Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT 3rd time's a charm with a 3 car workshop

[jonshonda]

Plan is this becomes my primary PLA printing machine as it won't care about the open print area and open AMS as the filament isn't very hydroscopic

I'm just now taking the deep dive into 3D printing research and your statement regarding storing filament in a controlled environment goes against some of the research and "popular opinion" I have seen on the internet. I am about to pull the trigger on a Bambu P1S with AMS mostly because it seems to be the best chance at a controlled printing and filament storage setup. We have had a wet spring/summer and my dehumidifier in the basement where the printer will be setup runs fairly often just to maintain 50%rh.

Granted some of what I am finding might be 3D printing fanatical extremism, but I do want to maximize my chances for success. But if PVA isn't affected by RH then I might skip the P1S with AMS and go with the A1 and AMS lite setup.

 

[loganb]

I'm just now taking the deep dive into 3D printing research and your statement regarding storing filament in a controlled environment goes against some of the research and "popular opinion" I have seen on the internet. I am about to pull the trigger on a Bambu P1S with AMS mostly because it seems to be the best chance at a controlled printing and filament storage setup. We have had a wet spring/summer and my dehumidifier in the basement where the printer will be setup runs fairly often just to maintain 50%rh.

Granted some of what I am finding might be 3D printing fanatical extremism, but I do want to maximize my chances for success. But if PVA isn't affected by RH then I might skip the P1S with AMS and go with the A1 and AMS lite setup.

PLA really doesn't care about humidity on everything I've seen and done. If it sits out in 80% humidity for weeks on end you might see some affects, but I often left a roll out and open for weeks(months) on the old Prusa in the house and never saw an impact on print quality. With Wisconsin location I wouldn't expect any issues as your ambient humidity just won't be that high

PETG, TPU and many others can see significant print quality impacts by wet filament. @MadeByMiller does a lot of it in highly aesthetic applications like some wicked cool custom desk mats (https://www.madebymillerllc.com/product-page/3d-printed-desk-mat) and he dries even just opened PETG in a filament drier prior to using and prints TPU(flexible material) out of an active drier (after drying it for X hours) it for improved consistency/quality of prints.

As for printing, PLA in my experience often actually suffers from an enclosed environment as it can get too hot. Many P1S users will keep the door open or crack the top lid to lower chamber temps when printing it. The higher performance materials like ASA, ABS, Nylons, almost all require enclosure of some sort for consistent prints, issues of warping, prints popping off bed plates and adhesion failure between layers are some failures I've seen/dealt with when attempting to do those materials in an "open" print environment or even in one that isn't hot enough

 

[XJSuperman]

My P1S with AMS does great with the door closed for PLA. I think I changed some bed temps and its been great. The one filament I can hit start and completely forget about it until the part is done. PETG on the other hand.....I struggle with. Even a couple days in a dryer doesn't get me the consistency of PLA. The AMS is great for storage but you'll need to be more diligent than I am with desiccant if you want to rely on it to keep everything "dry". I did slip in a printed hygrometer and all the desiccant packs i had that came in filament, but I've only redried them once in the time I've had my printer.

 

[loganb]

My P1S with AMS does great with the door closed for PLA.

I think I'm mixed.....when I think about it I will sometimes leave the door open but I can't think of a scenario where I've printed a PLA part and it failed with the door closed then worked well with it open. As it's going to move up to my office I work out of thru the day soon I'll probably print with the door closed for sound unless I have an issue. Printing with door open on ASA/ABS is basically a guaranteed failure for me

 

[XJSuperman]

I think I'm mixed.....when I think about it I will sometimes leave the door open but I can't think of a scenario where I've printed a PLA part and it failed with the door closed then worked well with it open. As it's going to move up to my office I work out of thru the day soon I'll probably print with the door closed for sound unless I have an issue. Printing with door open on ASA/ABS is basically a guaranteed failure for me

I've done a few small things to make it quieter too. The rubber feet that let isolate the printer movements from the table, a printed part that quiets the cable chain against the side panel, and you can of course run it slower/less acceleration.

