As with all other projects, I expected this project to take me an obscene amount of time solely due to the fact that it’s me, so I started early, deciding to do a simple cup file and trying to get an early start. After doing my test run during class on Thursday, I tested three different sizes of the file: 40, 50, and 60. After trying both of them in the bubble gum capsule, I saw that 50 was the perfect fit!
The next day, I returned to do my final print (or so I thought). I printed out five of the cups in the Bambu printer just to ensure that I had enough to go around in case something went wrong. I also chose to do three in the Prusa printer of the same size, which was said to take a concerning nine hours. So, I set my mind to come back the next day to post-process.
When I came back the next day, I was glad to find that all my prints on the Bambu had gone well; however, those on the Prusa never printed. Disheartened, I decided to use another printer and naively tried out the Preform printer.
All software made it very easy to resize and print. The only error I initially made was that I forgot to print the cups with the user URL, and so not only did I have to add them to those on the Preform, but also to the Bambu ones. With a new total time of three hours, I again decided to return the next day. But as I walked away, something unsettled me: the fact that I was printing moving parts in resin.
When I returned, I was not surprised to find my suspicions confirmed. Although the cup had printed beautifully in the resin, it could by no means move. So, I decided to go back to the Prusa. Unfortunately for me, too, my Bambu file had randomly failed in the printer, and so I was left with multiple bases that I could not use.
To wrap up the process, after adding the URL to the prints and resizing them again, I decided to print four of them in the Bambu printer, as it was the fastest, and one in the Prusa, which ended up taking the same amount of time in the end.
The Prusa was not smooth sailing from there forward, though, as I also realized that the supports I had removed to cut the print time were very necessary, and that the handle was barely printing without them.
Due to this experience, I can comfortably say I can successfully size, add text, and orient files, and send them to print on the Formlabs, Bambu, and Prusa 3D printers. I am glad that I got to have that learning experience, although it still ended up taking my whole weekend.
To post-process my Bambu prints, I first had to tweeze the many stray ends that inhibited it from moving up and down. After doing that, I manually and electrically sanded the bottom until it was as smooth as possible.
Cost Analysis:
Bambu successful + failed prints (about $3.50 per print) = $40.00
Labor ($15/hour) = $90.00
Tweezers = $2.00
Sandpaper = $7.00
Rental of a round electric sander = $25.00
Total = $164.00
Again, it would’ve cost me less if I were more proficient with the process initially, but I am still proud of my prints and think it was worth it in the end.
