Perfect First Layer Podcast

Gluing Up Projects, Ender 2 Pro Upgrades, Which Printer To Buy and MORE!!!

This Episodes Questions:
I want to put a touch screen on my ender 2 pro without any knob on like I have on my ender cr-6se and was wondering if you know if I get a cr-6 one would it be plug and play?Is there a community firmware for the ender 2 pro?Thanks, William
I am looking at buying a new printer for myself as a Christmas present and right now there's two big questions in my mind. One is the Qidi plus 4. Seems like everything I want on paper with speed, accuracy, build quality and most important to me - Is its ability to print high temperature materials with the heated chamber.I am designing parts that could benefit from some more exotic materials like PBT, PP-CF, glass filled ABS etc. I know that there's a recall with the heater heated chamber relay on the plus 4, but it really does look like they're gonna make it right for customers. They're gonna give what's needed to repair it. I'm not concerned about repairing things, it's  easy for me to do a little bit of work for some maintenance and upgrades over the years.On the other hand, I'm really really enticed by the new K2 max. I don't particularly need its larger volume. K2 max does a lot of the same things that the plus 4 does as far as high temperatures and heated chamber and the K2 max seems to be from a brand and a company that's a little bit more trustworthy. I don't particularly want the multimaterial system, I don't mind changing filaments. I am concerned about the price. It's $1200 versus $800 and I love the idea of longevity, maintainability and buying something of high quality and having it last for years longer so maybe reality is the right answer for me but, wow, that $400 difference just is really hard to justify going all the way up to that Creality K2.What other differences should I consider in my decision?Tim

Printing Large Objects, Orca Profiles, Filament Pigment and MORE!!!

This Episodes Questions:
I recently purchased a Elegoo Neptune 4 Max to print large things.  It came with a 0.4mm nozzle for some reason.  My plan was to replace it with a 0.6mm or 0.8mm nozzle.  As a test I kept the 0.4mm on.  I scaled the object in Orca slicer and chose standard 0.2mm layer height.  Orca said it would take 7 days to print.  I added a second Elegoo Neptune 4 Max printer in Orca Slicer but this one with 0.6mm nozzle.  I chose standard layer height again (0.2mm).  I sliced the model and Orca said it would take 9 days.  Weird.  I selected extra draft layer height (0.28mm) and sliced it again.  Still, 9 days.  What am I missing here?  I expect a bigger nozzle and larger layers to print faster.  Is there a way to "download" updated profiles in Orca Slicer? Adam
Crazy idea: How feasible would adding pigment to the filament during printing be? The thought occurred to me while listening to you all discussing multi material systems. If you could just load spools of white or clear filament and then change pigment while printing, imagine the possibilities!Thanks for the podcast!Loren

Cloud Printing Apps, Modding a Fusion3 F410, Filament Calibration and MORE!!!

This Episodes Questions:
Hey guys! Long time listener, first time caller!I recently took home an old(ish) Fusion3 F410. (Our department at work wanted to get rid of it.) We also have a Raise3d Pro3, BambuLab X1C and X1E, so this thing is a real pain to use in comparison. About the only good thing it has going for it is the big build volume (355x355x315), other than that there are a couple of annoyances:- Glass build plate- Auto bed-leveling is hit or miss. It only probes the 4 corners where aluminum tape is used for conductivity.- Reaaally long Bowden tube setup- Weird kevlar string used for the X-Y motion system.. but I guess it works.- Old Duet2 board and RepRap software- Discontinued by Fusion3I volunteered to take it home because I have some ideas! I want to see if I can breath new life into it with some mods:- Magnetic PEI build plate- Direct-drive extruder on the toolhead- BigTreeTech control board and KlipperDo you guys have any suggestions on how to get the above mods done? I'm not too familiar with Voron printers, but I wonder how much I can pull from their large-format printers as far as parts, electronics used, etc. I can design/print custom part solutions if needed, and have access to sheet metal for the bed. I also have some experience with Klipper, and I think getting that properly configured will be an undertaking on its own.Thanks! Matt
Hi guys,I recently stumbled over your podcast and really like the bandwidth of topics you guys talk about! Currently I own 2x K1 Max but will soon replace 1 of them by a K2 Plus. You guys are talking a lot about creating your own configuration settings for materials and such.I would really like to know how should someone approach this systematically. Let's imagine I have Creality print 5.1 ;-) which is splitting all settings on one side to a Filament setting and on the other side to the different layer height configurations.Lately I had a standard PLA - which caused problems - and ended up by changing the temperature in the Filament settings and the max speed in the layer height configuration. This solved the problem but I will never have just one setting to load for this material.So now there are actually two questions:- How to approach a perfect setting for a material (and height) systematically?- Any tips and tricks for Creality Print 5.1 on how to manage multiple settings?Thanks a lot and keep up the good work!Michael from Switzerland

New Tech Coming, More Discussion of Creality K2

Guy, JJ and Jerry just haviung a great discussion of what they've got going on and what new and coming in the 3D printer market.

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