 

[loganb]

you can of course run it slower/less acceleration.

This is GJ....can we go slower?



Had to do something....my meme game is weak

Since their update a couple months ago that quieted the motors down it's definitely quieter....I haven't listened to it sing for hours on end though so that may change my opinion. If a 20 or 30% reduction in acceleration made a significant change to background noise I could easily see it being on the table for "daytime" prints

 

[XJSuperman]

The sound doesn't honestly bother me, but my countertop was shaking so I got the feet, and its waaaaay better. I was annoyed by the chain clink, so the printed part came to be. The motor sounds are fine to me even when Im going to bed and its running just in the next room.

 

[Boostingaz]

Not gonna lie guys......you lost me a LGPLAAMSASAPETGABSP1S

 

[loganb]

Not gonna lie guys......you lost me a LGPLAAMSASAPETGABSP1S

As you acclimate to not living in a furnace you'll be able to understand soon!

 

[Boostingaz]

As you acclimate to not living in a furnace you'll be able to understand soon!

I need time for my fried brain to regenerate

 

[loganb]

Evening temps in the upper 60's for the first time since probably May means a good time to pull out the driveway firepit and promote social bonding in the neighborhood



No super valuable scraps were harmed in the making of this image

 

[loganb]

After a considerable amount of putting **** away.... Kinda to a functional state



Going to use up some scrap wood that's been sitting around to mount an airline manifold, hose reel and probably some other tools too... But first needs ripped and glued



Groove was already there, not something I added for splines, biscuits etc



Shade over 9" wide, about 36" long after I trim the ends flush....see if I can get it sanded down sufficiently, some oil on it and get it mounted this weekend...probably a bit ambitious but we'll see!

 

[loganb]

Thanks to PBS Kids for allowing this 20 minute effort

Popped it out of clamps, then some sanding with 80 grit, crosscut with miter gauge then roundover on the edges and a final hit with 120 grit





And drying. Finish is Danish oil

Hopefully mounting this afternoon

 

[loganb]

Lunch hour marketplace pickup for $150, green and blue are 14 GA and the rest is 12, everything is stranded. Electrician who was tired of tripping over it, from a prior employer who closed up shop and he didn't want to deal with stripping it



Now to figure where it goes....

Back to scheduled programming

Laid out some holes for the hose reel, managed to drill one exactly a 1/2 off even with it marked correctly???




Using carriage bolts that hold tight in the thru hole with a bit of encouragement from hammer and punch to seat the square into wood fiber





And amazingly the offset hole is the one least visible so I'm not gonna try and fix it



Also out of 3/8 nuts... So a kid and I will fix that this afternoon I think

But now I can run the drop for the air line and place the manifold just to the right of the reel. Space below to hang other TBD tools

Now to clean up some of the mess

 

[loganb]

I had a brief hallucination where I saw a world where this drop might get fully hooked up this weekend... Or at least airline run and the hose reel connected, but a couple holes thru shelving for the drop line is where this one ended




Kindergarten starts Tuesday and it seems to have amplified the emotions of the 5 yr old and I expect my progress here was interrupted by noises from the house that summoned me back in. She's ready and excited, but anxious. But a successful couple of days. Big upcoming week and this project got farther then I expected, lessened the scrap pile and hung out with neighbors, all in all a good weekend. Hope all yours met or exceeded expectations as well!

 

[loganb]

Got a few of the Milton 5 in One safety couplers to try them out...



I was looking for a safety coupler style with reduced noise/blowback at tool disconnect.... Stedlin is closed up, Prevost gets good reviews but looked to be about $30/pop. These Miltons have great reviews from what I've seen and around $12 or $14 a pop... So thought I'd give them a shot. Still way more than the standard fittings... So hopefully not an upgrade I regret.

