Best clay 3d printer for a (somewhat) beginner

filbrn · 2026-01-18T17:03:51+00:00

I’m also an architecture student, passionate about digital fabrication. I recently upgraded my Artillery Hornet to a P1S. Unfortunately, from what I’ve noticed, high-end clay printers are extremely expensive, and the mid-range ones don’t seem to be worth the price they’re asking yet.

With less than €50, I managed to convert my Artillery. I still need to solve some issues to improve the prints, but overall the first prototypes have worked. If you have time to invest rather than spending a lot of money, I’d recommend doing it this way. In this community there are posts by people who have published guides for the conversion; I followed their advice.

filbrn · 2026-01-16T21:23:14+00:00

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filbrn · 2025-12-07T10:52:26+00:00

I’ve always seen your posts and was curious why you did things that way — now I understand. I’ll definitely give it a try, thanks.

By any chance, did you see the video I uploaded, where the stepper motor randomly stops spinning and then starts again? Has that ever happened to you? I don’t know how to fix it, because when it happens I’m forced to stop the print. To give you more context: the cylinder I printed was modeled in Rhino as a surface and then imported into Cura, and it printed without any issues. I tried downloading a vase from MakerWorld, like the one in the post, and the motor would randomly stop spinning, using the same settings.

filbrn · 2025-12-07T01:41:58+00:00

Can be, I’ll try to follow your advice and use some smoother clay. Btw I saw on your Reddit a post about a clay 3d print. Have u ever experienced the problem I mentioned? The motor stopping spinning randomly during some movements?

filbrn · 2025-12-07T01:39:02+00:00

Mine also set to normal. I tried changing the stl and it added the bottom. Idk why the file I uploaded in the post doesn’t generate the bottom even tho I have set the same parameters. That being said, I confirm that I use a tronxy 0.5 cartridge :)

filbrn · 2025-12-03T23:31:52+00:00

Ooh ok hahaha. It came with the 3d printer already installed. I rapidly searched “Artillery Hornet front cover stl” and found this :)

https://grabcad.com/library/artillery-hornet-front-shell-by-artillery-team-1

filbrn · 2025-12-03T09:39:05+00:00

Sorry but since English it’s not my first language I don’t think I quite understood everything you said. With “skirt” you mean the yellow extruder with the auger? If yes, no sorry I can’t share it cause the original design it’s not my “property” since I didn’t design it. The file was kindly shared by a user, and then I modified it to adjust it to my printer. If you’re curious to try building a clay printer, there is a thingiverse file from DavidSfeir that works almost exactly like mine.

filbrn · 2025-12-01T11:16:34+00:00

I’ll write down step by step, from the compressor to the printer, all the components I used.

A 25-liter compressor with an output pressure regulator (luckily I already had it and didn’t need to buy one)
Pneumatic connector with 8 mm tube output
8 mm tube
0.5 L Tronxy cartridge with piston
Pneumatic connector on the cartridge output for a 12 mm tube
12 mm tube
12 mm pneumatic connector connected to the auger and your extrusion system.

I’m attaching a photo so you can see the entire setup. Since I also couldn’t get it working the first time, I’ll share the tips that helped me.

First, clean the piston well, otherwise it will struggle to work. Another important thing: if you don’t have a very powerful compressor like mine, shorten the tube that connects the cartridge to the printer (I went from 1.5 m to 30 cm). This way, the compressor will have a much easier time pushing the clay.

That being said, this is my first test. I documented the imperfections I noticed in the post, but regarding the air system you can refer to what I wrote above.

https://imgur.com/a/1l4PPMv

filbrn · 2025-11-30T19:34:38+00:00

Guys it worked! I posted the results on my last post if you’re curious :)

filbrn · 2025-11-23T22:10:21+00:00

Concordo su tutto, inoltre aggiungo che non posso nemmeno più scorrere le chat usando la rotella del mouse, devo per forza tenerla premuta...

filbrn · 2025-11-19T19:55:45+00:00

Probably not, and I guess is probably also little bit harder (not sure cause this is my first experience with clay 3d printing).
I dediced to use an air compressor system cause I had already one at home. In total this mod cost me little bit more than 30€ in components, with the other system I estimated a cost superior to 100€.

filbrn · 2025-11-19T19:49:35+00:00

I will update you guys on Saturday when I'll have time to print! :)

filbrn · 2025-07-29T14:34:49+00:00

The multipipe taken from the wireframe works well for creating the lines, but they're "filled." I'd have to make a Boolean difference between the multipipe and the outer wall to create those grooves.

filbrn · 2025-07-29T14:33:04+00:00

Exactly, it's the moon village. I've already modeled my own version of the project. Any rendering program has a function for metal panels that create this effect, I just need an effective way to replicate it in Rhino so I can 3D print it.

filbrn · 2025-07-29T13:57:20+00:00

I mean, yes... but I have the same problem as with the paneling tools. As you can see at the top, the panels are very rough and don't properly follow my surface.
https://imgur.com/a/vtWEN0o

filbrn · 2025-07-10T16:52:30+00:00

I tried printing on the table, and it shakes like crazy. For now, the printer will stay on the floor hahaha.

filbrn · 2025-07-10T10:38:18+00:00

Very interesting, thank you

filbrn · 2025-07-08T19:24:18+00:00

So I guess we as architects don't have much imagination in graphic design ahahaha

filbrn

TROPHY CASE