3D Printing - whether to buy, what to buy and how to use it?

[smgee]

I'm not really adding much to the discussion here, but I finally got round to fitting a 0.2mm nozzle to my Bambu A1 Mini. Picked the printer up in the Black Friday sale for £129 and haven't done much yet beyond printing accessories for it - I think it's the law, isn't it?!

Anyway, inspired by @martin_wynne's post on the previous page, I downloaded a BR Sole wagon and set about cutting it up in Bambu Studio, as previous posts have suggested that printing it whole was unlikely to succeed. Anyone got any thoughts on that?

I think @Paul_H posted somewhere that details are sharper when printed up out of the build plate, so I rotated the sole bars to take advantage:



I only have a textured build plate, there's a smooth one on order, but couldn't resist doing a test. This is with matt PLA on the standard "high quality" preset (0.06mm layer height) and took about 1hr50 to print. I need to play with the support settings, but I'm really pleased with how it came out:



The print lines are virtually invisible to the naked eye. Some of the detail, out of the box with no tweaking, is quite surprising:

 

[John_B]

The print lines are virtually invisible to the naked eye. Some of the detail, out of the box with no tweaking, is quite surprising:

Try ironing all top surfaces. It will take a lot longer, but could be worth it.

 

[Paul_H]

That's looking good, as John B says ironing may bring those flat horizontal surfaces to an even higher standard.
If you really want to push the system, you can print at 0.05mm. Just use the 0.06mm layer settings and change the layer height to 0.05mm.

There's also a hack/possible beta of Bambu Studio that offers an anti-aliasing setting that could improve the diagonal surfaces. I haven't had time to try it myself and will report back when I have done, but some people are reporting it works well.

 

[adrian]

I downloaded a BR Sole wagon and set about cutting it up in Bambu Studio, as previous posts have suggested that printing it whole was unlikely to succeed. Anyone got any thoughts on that?

My immediate thought is how are you going to stick it back together again. As I'm finding out glueing PLA parts together isn't straightforward - what do you plan to use / do?

My current thought is these sort of components need to be designed to have brass threaded inserts and location systems so that you can screw them together.

 

[cctransuk]

... I downloaded a BR Sole wagon and set about cutting it up in Bambu Studio, as previous posts have suggested that printing it whole was unlikely to succeed. Anyone got any thoughts on that?

If it's the 'Ironmink' SOLE on Thingiverse, it prints superbly at 4mm. scale. I have one running, plus many more of his designs.

John Isherwood.

 

[Paul_H]

.....As I'm finding out glueing PLA parts together isn't straightforward ....

Super glues work very well.

 

[Nigel Cliffe]

My immediate thought is how are you going to stick it back together again. As I'm finding out glueing PLA parts together isn't straightforward - what do you plan to use / do?

With some care, can use spare PLA and a hot iron to fuse things together - a bit like assembling whitemetal, its a fairly risky affair, but can work.

Or arrange to glue it - superglues work, and designing in some "glue holes" will make things like araldite work well.


But, overall, I wonder if "print in a one piece" may be better ? I've a friend with a Bambu A1, and he's been printing working rocking W-irons, designed for spring wires (Prickly Pear style), 4mm scale, which then drop into a one-piece wagon chassis platform.

 

[Paul_H]

With some care, can use spare PLA and a hot iron to fuse things together - a bit like assembling whitemetal, its a fairly risky affair, but can work.

Not heard of that approach before. I'm sure it could work, and might be useful if a joint needed reinforcement, but I've never had any problems using Super glues on PLA. I do always clean surface with IPA if they've been handled.

But, overall, I wonder if "print in a one piece" may be better ?

Hardly ever. If care about surface finish, making a kit of parts printed in the optimal attitude will always end up with a better model.

 

[adrian]

Super glues work very well.

Which superglue is your preference? Currently I tend to use the GorillaGlue Superglue as it gives me a few seconds setting time to adjust components but most of the superglues I've tried so far always seem to be a little on the brittle side.

 

[Paul_H]

I've used Zap's Slo-Gap a lot and that's been good, quite thick with good gap filling and a slower set than some.
Recently I've used the cheap Everbuild ones from Toolstation, either the low viscosity or thick one depending on fit because they're easier to pick up locally.

 

[Matt.S.]

Loctite 480 or VMS black super flexi - I found black super glue via a work job, I haven't much use for the brittle runny stuff in modelling now.

 

[John_B]

With some care, can use spare PLA and a hot iron to fuse things together - a bit like assembling whitemetal, its a fairly risky affair, but can work.

I've used a 3D pen for assembling a building, which worked quite well. I don't think my pen is very good, as it seemed to be playing up when I tried it again, but it seems a logical solution for hidden joins.

 

[smgee]

My immediate thought is how are you going to stick it back together again. As I'm finding out glueing PLA parts together isn't straightforward - what do you plan to use / do?

My current thought is these sort of components need to be designed to have brass threaded inserts and location systems so that you can screw them together.

As others have said, Adrian, CA does a good job of sticking PLA together. I initially tried solvent on the Skog kit I built (which you may have seen - here) but quickly settled on CA. As Matt says, the black VMS 5k flexi is good, especially for seeing where it’s going.



I’ve posted it in another thread, but here’s some info on flexi CA:

It remains to be seen whether the cuts I’ve made allow for easy rejoining of the parts…

Talking of that Skog kit, it looks terrible close-up by comparison, just look at the layer lines on this, yet the finished wagon was fine at a sensible viewing distance.

 

[Stephen Freeman]

I have read that Plastic Weld works on PLA

 

[Hayfield1]

As others have said, Adrian, CA does a good job of sticking PLA together. I initially tried solvent on the Skog kit I built (which you may have seen - here) but quickly settled on CA. As Matt says, the black VMS 5k flexi is good, especially for seeing where it’s going.

View attachment 259985

I’ve posted it in another thread, but here’s some info on flexi CA:

It remains to be seen whether the cuts I’ve made allow for easy rejoining of the parts…

Talking of that Skog kit, it looks terrible close-up by comparison, just look at the layer lines on this, yet the finished wagon was fine at a sensible viewing distance.

View attachment 259988

I have found Plastic Weld works on PLA+, I assume it also works with PLA

John

 

[adrian]

I have read that Plastic Weld works on PLA

I've not had much success with it - it seems to soften the surface so the two parts sort of become attached through form but it doesn't soften it enough to fuse or weld the two parts together. Certainly not a very strong bond.

 

[adrian]

As Matt says, the black VMS 5k flexi is good, especially for seeing where it’s going.

Thanks for the information.

Apparently they also do a variation "formulated" for 3D parts so I'll be giving that a try.

VMS Flexy 5K 3D CA Glue 20g - CM12

VMS Flexy 5K 3D CA Glue 20g - CM12

www.themodelworkshop.co.uk