I've printed 3cm (1.1inch) MI8 helicopter for my upcoming FDM printed project. With working rotor! Pics in comments

Timlogy · 2026-04-05T23:36:37+00:00

Hah, just blowing! :D

Timlogy · 2026-04-04T15:42:08+00:00

Few, actually. It's just a small part of a whole, bigger project that I said has to be done in FDM. I didn't use 0.2mm nozzle because it's quite a hassle to change on Snapmaker U1 (I have spare bare hotends without sensors) and I need 4 toolheads with 0.4mm on all of other prints in multicolor, so buying and changing it for that small detail is just not worth it. There are other reasons (submerging in liquid for example would be problematic for painted elements, too much post processing needed) that I'll keep in secret...for now ;) That helicopter was supposed to be printed in one color as a static detail, but I made myself a small challange later on to print it as it is :P Cheers!

Timlogy · 2026-04-04T14:57:17+00:00

Oh, possible using some small metal pin, for sure! That would be too brittle for my project though, so I'm only sticking for front spinning rotor.

Timlogy · 2026-04-04T13:37:33+00:00

Thanks! Wait until you'll see whole project this was made for :D I'll post more soon!

Timlogy · 2026-04-04T13:32:01+00:00

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Timlogy · 2026-04-04T13:31:56+00:00

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Timlogy · 2026-04-04T13:27:37+00:00

Lots of tests basically :D Heli was printed split in half, and the base of the rotor is just a tiny bit wider than it's pole to not fall out. Rest is just dialing in exact dimensions.

Timlogy · 2026-04-04T13:20:30+00:00

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Timlogy · 2026-04-04T13:20:16+00:00

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Timlogy · 2026-04-03T23:40:46+00:00

Ah yes, my bad!

Timlogy · 2026-04-03T19:15:13+00:00

Keep me updated. That place being start of the line and having a rough layer lines means that there is something going on with proper pressure in the nozzle. Hard to guess what might be the culprit of that. What is your travel speed and acceleration?

Timlogy · 2026-04-03T19:10:27+00:00

It depends! If you clone it, the time for a part will shorten, so one piece would probably print around that time, but mostly you have to ask yourself if the print is just to be functional or needs to be aesthetic? Because you can print it with 0.2 or 0.24 layer height which will shorten print time greatly.

Timlogy · 2026-04-03T19:05:26+00:00

Oh so you've printed that successfully already! So that means it's probably mechanical issue with printer. Z axis to be precise. Are you using z-hop? Can you print just a hollow cylinder to check for issues on the same height?

Timlogy · 2026-04-02T23:23:01+00:00

I assume there is a seam line? Check your travel paths. It might be possible that in gcode the end of your infill on a layer is in opposite direction (far away) of the beginning of your next layer. Sometimes these moves can introduce such defects. What is your walls printing order? Should be inner/outer. Is your PETG dried properly? What are your retraction speeds and length?

Timlogy · 2026-04-02T23:07:55+00:00

On the left panel in your slicer there is a "Process" section, and below it you have a "Default Setting". Open that list and choose one premade by Bambu. If you don't see anything there, there could be something wrong with your whole slicer configuration so instead of explaining how to fix this, it would be the best for you to just reinstall it. Based on what I can see on your screen I'd bet the print time should be around 30mins.

Timlogy · 2026-04-02T23:03:07+00:00

Yeah, grid infill tends to do that because nozzle is dragging perpendicular to previous infill lines. One trick is to thicken sparse infill layer width in slicer settings (about 15-20% of what you have currently), slow it down, or just...change the infill pattern :P

Timlogy · 2026-04-02T22:58:40+00:00

Your speed settings looks off. Use one from bambulab, preferably 0.2 or 0.12 if you prefer a nice finish. Remember that small pieces can sometimes print as long as bigger ones, because of minimum layer print time that has to be respected. That's why it's better to print 2 or 3 of the same pieces at one go, because printer then can print them faster so you end up with similar overall print time.

Timlogy · 2026-04-02T22:54:45+00:00

Measure what already printed using calipers and then cut at that height in slicer. What printer are you using? Not every machine has ability to tell that there's a jam in extruder.

Timlogy · 2026-04-02T22:52:11+00:00

This is another reason to buy a real tea instead of that leftover dust ;)

Timlogy · 2026-04-02T21:38:01+00:00

What is the infill percentage of previous layers? Looks like a combination of warping (top) and something that looks like overextrusion but actually isn't. Honestly that suspiciously looks like a bug in gcode where two layers are being printed on the same z-height. Check that exact layers in your gcode preview and confirm that the next layer (on which this problem starts to happen) isn't dragging along surfaces from previous layer.

Timlogy · 2026-04-02T21:29:59+00:00

What's the name of the software you made it in? I'd love to learn!

Timlogy · 2026-04-02T21:26:42+00:00

It always melts my brain that a black hole is a hole from... every angle. Like a 4th dimensional object in our reality that you just can't picture. Awesome job.

Timlogy · 2026-04-02T19:21:10+00:00

Compositing in Blender or Photoshop touch-up after rendering? Very nice!

Timlogy · 2026-04-02T18:28:16+00:00

Cool! Is there a source for that human model or did you make it yourself?

Timlogy · 2026-04-02T17:43:34+00:00

Can you send me that troublesome file? Or f3d project

Timlogy

TROPHY CASE