 

[loganb]

Busy week with school starting but some progress last night

Didn't have the factory hose protector so some protective covering and adhesive heat shrink to hold it in place



Up on the reel with some new clamps



And wound up, tension still needs to be set. Need to print a stop for the hose end as well

 

[loganb]

Hose stop





File from printables

Printables

www.printables.com

Scaled it up 15% to work with the larger diameter hose, used M4 heat set inserts. Printed in matte Pla as it was all that was loaded up, but inside in a conditioned space it should so just fine

 

[Boostingaz]

Very nice!

 

[Blackbyrd]

Looking good!!!

You could teach a master class on maximizing space!

 

[nicholam77]

No super valuable scraps were harmed in the making of this image

Just some 6/4 S4S mahogany, right?? no biggie

Kindergarten starts Tuesday and it seems to have amplified the emotions of the 5 yr old and I expect my progress here was interrupted by noises from the house that summoned me back in. She's ready and excited, but anxious.

How'd it go? And dang your school starts early. Mine is going Sept 4. Exciting, but I'm dreading the double morning drop-offs.

---

I like the 3d printed hose stop. Is this whole air system you're working going to be powered by that new CAT compressor?

 

[loganb]

Just some 6/4 S4S mahogany, right?? no biggie

More like 4/4 and 5/4....and they mostly under 12" long...tried to keep it under 8" long...lol but yeah....some oak and maple was also sacrificed

How'd it go? And dang your school starts early. Mine is going Sept 4. Exciting,

Actually...very well...I was pretty impressed. The school does what they call the "Boo-Hoo Breakfast" for parents dropping of Kindergarten kids....I got excited by breakfast and was quickly let down by it was just cookies and not even hot coffee. It was basically another opportunity for parents to interact and the principal to introduce staff(again) and remind us of anything, answer questions etc. She said it was the quietest group she'd had in a long time....few tears and no questions! Our daughter was 6 months past being kinda "bored" and basically done with all that her preschool/daycare was going to be able to teach her, so a new challenge, new friends, new things to learn was exactly what she needed and we all knew it. Tomorrow is 1 week and so far she's come home excited, full of new things to share, no tears and tired every day...so if even some of that continues we'll be happy. The $150/week less money on daycare doesn't hurt either.

I expect yours is going to be extremely ready and excited for day 1....do you know any of the classmates yet? We knew 5 or 6 kids across the 2 classes and she ended up with 2 friends she knew in her class so that helped a bit as well

The amount of variation in school starts across the country is kinda crazy....but I'm also glad areas have the ability to make it work for them. We started last week... @Boostingaz started a week or two before that in Indiana...the southwest started as early as early August, most of Iowa starts end of this week from what I've seen....then a lot of northern states like to wait till after the holiday. I remember when we lived in Michigan first day was often in the Sept 7th to 10th range! There are a lot more days off now throughout the year...more time at Christmas, Thanksgiving, Spring Break, more 4 day weekends etc so it's gotta come from somewhere

I'm dreading the double morning drop-offs.

Some days I think we've got the same life lol

This was something I was dreading as well, though the grade school is about 3 blocks away...but to get little man to daycare we have to go past the high school and traffic there is nasty if we get pushed later then we were with only 1 drop off stop. We ended up doing before/after school care at the school(here called Kids Club) so we can drop off earlier than 7:50 which is a big help. So we try and be out the door around 7:15 or so...lets us get her into Kids Club in time to get breakfast there, then I can run brother up to his and be back to the house around 7:45 or 7:50. This entire scenario was dependent on a 5 yr old liking something...repeatably.....so far that's the case though and she really loves Kids Club and getting to hang out and play with a mix of kids before school start...so big win there. Now that we've got a week or so into it....it's definitely more complicated then 1 drop off....but we're all adjusting pretty well

I like the 3d printed hose stop. Is this whole air system you're working going to be powered by that new CAT compressor?

