Perfect First Layer Podcast

Cloud Printing Bad?, Alternate Filaments, Troodon vs. Voron? and MORE!!

This Episode's Questions:
It seems to me that the 3D printer market is going to split into two types; the enclosed ecosystem (Apple) and the open source type (Android). Companies like Bambu want the enclosed ecosystem to build appliances that maximize profit potential. I'm OK with that because there is good value to consumers for products that “just work” and you guys clearly like your P1P's and P1S's. My only problem with that is the loss of privacy and control to Bambu's network. It's a no-go for me and like Nathan, I work offline and I will never own a machine that requires online access to operate. I got the impression there is a way around that but Bambu makes it difficult. Could you expand on what workarounds there are for people like me who don't want to drink the Koolaid? James
Hello! New listener, and first time writer. I have an Ender 3, an Ender 3 v2, and a friends CR-10 smart.  I was wondering what your recommendations would be to upgrade one of the Enders to print either TPU, or ABS/ASA. I could go either direction really! Love the show! Leo
I heard a guy asking about building. Voron and you guys recommend he go with bambu. But he can go with troodon which is a pre built voron. I provided a link. Brad
And Nathan dispels some 3D Printing superstitions

New Ender 3 V3, Why .STL's?, Printer Safety and MORE

This Episodes Questions:
 I want to make this printer as safe as possible but it will require a lot of power.  AC powered heat beds are getting more and more common but every video I watch on the topic makes a point to talk about SSRs failing with the power on (closed circuit?) even when talking about high quality and over-spec SSRs.  A thermal fuse will prevent a melted bed but then I still have a potentially dangerous situation with 120v AC power.  I am very well aware of the recent A1 recall and don't want to turn this into a bambu discussion.  I think we can all agree they shouldn't have put an AC powered heater on a bed slinger and call it a day Peter  .STL files are ubiquitous, but are there better alternatives such as .3MF? What are the pros and cons of different file formats?Also, do you have any recommendations for export settings when exporting a 3D file from a CAD program.Thanks!Austin
Hi Guys,I enjoy listening to your show here in the UK in my workshop. 3D printing started as a much loved hobby and has now turned into a big part of my small business 3d printing light fittings.Anyway, I'm currently running a bunch of Ultimaker 2's and looking to to upgrade.I print pretty much everything with 1mm - 1.5mm walls and a 0.5mm layer height, lots of spiralize/vase mode. Id love to hear your opinions on which printers can print wide walls and big layer heights with good cooling to speed my production up. I found that the matchless nozzles from 3D solex helped btw. Its definitely time to ditch the old UM2's though (I'm not considering Ultimakers, they're now hugely overpriced IMHO). I'm not after huge build volume either. Bamboo is a no for me due to IP worries.Thanks and keep up the good work!Jamie Norris Green - Leeds - UK

Print Farm Printers?, New Printing Technologies,Engineering Filaments and MORE!

This Episodes Questions:
Hey guys, so, I wanted some advice. I've been looking to get a Bambu Lab printer but I'm wondering if it's worth the jump from the P1S to the X1C. For me, I run a small print farm for a vendor fair/craft show business. I print primarily PLA, PETG, and TPU but I enjoy enclosed printers so the P1P and A1 are out of the picture for me. I've watched review after review and some people love the P1S, some don't, especially because of the screen and the camera. Is the camera that bad and is the screen that big of a headache? Do I spend the extra money for a better camera, LiDar, hardened steel extruder/nozzle, and touchscreen? Or am I better off buying a P1S and saving myself money? Braden
For the “Pro-sumer” and light industrial users the possibility of using more technical plastic materials, metals and continuous carbon fiber filament is very exciting and I'm looking forward to the inevitable trickle down effect from the more serious users like aerospace and automotive manufacturing. I would love to see more content in that direction but are any of you guys particularly interested in those higher capability machines or do you prefer to stay strictly in the hobby arena? Also, which of the more advanced 3D printing technologies do you think will be most likely to be affordable to the average consumer first? James
Hi guys,I am currently running an E5S1 and E3v2.  I have a potential customer that requires the product to be temp stable in a hot vehicle and am torn between:- Qidi smart3- Qidi Xmax3 Plus- Prusa mini in enclosure- Bambu P1S- Ratrig V-Minion- Crealiy K1- Voron v0I am currently spending 30min or so getting my print chamber to 45c with the E5S1 in the tent enclosure thingy.  Any recommendations?  Is a small Ratrig or Voron farm a good idea?? Jeremiah

