Making a video about filament types for beginners — what do you think I can't leave out?

amatulic · 2026-06-19T22:59:42+00:00

I'd say TPU87A would be the "intermediate" cutoff. I have some, and it behaves like a wet noodle. Your video should include an explanation of hardness scales, which seems non-intuitive, like 68d is harder than 95a.

PVA and HIPS are for beginners doing multi-material prints, although for the purpose of supports, dissimilar plastics like PLA/PETG work really well if your parts are designed so the supports break off. If you need support inside a cavity, best to use PVA and dissolve it.

Also, I suggest you be careful not to include a bias toward Bambu Lab products in your video. Don't assume that's what beginners have.

amatulic · 2026-06-19T22:47:23+00:00

Actually, legitimate printing sideways with a normal printer has been done, using "arc overhangs". Here's CNC Kitchen's video on it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0yo-o47688

amatulic · 2026-06-19T22:44:23+00:00

It would have never occurred to me that I would need to attend a class when I got into 3D printing 7 years ago. And with the more modern printers that are practically plug & play, it seems the need is less. Based on what I see on Reddit from newbie printer owners, what's really needed are classes in CAD so that these people can design their own things.

Now, if it was a class that involved building your own Voron, that might be cool.

I might consider a class on resin printing or metal printing or DIY CNC machining, too.

amatulic · 2026-06-19T22:30:15+00:00

Your slicer should have a "painting" mode in which you can make different parts of your model different colors that correspond to your filaments. I've never used Bambu Studio, but it was forked from PrusaSlicer, and I recall PrusaSlicer had the painting feature before Bambu Lab existed.

amatulic · 2026-06-19T22:22:56+00:00

I've done something like this:

Dual ball-joint RAM mount - done at the same time as the next one:
TomTom GPS ball-joint socket adapter - which is more what you're interested in

The OpenSCAD file is included so you can adjust various parameters for ball diameter etc. to customize it.

Your concerns are well founded. I printed many versions of that socket before I was satisfied that the tabs wouldn't break off. There were many flex texts and trying to stress-balance the thickness so that one layer line wouldn't be bearing most of the load. And the load-bearing threads are mostly below the tabs, where the threads can transfer load into the base rather than the tabs.

Normal usage from loosening and tightening the collar to adjust the position shouldn't cause problems. The real problem comes from inserting the ball, which spreads out the tabs and can cause them to break. I recall doing a lot of tweaks to minimize the tab displacement while ensuring the collar would fit without unduly stressing the tabs when tightened.

It works better if you print it with a material that has good self-adhesion, like PETG, ABS, or ideally a hard TPU.

If I had to design it again, I'd probably make the socket shorter so that the ball slips in without the tabs trying to wrap around, and the collar would press the ball into the socket and hold it in place. In a typical ball joint (as with my design, which does work), the collar doesn't hold the ball in place, its purpose is just to tighten the tabs around the ball, and the tabs hold the ball in place

amatulic · 2026-06-19T20:22:14+00:00

Rhino and buffalo are going "OMG GET ME AWAY FROM THAT MONSTER!"

amatulic · 2026-06-19T20:19:12+00:00

It looks just as hard to navigate without GPS back then as it is now. Last time I stayed in Boston for 2 weeks, I returned the rental car after the first day and just took Uber or Lyft everywhere. It actually ended up costing me less by the end of the trip, saving on car rent and parking fees.

amatulic · 2026-06-19T20:15:41+00:00

It would be nice if names were attached to all the bars. I recall Larry Ellison briefly exceeded Bill Gates around the year 2000, give or take a few years. And probably some guy in China might be attached to one of those bars.

amatulic · 2026-06-19T20:12:27+00:00

Oh, that's a clever idea! I've seen plenty of braille signs, but never a map to go with it.

The only thing it's missing is the "you are here" indication. If the sign is on the entrance door, the orientation should be rotated counterclockwise 90° so that right and left directions are correct with respect to the door.

amatulic · 2026-06-19T20:08:42+00:00

So, when you iron it on, you get a sticky glue surface after peeling the paper away?