Yes, plan is for the CAT to run it all. Kinda 2nd guessing it being big enough for that, but then I remind myself I use compressed air so rarely now that it'll be both plenty big and "wtf am I doing this"....but I think with it being handy and accessible I'll use it a lot more. Currently modifying the compressor a bit(or attempting to) by trying to get an aftercooler onto it and bypassing the stock manifold/regulator to hook up to the plumbed in drops without completely destroying it's ability to be unhooked and moved elsewhere if needed. More on the success or failure of that in the hopefully near future...

Thanks for taking the time to drop in!

 

[Boostingaz]

@nicholam77 and @loganb

8/6 was our first day here in Indiana. I am doing morning drop off and they ride the bus home. If they rode the bus in the morning they would get picked up at 7:10 but school doesn't start until 820ish and it's only 8 miles away. The bus though does stop at every single kids driveway, there are no "community" bus stops where kids gather. So makes sense I suppose. We are able to leave the house at 8:00 and I can have them in the parking lot at by 8:15. This gives them about 45-50 minutes of extra sleep. Bus drops off at 3:40 so I've got just the two littles (1-1/2 and 4 yr) from basically 8:30-4:00 this year.

 

[loganb]

Very nice!

Looking good!!!

You could teach a master class on maximizing space!

Thanks guys! And I am practiced at sticking 10 lbs of smelly stuff in a 5 lb bag....been on a recently renewed "kick" trying to make sure both trash cans are full each week. At least 2 more good sized bags of stuff have disappeared off high shelves in the last 2 weeks and I've sold a few things and have (2) more ebay listings up right now and 5 or so I need to get up....maybe slowly kinda hopefully making a dent.

Then the cash in the "garage" account will burn a hole in my pocket and I'll come home with something new....

At least it's a predictable cycle

 

[loganb]

Little update....

Garage door panel swap due to the wrong panels being shipped is done, so I can move forward getting that sidemount opener installed and getting the doors painted. Still not sure if I'm painting myself or hiring it out...I should hire it and be done. Gutter/downspout replacement supposed to be this week and that will complete the "big" parts of our hail damage repairs.

Trying to make progress on the setup of the Bambu A1...it's at least out of the box:



But with kids...that probably 10 minutes of work time is all I got in on it over the weekend. Oh well....I will make more time soon to finish it

I never took the opportunity to serve in the armed forces, but there was a pretty cool event over the weekend here where approx 160 people marched 50 miles from Lincoln NE to Omaha over approx 22 hours (left around 3pm, arrived approx 1:30 the next afternoon) to raise awareness and money for veteran mental health and homelessness related causes. Pretty humbling as an 8 year old girl who trained with her Dad for last years march told him she wanted to walk with him this year and by God she did it! Least I could do was go spend a bit of time to go and support them as they finished up in some pretty nasty heat/humidity



That picture was right as they finished up and were posing for the "official" group shot for the photographer on the rooftop. In full disclosure, the ending is at a taproom/brewery owned by a retired Marine and they make a pretty good beer, so it helps the overall mood when it's a pretty festive party crowd while waiting for them and then once they arrive it just got louder. If anyone is interested in learning more about the event the link is below, will definitely try and go again.

50 Mile March

The 50 Mile March Foundation empowers Veterans facing mental health challenges and homelessness by fostering a community of hope and relentless support.

www.50milemarch.org

In other more garage related news...

Not all 3d printing works out...Clough42 released a lot of files on printables on some files he did for storing measuring equipment....Printables.com link to the files:

Clough42 | Printables.com

www.printables.com

And YouTube vid showing what he made:

I have a number of "similar" but not identical items...but wanted to start with the combination square holder and got this far...



Had to break the model into 2 pieces due to size, but the dimensions on his square are just a bit off...and the blades for his Starrett are just a bit thicker than mine...so wasn't a drop in fit like I was hoping for. But it took me maybe 2 minutes to hit print and the filament is cheap...so not a big loss. But still have some work to do for better organization there. I did commit to buying some Kaizen foam off Marketplace but can't pick up till next week....so maybe I'll foam cut some of the measurement/layout drawer instead of printing it

 

[madison069]

It's always nice to see those type of events being hosted. I didn't serve but I have ancestors who did and so I tend to visit these types of events to support the current veterans.

