First build, first printer.

[Qivro]

Hey all,

I plan to start printing and building stuff soon, starting with a wonderful EOD helmet I purchased from Aguilar workshop, and i am conflicted between two printers. I am stuck between the Bambu P1S and the Creality K1 Max, I have heard mixed things about the Creality K1 Max but its larger bed size compared to the P1S is making deciding between the two difficult.

Any advice and suggestions would be greatly appreciated

 

[Cadet]

I would recommend reading through these threads:

What's Your Printer?

This question always seems to come up a decent bit so I figured "why not just make a thread?" Post your printer(s) you use for props and costumes and if you like them! This is to help newer people figure out what printer they may want for starting their costuming adventure Printer Name Bed...

www.405th.com

"I wish I knew" Tips When Starting to 3d Print

Hello again everyone! The "What's Your Printer" thread has now nearly hit 100 replies (holy cow!) as a result of that we're looking to move to the next stage in creating the ultimate 3d printer for Halo & cosplay reference thread! In this thread we'd like to know what are some things that you...

www.405th.com

 

[Qivro]

I would recommend reading through these threads:

What's Your Printer?

This question always seems to come up a decent bit so I figured "why not just make a thread?" Post your printer(s) you use for props and costumes and if you like them! This is to help newer people figure out what printer they may want for starting their costuming adventure Printer Name Bed...

www.405th.com

"I wish I knew" Tips When Starting to 3d Print

Hello again everyone! The "What's Your Printer" thread has now nearly hit 100 replies (holy cow!) as a result of that we're looking to move to the next stage in creating the ultimate 3d printer for Halo & cosplay reference thread! In this thread we'd like to know what are some things that you...

www.405th.com

Thank you

 

[Kahn 319]

I can throw my opinion at you for what it's worth, the p1p or p1s is going to run smoothly and not give you really any trouble as long as you maintain it which it shows you how do to, the k1 max has issues, you could probably get it running eventually but it would be much harder, and take alot of trouble shooting. Also the k1 is much louder than the p1 series im not sure if that matters to you. The size of the k1max is a huge advantage but honestly if thats what matters to you can I introduce the qidi x max3? Creality as a company generally just sucks, as well as their support team, bambus company is good and the support is good, now I am biased because I've come to hate creality and love bambu but that's my input

 

[Teifu]

I've printed that same helmet earlier this year across multiple printers. In my opinion the Bambu would be the better choice. The print itself is multiple small to medium parts, depending on the scale, you would maybe only have to cut the helmet cap in half, and that's very easy to do with a program like 3D builder. Quality over size has become more important to me for 3D printing imo, and to add to what Kahn said, Creality just doesn't have the tech support that Bambu does, especially with Bambu printers gaining popularity. Hope this helps and good luck on the print!

 

[Wraith0912]

Quality over size has become more important to me for 3D printing imo, and to add to what Kahn said, Creality just doesn't have the tech support that Bambu does, especially with Bambu printers gaining popularity.

I'd like to highlight this point a bit since I really believe this is an important bit for anyone just jumping into printing armor. As someone who's been printing pieces for a few years now, you want something that'll get the job done right the first time rather than something that you need to push to get it to where you want it to go. While Creality may be the most popular brand among hobbyists and you're likely to find lots of insightful discussion about them online, their larger printers often leave something to be desired when it comes to tuning and maintenance. You could probably get more physically done with the k1, but without the proper attention and tuning (which I anticipate will be more than what other printers require based on past replies), you'll be left with low quality stuff that'll take hours of post-processing to improve. That's not to say that the Bambu printers absolutely won't give you any issues; all printers go wrong at least once in a while. The point is to go for the one that'll go the longest without any mishaps, and between the two options, that's the Bambu. Whatever you decide on, I wish you well in getting your helmet printed!

