© Mark Ollig
3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, creates physical objects from digital files.
These files can be designed with Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software or found online.
Materials like plastics and metals are used to make physical objects/models, built layer by layer with a 3D printer.
Recently, my two youngest sons gave me a Bambu Lab A1 mini 3D printer as a birthday gift.
The second oldest son is a 3D printing enthusiast and has printed some models for me, like the NASA Viking 1 lander and the James Webb Space Telescope.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was printing sturdy casings to hold the filter used with N-95 masks.
He also printed an incredibly realistic miniature of the moon’s surface using artificial moon dust called regolith. This mini moonscape now serves as the landing spot for my model of the Apollo 11 lunar module.
The Bambu printer came out of the box and was nearly fully assembled. The printer fits nicely on the wooden stand that once held my Xerox laser printer, which I had given to my oldest son after purchasing a new HP model.
The Bambu Handy software application allows me to control the 3D printer directly from my smartphone or laptop.
Today’s computing landscape is all about apps and cloud-based programs, a stark contrast to the floppy disk days of yesteryear.
According to Bambu Lab’s website, their A1 mini 3D printer weighs 12.2 pounds and measures 13.7 inches high, 12.4 inches wide, and 14.4 inches deep.
The build volume, or maximum size of the object model it can print, is 7.1 by 7.1 by 7.1 inches.
I turned on the 3D printer, installed its app, connected the printer to my internet router’s Wi-Fi, and registered with Bambu Lab.
Bambu Lab’s 3D printers use custom, non-open-source computing firmware, reportedly a Linux-based operating system. Two popular open-source firmware options for 3D printers are Marlin, created in 2011, and Klipper, developed in 2016.
I loaded the Polymaker spool of 1.75 mm (0.069-inch) polylactic acid (PLA) filament onto the 3D printer’s spool holder. PLA is a type of biodegradable plastic. The spool, on which 1,082 ft of filament is rolled, weighs 2.2 lb and is made of recycled cardboard.
Next, I threaded the Savannah Yellow-colored filament into the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) guide tube, which led to the printer’s hardened steel extruder.
The Bambu Lab A1 has four stepper motors, one of which powers the extruder, which draws the filament into the nozzle within the tool head, where it is heated from 374 to 446 °F. The printer is capable of reaching temperatures up to 572 °F.
Calibration of the 3D printer involves leveling its build plate and adjusting nozzle height, filament flow, temperature, and belt tension to ensure accurate and reliable layer printing at speeds up to 19.7 inches per second.
The dynamic flow control program ensures the 3D printer dispenses the correct amount of plastic filament.
I used the app to connect to Bambu Lab’s cloud servers, where I chose a digital model from their library.
To evaluate the printer’s performance, I printed a 3D Benchy tugboat.
This highly detailed tugboat is a standard test for 3D printers. It helps to see how well the printer can replicate complex features like curves, small details, and inclined planes.
I trimmed the filament tip and threaded it through the tube until it reached the extruder, which feeds and controls the flow of melted plastic to build each layer of a 3D print.
I then tapped the “Load” icon on the color touchscreen at the front of the 3D printer.
The extruder smoothly pulled the filament through the PTFE tube and into the hotend of the tool head, where it would be melted for printing my model.
I then saw part of the yellow filament emerging from the nozzle, which meant the printer was ready.
The 3D printer began extruding the heated, melted plastic filament, following the digital file instructions to build the tugboat layer by layer on the build plate.
The app provides a live video feed of the tugboat’s construction from the camera attached to the 3D printer.
The 3D printer performed flawlessly, producing a robust yellow tugboat model with smooth lines and distinct features like a smokestack and windows.
I was also impressed by how quietly the printer ran from start to finish.
As this is Halloween season, I also printed a robotic-looking skeleton.
My son proposed a fitting analogy for 3D printing: Building a brick wall involves stacking layers of bricks, while a 3D printer builds objects in layers of plastic.
I like this printer and consider it an incredible tool for exploring the possibilities of 3D printing on a personal scale.
Forty years ago, while working for the Winsted Telephone Co., I clearly remember unrolling copper-paired cable from a heavy wooden spool mounted on a trailer hitched to the company’s yellow 1965 Ford F-100 service/utility truck.
These days, I am threading thin plastic filament from a lightweight recycled cardboard spool attached to a 3D printer.
Perhaps tackling a 3D-printed model of that old ‘65 Ford telephone truck will be my next project.
Thank you for the great birthday present, boys.
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| Finished tugboat and robotic skeleton 3D printed and placed on the build plate of the Bambu Lab A1 model printer. (Photo by Mark Ollig) |
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| Bambu Lab A1 mini 3D printer building the tugboat. (photo by Mark Ollig) |