I like that organizer for squares, when you print things in pieces, what glue/process are you using to connect the pieces?

I hear you on the whole packing 10 lbs in 5 lbs bucket. Lately I'm trying to pack 5 lbs in 5lbs buckets. So last night trash picking had 3 contractor bags of junk/trash I was able to pull out of the garage over the week. Hopefully I can repeat three more bags this week. Specially with Labor Day weekend coming up.

 

[loganb]

I like that organizer for squares, when you print things in pieces, what glue/process are you using to connect the pieces?

For this one the plan was just straight superglue/CA adhesive. The slicer program I'm using can also put in alignment features (holes pins etc) to help you align pieces that had to be split apart to make glue up easier. As this wasn't that critical I figured I'd toss a clamp or two on it to keep the sides aligned

Tried to print more organizer parts overnight and it failed...going to have to pull apart the extruder here as I think I've got a clog.

I hear you on the whole packing 10 lbs in 5 lbs bucket. Lately I'm trying to pack 5 lbs in 5lbs buckets. So last night trash picking had 3 contractor bags of junk/trash I was able to pull out of the garage over the week. Hopefully I can repeat three more bags this week. Specially with Labor Day weekend coming up.

Yeah I made some more progress last night....sorted thru several containers of EMT and related metal boxes/cover plates that I really don't need in the qty I used to. The last house(Chicago suburbs) was entirely wired in EMT with metal boxes...here all I've got that for is the garage so never should've bought as many cover plates etc as I did and definitely don't need to keep them any longer. Working on a large box for donation to Habitat for Humanity as well as 2 more big trash bags for Wed trash day.

 

[nicholam77]

I expect yours is going to be extremely ready and excited for day 1....do you know any of the classmates yet? We knew 5 or 6 kids across the 2 classes and she ended up with 2 friends she knew in her class so that helped a bit as well

She knows a few classmates, 2 from her daycare and 1 from out neighborhood. She's almost 6 yr and definitely ready. We'll see how it goes next week!

Some days I think we've got the same life lol

You better believe I watched (or skimmed) that Clough42 video last night

I did commit to buying some Kaizen foam off Marketplace but can't pick up till next week....so maybe I'll foam cut some of the measurement/layout drawer instead of printing it

You could do a hybrid in the same drawer, some printed, some Kaizen. You could even print a large empty Gridfinity bin to place the Kaizen in if you want it to look like part of the same system if that's what you're going with. I've had a similar thought... it's a lot of effort (for me) to custom design tool holders so I could see doing a mixed approach even within the same drawer.

The slicer program I'm using can also put in alignment features (holes pins etc) to help you align pieces that had to be split apart to make glue up easier.

Bambu Studio I assume? That sounds appealing but not sure I have the energy to make a switch from Cura at this point.

Tried to print more organizer parts overnight and it failed...going to have to pull apart the extruder here as I think I've got a clog.

What?!?!?! I thought Bambu's were perfect never had any issues!

 

[loganb]

What?!?!?! I thought Bambu's were perfect never had any issues!

Late lunch hour but appear to have gotten it fixed...busted piece of filament the extruder couldn't push thru....



That little deformed piece in my palm is the culprit

It's printing again, I was behind on my desiccant bead change in the AMS and even though it's PLA and not very sensitive to moisture it may have gotten just brittle enough to be a problem. But a couple fresh containers of dry beads, reassembled extruder head and it's printing the first layer so see how she does! Will know in 3 hours or so if this was successful.

 

[XJSuperman]

Mine quit on me the other night too actually. Something is plugged and not letting filament feed. I actually suspect the AMS so I'm gonna take it apart.

 

[loganb]

Mine quit on me the other night too actually. Something is plugged and not letting filament feed. I actually suspect the AMS so I'm gonna take it apart.