 

[Teifu]

I'd like to highlight this point a bit since I really believe this is an important bit for anyone just jumping into printing armor. As someone who's been printing pieces for a few years now, you want something that'll get the job done right the first time rather than something that you need to push to get it to where you want it to go. While Creality may be the most popular brand among hobbyists and you're likely to find lots of insightful discussion about them online, their larger printers often leave something to be desired when it comes to tuning and maintenance. You could probably get more physically done with the k1, but without the proper attention and tuning (which I anticipate will be more than what other printers require based on past replies), you'll be left with low quality stuff that'll take hours of post-processing to improve. That's not to say that the Bambu printers absolutely won't give you any issues; all printers go wrong at least once in a while. The point is to go for the one that'll go the longest without any mishaps, and between the two options, that's the Bambu. Whatever you decide on, I wish you well in getting your helmet printed!

Very well said. There can be a lot of trial and error with 3D printing, but don't get discouraged!

 

[Qivro]

Thank you all, I'll get the P1S

 

[Qivro]

I'm gonna make so much stuff. Very excited.

 

[Kahn 319]

I'm gonna make so much stuff. Very excited.
View attachment 338213

Good choice I love bambu, only complaint is I wish they made it bigger

 

[Wraith0912]

I'm gonna make so much stuff. Very excited.

Love to see it. Treat it well, don't overwork it, and it'll treat you just as well. My advice now would be to start thinking of where you're going to put it if you haven't thought of a space already. Ensuring things like proper ventilation and ambient temperature won't be issues is a must when it comes to any printer. I look forward to seeing what comes off the assembly line first!

 

[Kahn 319]

What filament do you plan on using, also im pretty sure yourll get a 6 month member ship with bambu and their filament is really good, plus it will be discounted cause you get 6 months free for buying a printer.

 

[Qivro]

What filament do you plan on using, also im pretty sure yourll get a 6 month member ship with bambu and their filament is really good, plus it will be discounted cause you get 6 months free for buying a printer.

Plan on using the Bambu filament for the 6 months of the membership, then ill probably switch to eSun PLA+

 

[Qivro]

should i get a filament dryer if im just printing with pla/pla+?
looking at the sunlu filadryer S2 rn.

 

[ForwardUntoDusk]

PLA is not very hydroscopic, so it does take a while for it to absorb enough moisture to mess with prints. If you're going to be using the whole roll quickly (which is easy to do when printing for cosplay), then you shouldn't really need a filament dryer right now.

I don't know the exact timeframes for PLA, but I've had rolls that were sitting out for months and still printed just fine.

 

[Wraith0912]

should i get a filament dryer if im just printing with pla/pla+?
looking at the sunlu filadryer S2 rn.

It's not wholly necessary if you take care to store your filament in areas without too much moisture. I've found that I don't break the vacuum seal on my filament until the very moment I start to print with it, and I typically stick with that roll until it gets fully used up (which happens quick when printing armor). I also agree with what ForwardUntoDusk said; I've had exposed filament in storage for months and they've still held up when used. If you're concerned about moisture being a factor, I know there's several tutorials online of people making their own dryboxes to house filament in, so I'd look into those before committing to SunLu's stuff.

Speaking of, I have the SunLu Filadryer S1, and it's very much not worth the time or money. The quality improvement from drying it overnight has been minimal in my case, and I often get error messages which forces me to unplug/replug the dryer just to get it to start back up. I have no idea what the quality of the S2 is, and granted, this is just my own personal experience, but if the S2 is anything like the S1 then it's a pass for me.

 

[Qivro]

thank you for all the help everyone

 

[Isaac039]

Great choice! I’ve actually built Aguilars workshop EOD Helmet too! I’ve owned both Bamb X1C (Very similar) and K1 Max and I had a bad experiences with the K1. Speaking with others it’s like a 50/50 on positive or negative feedback. For the helmet itself please make sure to scale the helmet correctly lol I did and it’s a snug fit around the ears, the helmet looks great once it’s assembled

 

[Qivro]

Its time

 

[Jev]

Its time

View attachment 338546

That's a very nice first printer, my first is the classic ender 3. My new printer arrived today as well, best of luck with your helmet and ask if you need any help!