, but at some cost to quality. Many of the prints I make are for use as jigs in the shop or other household hacks, so even though I love the quality of the prints, I could sacrifice that for speed. I've read many comments on reddit that say the speed improvement claim is exaggerated. Can you guys set me straight? Paul