I enjoyed 3D printing this toy, and acquired the file for free from thingiverse. The file has since been removed but a similar file can be found here. I used two different printers to make my prints: the Bambu and the Prusa.

Bambu

To get the full effect of the traffic cone, I knew I wanted two different colors: orange and white. I used the Bambu X1C printer at my home with an orange PLA filament and a whiteish-beige PLA filament. I started by loading the AMS (automatic material system), shown in Figure 1 with the two filaments I wanted to use.

Figure 1: Bambu AMS

Then I used the BambuStudio app on my laptop to place the outside piece of the traffic cone on the plate, making sure to change the filament slot to ensure it pulled in orange filament. Originally, I tried to print both the orange and white pieces on the same plate. To choose different colors for the different objects, you have to first add the filament using the “+” sign, and then click “objects” in the left-hand menu and then click the number to change the filament. This process is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: How to change object color in BambuStudio

However, between changing filaments, the app automatically added a “prime tower.” This is just essentially a block printed between changing filaments to ensure that the old filament is purged completely so the colors of filament do not mix together as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Prime Tower

Unfortunately, the tower was adding a lot of time to the print, taking ~4 hours. Therefore, I thought it would be better to print my orange and white pieces in two different runs. If I used the same filament within the print, it was much shorter run time (~40 minutes).

So, I started by printing one orange outer piece at 90% scale to check the size. I subsequently printed one white inner piece at 90% scale as shown in. To scale, I placed the object on the bed, and used the scale button (located in the top-menu bar) with the uniform scale box checked as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Scale function in BambuStudio

I put the two pieces together to check for sizing within the gumball. Once confirmed, I printed two more of each piece in two separate runs. This was a simple process and resulted in the final object shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5: Completed print

Prusa

Using the Prusa was similar to the Bambu. I used the Prusa Slicer to upload my parts on the print bed. I didn’t adjust anything from the default settings. I shared the print bed with Summan so we could optimize printer usage in the OEDK. After slicing, I uploaded the G-code to an SD card and plugged into one of the Prusa printers using PLA. The image only shows the outside piece to show some evident The result is shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6: Prusa print

As seen in the picture, there is noticeable stringing when using the Prusa as compare to the Bambu printer. This could be due to the filament humidity in the OEDK. Regardless, the print was still functional. Here is a picture of my last used clean workspace shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7: Clean workspace

In this assignment, I enjoyed troubleshooting and learning in-depth 3D printing skills. Provided below is the cost summary for this assignment using the summary tool in BambuStudio as shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8: Cost summary in BambuStudio

Cost Summary