Print Farm Printers?, New Printing Technologies,Engineering Filaments and MORE!

This Episodes Questions:
Hey guys, so, I wanted some advice. I've been looking to get a Bambu Lab printer but I'm wondering if it's worth the jump from the P1S to the X1C. For me, I run a small print farm for a vendor fair/craft show business. I print primarily PLA, PETG, and TPU but I enjoy enclosed printers so the P1P and A1 are out of the picture for me. I've watched review after review and some people love the P1S, some don't, especially because of the screen and the camera. Is the camera that bad and is the screen that big of a headache? Do I spend the extra money for a better camera, LiDar, hardened steel extruder/nozzle, and touchscreen? Or am I better off buying a P1S and saving myself money? Braden
For the “Pro-sumer” and light industrial users the possibility of using more technical plastic materials, metals and continuous carbon fiber filament is very exciting and I'm looking forward to the inevitable trickle down effect from the more serious users like aerospace and automotive manufacturing. I would love to see more content in that direction but are any of you guys particularly interested in those higher capability machines or do you prefer to stay strictly in the hobby arena? Also, which of the more advanced 3D printing technologies do you think will be most likely to be affordable to the average consumer first? James
Hi guys,I am currently running an E5S1 and E3v2.  I have a potential customer that requires the product to be temp stable in a hot vehicle and am torn between:- Qidi smart3- Qidi Xmax3 Plus- Prusa mini in enclosure- Bambu P1S- Ratrig V-Minion- Crealiy K1- Voron v0I am currently spending 30min or so getting my print chamber to 45c with the E5S1 in the tent enclosure thingy.  Any recommendations?  Is a small Ratrig or Voron farm a good idea?? Jeremiah

New Printers Released, Filament Color Effect Prints?, Dangerous VOC's? and MORE!!!

This Episodes Questions:
I would be interested to hear you guys discuss safety with respect to fumes and plastic particles. I'm planning to park my EV3SE on a tall cabinet close to a large bathroom vent fan but I can already see the attraction of an enclosed CoreXY machine for better capture and control of fumes and particles. James
I recently found your podcast, which has quickly become one of my go-to pods when commuting to and from work.My question is more of an observation of sorts. Whenever I print with darker PLA, I have noticed more stringing than lighter colors. I use the same brand for my PLA and I use the same material profile for all colors.I only change things like the number of walls, top/bottom layers, or infill according to the item I am printing at the time. My temperatures for the bed and hotend never change.I do not have very much stringing but it is more noticeable when I print in black or a darker color.I would like to know if this has been your experience or if it just might be my brand's formulation of darker colors causing the stringing.Is it practical to change the hotend temp per color?Thanks in advance for any insight. Keep up the great content! Vann

Super Mega Printers, Tool Organization,New Hot End Tech and More!!

This Episodes Questions:
I really like the deep dives you guys do on the individual components and systems that make up a printer. It seems to me that hot ends seem to be the 3D printer-specific components that are advancing the quickest. Do you agree? If not then what is? James
Hi guys,I'm from Tulsa, OK.I love the podcast! I love how you all approach things from a little different angle. It makes for a fun and engaging podcast.When having any kind of shop, organization makes a huge difference with productivity and sanity. I was wondering if you all have any experience with creating wall storage specifically. The most popular completely 3d printed options I've seen are thread boards and the honeycomb wall. There is also the ability to buy a normal peg board and print attachments. I'd love to have something durable with the most amount of options for mounting. What route would you guys take? -Jeremy Philo

Is Bambu Worth the $$$?, Hueforge Prints, Dimensional Accuracy and MORE!!