AMS was actually my first suspect as well, so I pulled the filament out of there and tossed it onto the external spool on the back and same fault...so at that point it was likely extruder. First time taking out the extruder, but it's pretty straight forward. Pull the nozzle out with the 2 screws there, then there are (3) larger screws that hold the extruder in and 1 smaller one that has the filament cutoff lever in place...back all of those out, wiggle the cutoff lever out of the way and it should come out. Once it's out the drive gear comes out with 4 more screws...then took my smallest punch to push out the broke off piece.

23 layers in and no obvious issues so looks to be fixed.

 

[loganb]

When they say kids are expensive...this is why. Cause if I didn't have them, I wouldn't have bubble guns and bubble wands, and wouldn't need funnels just for refilling said stuff...and wouldn't need a machine to help make holders for all the stuff!

She knows a few classmates, 2 from her daycare and 1 from out neighborhood. She's almost 6 yr and definitely ready. We'll see how it goes next week!

She'll do great! We had a mini quiz today and she was able to name all her classmates....or she at least gave names that sounded correct lol

You better believe I watched (or skimmed) that Clough42 video last night

You got me beat, I'm only halfway thru it!

You could do a hybrid in the same drawer, some printed, some Kaizen. You could even print a large empty Gridfinity bin to place the Kaizen in if you want it to look like part of the same system if that's what you're going with. I've had a similar thought... it's a lot of effort (for me) to custom design tool holders so I could see doing a mixed approach even within the same drawer.

Likely what I'll do. I also just don't have the patience to do custom printed holders for everything if I also have to design them and laying it out on a piece of foam, trace and cut is pretty fast. This is the 57mm 2-color foam from Fastcap in black/green so will be distinctive for sure! Assuming it happens...still have to make the pickup work

Bambu Studio I assume? That sounds appealing but not sure I have the energy to make a switch from Cura at this point.

Thanks to Austin (aka @MadeByMiller ) I'm on Team Orca Slicer....which is a "fork" off Bambu which is a Fork of Prusa, which is a Fork...it goes on and on. I've got Cura and only used it when it had vase mode before Prusa Slicer did....they add features to Orca so quickly it's impressive. You will have 0 issues learning it, and it'll make the jump to a Bambu machine easier when you do it

What?!?!?! I thought Bambu's were perfect never had any issues!

LOL

There is probably some user error to blame here.....

 

[loganb]

Anyone else doing some fleet maintenance before a road trip over the long weekend?

 

[madison069]

Anyone else doing some fleet maintenance before a road trip over the long weekend?

No, but i got another project going on. Depending on it's success if I will even post about it,

 

[loganb]

No, but i got another project going on. Depending on it's success if I will even post about it,

 

[loganb]

Little drive across flyover country had some pretty scenery last night...farmer in me definitely jealous of the rainfall they had to make it so green

 

[bj383ss]

Anyone else doing some fleet maintenance before a road trip over the long weekend?

I see you are following Manufacturer's specs. I have all the stuff to change all three daily drivers just waiting on it to be a little cooler.

Bret

 

[loganb]

I see you are following Manufacturer's specs. I have all the stuff to change all three daily drivers just waiting on it to be a little cooler.

Bret

Cooler is a big help!

Sure I missed a few manuf specs...but at least torqued the filter housing per instructions. The cheat sheet of what tools I need is a big help so I can grab everything required the first time

 

[madison069]

When tightening the oil filter I usually stop at the first click in my wrist, the drain plug gets two click in the wrist.

 

[loganb]

When tightening the oil filter I usually stop at the first click in my wrist, the drain plug gets two click in the wrist.

Seems like a better rule of thumb then a lot of folks who treat them like heavy truck lug nuts

This has the element in a remote mounted housing that is a bit of a PITA. Accessed from the top side, the power steering reservoir has to come out then the 36mm on a wobble socket with extension unscrews the top half to get to the element. I'm getting better at doing it with less mess but still not my favorite.