Well the Bambu P2S arrived the other day and I got it set up and running. That’s it over there on the right.
Wow, has the technology improved since the last one I owned! Much, much faster, much more flexible, much easier to use. And you can get an automatic material changer that holds 4 spools of filament and it can select from any of them on the fly, so to speak, to change colors while printing.
If you get one of these, read the instructions about how to unpack it before you try to do anything! Seriously. There are zip ties to be clipped, tape to be removed, hold down screws that need to be removed, packing material that has to be removed in the right way, etc. I went slowly and carefully and it took me almost an hour to get it all unpacked and ready to turn on for the first time. But that includes becoming distracted halfway through and having to go get a cup of coffee and a sit down, so you’ll probably be able to do it a lot quicker.
Once it’s turned on it goes through a bizarre first initialization procedure where it will shake, rattle, roll, click and make all sorts of bizarre noises while the bed and print head go through odd gyrations as it calibrates everything to get ready for the first use. That took almost a half hour so just relax, go get a coffee, read a book, watch cat videos and be patient.
Setting up the AMS is so simple one of my cats could probably have done it. And once that’s installed it’s ready to go.
The automatic material system is fantastic to work with. You can have 2 of them, meaning you can have up to 8 different color filaments or different materials ready to go when you’re ready to start printing. No more fiddling around loading and loading filament every time you want to change colors or change materials.
First thing I did was the obligatory “benchy” boat. (you can click on the image to enlarge it. I think.) Yes, it’s a silly little boat but it actually is a pretty good test of how good a 3D printer is. In this case I did the multi-color version because I also wanted to test how well switching colors in the middle of a print worked. And it worked very well indeed.
So why did I get another 3D printer? I think I mentioned before that I used to have a model railroad layout that I enjoyed very much. But real life got in the way, as it often does. I needed the space for other things, I was busy with work and family obligations. You get the idea. I now have the time and resources to get back into it.
To be honest while I enjoyed the railroad part of it, what I really enjoyed was making models and designing scenery for the railroad. And that’s where both the lasers and this 3d printer come in.
Anyway I’ll keep you posted about developments in that area.
Oh, and just for the heck of it here’s a short video showing a timelapse of the printer making cat toys because, of course, if you have cats and you have a 3D printer making cat toys is something you have to do.
Speaking of cats, here’s where you’ll find Charlie most mornings now when I’m having my coffee and reading my email.
If there is any space at all between my back and the back of the chair the little goof will sneak in there. I have to be careful because if I get up to lean across the table to get reach something she’ll jump up there without me knowing and I’ve almost sat down on her a couple of times.
grouchyfarmer 