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3d printing enthusiasts - a question, please

Posted on 9/14/25 at 2:17 pm
Posted by Ace Midnight
Between sanity and madness
Member since Dec 2006
94577 posts
Posted on 9/14/25 at 2:17 pm
I want to get into 3d printing. I'm hopeful Mrs. Midnight, who is very crafty, will get significant use out of it (trinket level gifts, Christmas ornaments, etc.), but the primary early use of it will be custom 3d chess pieces. I'm not sure I'm ready to go all "CAD" and go from scratch, but I would want a printer that can handle these tasks easily, at a reasonably high level of quality and capability. I would not anticipate running any sort of for profit business with it, but I wouldn't want to be handcuffed by too small a workspace, way too slow output (a full chess set is, if black and white are matched, obviously 34 pieces total with 1 extra Queen per side, and 6 unique figures - that would double if each side was different).

Any suggestions on where to start? I did use ChatGPT to generate a starting point, but I feel that's an area where it will just aggregate (which I am well known for - I was ChatGPT for gadgets and tools before ChatGPT) and I'd like to get takes from folks with hands on experience.

Thanks in advance.
Posted by CP3
Baton Rouge
Member since Sep 2009
7545 posts
Posted on 9/14/25 at 9:00 pm to
Bambulab

I have an X1C and H2D now. Have had a few other random brands before, and honestly none of them have come close to the consistency and ease of use with Bambu.

Can get the lower end A1 if you’re just using basic materials and don’t want to spend much. Not sure about speed of prints as I don’t have an A1… but my X1C and H2D are very quick and the quality is pretty incredible.

This post was edited on 9/14/25 at 9:02 pm
Posted by LemmyLives
Texas
Member since Mar 2019
12820 posts
Posted on 9/14/25 at 9:02 pm to
You should probably post your GPT response before someone else just posts the same response anyway.
Posted by Ace Midnight
Between sanity and madness
Member since Dec 2006
94577 posts
Posted on 9/15/25 at 6:02 am to
quote:

Bambulab

I have an X1C and H2D now. Have had a few other random brands before, and honestly none of them have come close to the consistency and ease of use with Bambu.


Thanks - I was looking at the brand and it was probably one of the ChatGPT recommendations.

What do I need to know about filament?

What do I need to know about 3d models?
Posted by guedeaux
Member since Jan 2008
13820 posts
Posted on 9/15/25 at 7:31 am to
quote:

What do I need to know about filament?


PLA is the easiest to work with, but can't tolerate heat or moist environments.

PETG is almost as easy but holds up well to heat and ok outdoors, but not exposed to direct sunlight.

ABS and ASA are difficult to work with and require proper venting to outside plus they make a mess of the printer, requiring frequent cleaning; however, they hold up in extreme heat and outdoors.

quote:

What do I need to know about 3d models?


You can find 100s of thousands of models ready to print, and most slicing software can easily make simple modifications. If you want to create your own models from scratch, you will need to invest time into learning a new software.

You do not need to know anything to get started, especially with a Bambu Labs printer.
Posted by Ace Midnight
Between sanity and madness
Member since Dec 2006
94577 posts
Posted on 9/15/25 at 7:43 am to
Thanks to everyone.
Posted by CP3
Baton Rouge
Member since Sep 2009
7545 posts
Posted on 9/15/25 at 8:20 am to
You can browse websites like printables, cults3d or thingiverse for premade files you can print. There are a ton of files out there.

Anything custom you will have to model yourself. Don’t be too intimidated, if you are half decent with a computer then modelling basic stuff isn’t that hard to do.


Plenty of Facebook and/or Reddit groups that are out there for beginners that are a good resource.


Filament wise, start with PLA or PetG. Honestly, I use PETG for pretty much everything unless it needs to be ASA/ABS for outdoors.
This post was edited on 9/15/25 at 8:21 am
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