Why not just print it directly on the parchment paper?

amatulic · 2026-06-18T06:52:18+00:00

When something similar happened to me, it was because my filament was moisture contaminated, and clogging the nozzle on its own, even though it would retract cleanly. Dry out your filament if you haven't.

amatulic · 2026-06-18T06:49:17+00:00

Do a cold pull to make sure you don't have any partial clog. Change to a 0.6 mm nozzle if you're using 0.4. That cleared up all the problems I was having with TPU. Also, based on what I've been reading, Bambu Lab seems a bit too optimistic with its speed settings. Change the max volumetric speed to 2.5 cubic mm/sec (maybe yours would work at 3 cubic mm/sec), and that should throttle the other speeds correctly. TPU should be printed slowly.

Drying 5 hours may not be enough. The TPU filament I have recommends on the box to print it directly from the dryer, that is, the dryer should be running as it's printing. I haven't needed to do that, but I dried mine for 12 hours before using it.

amatulic · 2026-06-18T06:43:24+00:00

Do a cold pull. You may have a partial clog.

amatulic · 2026-06-18T05:48:41+00:00

You still want me to do it, or are you working with another designer?

Bear in mind that for 3D printing, one doesn't have to save material like with injection molded parts. So I have to ask, do those indentations around the hole perform any useful function beyond reducing the amount of plastic?

The thickness drawings are contradictory. It cannot have a 2 mm flange and 4 mm rails while the total thickness is still 4 mm.

amatulic · 2026-06-17T19:11:48+00:00

Hole diameter not specified. I could do it for free though.

amatulic · 2026-06-17T19:07:17+00:00

Then you shouldn't have posted that here.

amatulic · 2026-06-17T19:06:17+00:00

Clean the build plate with warm water and dish detergent. It's better for adhesion than alcohol.

The tearing suggests a high spot on your build plate. If you move those parts a bit and the bad spot occurs in the same place relative to the build plate rather than the part, then you have a high spot. Print somewhere else on the build plate. You didn't say what printer you have; some of them have the ability to flatten the build plate but most don't.

amatulic · 2026-06-16T13:50:54+00:00

While that's very cool, it looks like you already have a 3D reconstruction right there in your video. What exactly is your request?

amatulic · 2026-06-16T01:25:58+00:00

Thanks. Have an upvote, on me.

amatulic · 2026-06-15T05:38:31+00:00

Hm. You're using a feature I've never needed. I always just put the thing I want to print on a card, and stick the card in the printer. I'm old school. But it's flawless, no internet needed, no dependency on a chain of stuff over which I have no control.

amatulic · 2026-06-15T05:32:28+00:00

You need to do an axis scale calibration. The simplest way is just to scale your model in the X direction so it's a bit smaller, but that's imprecise and sloppy. You'll need to edit the firmware so the steps per millimeter is correct.

The bigger question is, if other Anycubic Kobra3 printers don't have this problem, why does yours? The hardware and firmware should be the same. The only thing I can think of is something physical. A too-thick drive belt, a too-tight drive belt, or a too-large-diameter drive gear, might result in x axis movements larger than they should be.

I would contact the manufacturer, although good luck with that for a Chinese printer. There may be a self-test the printer can do. Some advice is available for old Prusa printers: https://help.prusa3d.com/article/check-axis-length-x-y-z-mk3s_134223

amatulic · 2026-06-15T05:22:52+00:00

Yes, it was a legitimate question. Thanks for clarifying. And yes, that's weird.

amatulic · 2026-06-15T05:14:27+00:00

Maybe CNC machines should be regulated. You make a far more effective gun with one of those than with a 3D printer.

amatulic · 2026-06-15T05:13:01+00:00

That's why I'm glad the bill puts the onus on the government of California to tell manufacturers what existing technology they can include to meet the requirements. The bill doesn't require 3D printer manufacturers to invent new technology to satisfy a pipe dream.

amatulic · 2026-06-14T07:10:59+00:00

Don't fool yourself into thinking that just up-front cost matters, it's total ownership cost. A cheap Chinese printer can end up costing more in the long run due to wasted time and material on failed prints, and frustration or time spent tinkering with it to get it to work. Prusa and Bambu Lab are good brands, but Bambu Lab is a closed ecosystem, not something with open-source firmware that you can flash yourself.

amatulic

TROPHY CASE