This Episodes Questions:
Hey guys, I just bought a Mosaic Palette 3 pro, it works great and I’m making lots of thing with it; I’ve been seeing people printing color lithophanes with Bambu printers I and I want to print my own with my palette, is it possible to make them with palette? And if yes, how?Thanks guys, Altair
For best print quality, and by quality I mean dimensional accuracy, surface finish and structurally sound parts, can the print speed simply be slowed down? I get that speed sells and there are legitimate reasons to do a print quickly, but for me and most of what I want to do the print quality comes first. If the parts do not have adequate quality then the tool will be of limited use. Are there any other techniques or “weird tricks” I can use to get the best print quality out of my EV3SEThanks, James
I personally favour the open source design approach for customization, price competition, long support-ability and maintain-ability. Which companies do you think will be the ones to keep that philosophy in the future?Thanks, James

2023 Review, 2024 Predictions-What Happened and What’s Coming!

Guy, JJ and Nathan discuss what has happened in 2023 and some predictions of what could be coming in 2024.

Too Much Poop, Post Processing, Printing Threads and More!

This Episodes Questions:
Hey guys,First of all, thanks so much for the podcast. I really enjoy the banter and the in-depth analysis you guys offer. With MMU's being so popular and with Bambu Lab's intro into the market with the AMS, I was immediately intrigued at the ability to hit a button and generate a multi-color print. However, in looking into it, I noticed the waste it was producing and just can't bring myself to pull the trigger on one and contribute to that waste pile. I'm curious if you guys had any thoughts on how you would design an "AMS-like" unit that would be able to turn out a multi-color print all while producing minimal to no waste. Or is just something that is unavoidable?Thanks again for the great content!Josh
I have read a little bit online about various methods of post-processing of plastic prints to improve strength, toughness and reduce voids. I understand there is a way use a type of salt that is packed tightly around a print to maintain it's shape and then the print is annealed at high heat. Have guys tried this and if so what was your experience? To me it sounds like a great idea, but like most things the devil is likely in the details.James
I'd like to include some threads on some printed parts so I can connect them using bolts. When I try to print my parts, the threads are not clean enough to use. I design them .01 proud to leave room for the bolt. I'm printing them with the bolt going through the Z-axis, but the results aren't great. Any suggestions or reference to sources to get this figured out?Paul

Which Core XY Printer? Budget CNC, Nathan at FormNext and MORE!!!

This Episodes Questions:
Hello Guy, Nathan, and JJ, I might be interested in purchasing a 3d printer before the end of 2023. I have some experience with printers, but still kinda a beginner with them. I have previously owned a Bambu lab P1P and a Creality Ender 3 v2. If I wanted to purchase another printer this year, what are some great options $700 or less($700 before tax, so including Bambu p1s). If I do get one, I think I might want to get an enclosed one. There are a lot of options, such as, the K1, Qidi x plus 3, Flashforge Adventurer 5m pro, and Bambu lab p1s. If there are any others that are good options, please let me know. This is a long message, but any help with giving me confidence in a potential purchase is appreciated. I think for me personally, it might be between the p1s and the Flashforge Adventurer 5m pro, but let me know what you guys think. Thank you, much appreciated :)E. Morgan
Hey everyone! I hope ya'll are doing well! I have a quick question for you, Guy. I want to get into CNC machines, except I need to know which to get. It does need to be a cheap budget one, as I'm primarily using it to cut acrylic and thinner wood pieces. In the future, I wouldn't mind cutting bigger pieces. Any advice would help! Thank you!Luis
Send Us Your Questions! perfectfirstlayer@gmail.com