Perfect First Layer Podcast

This Episodes Questions: I am curious what computers each of you use for all things 3D printing. I would also like to know what you all recommend, including brand, OS, speed, memory and so on.  Thanks,  Clint I have two questions, the first being the availability of an AI program that can produce 3D printing files.  Rosemary Why aren’t Prusa printers reviewed in your podcast?  Rosemary

This Episodes Questions: Recently discovered your podcast on Spotify. Looking to upgrade from my JGAurora A5S. I’m wanting to start printing some small functional parts that will be used outdoors with ASA. Just wondering your take on the Centuri Carbon vs k1 vs P1S. All claim to print well with ASA. Looking to save money, but willing to pay a little more for a P1S if it is that much better. How does the print quality compare between these 3 machines especially for materials like ASA and are the extra features of a P1S or K1 in your opinion worth the increase in price from the elegoo? I don’t mind tinkering a little bit with a cheaper machine, but I also want it to be reliable out of the box. Thanks! Jon I currently own a Bambu Labs P1S and I’m very happy with it. However, I’d like to get a second 3D printer dedicated solely to printing TPU. That way, I can keep the Bambu available for PLA and other materials. The TPU I plan to use is 85A shore hardness, and I’ll mainly be printing RC crawler tire inserts. Appearance of the print isn’t important—just functionality. Really enjoy the show! Thanks. Dan

This Episodes Question: Hello Guy, JJ and Jerry, I also wanted to let Guy know I designed and printed zero clearance throat plates for a local cabinet maker.  We got Polymaker ASA and eSUN PLA+ to work.  Also have a glue question for Guy:  What filaments work with Superglue?  I was disappointed that eSUN PLA+ does not.  And for the filaments that are immune to Superglue, what is the best alternative?  I use Gorilla Glue but it is too vicsous for smaller parts. Thanks again, Bert Schmitz

The trio discuss some new printers they have on the bench. You'll be surprised to hear what's going on!

This Episodes Questions Is 3D modeling the right path for me? Hey guys, I really look forward to your podcasts!  I have been listening since the very early days finding you via Guy’s work with woodworking.  Yet, I have not bought a printer.   I am a 72 year old retired Chemical Engineer that made chemicals and plastics but nothing from plastics.    I have come to realize that as much as I enjoy polymer chemistry and  learning new things and solving problems, I think my desire to make things is my main driver.    I want to use 3D printing to make useful things in mine and my friend’s lives. Cost is not a big factor.  Beautiful, unique looking things that sit around are of no interest.  As evidenced by my many vehicles and few collectibles or art objects! I have been encouraged by the expansion of functional printable models on web sites.  I expect this will only grow.   For my use case, I think I need to get into 3D modeling to be able to make the things I want to make.  Being able to modify a shared model would be great and I may need to start a model from scratch.   Two questions: First, do you agree that the 3D modeling route is the correct one?  And second, If so, what application(s) should I consider for 3D modeling?   To further define my interests and capabilities, I got a decent drone to take photos on vacations around the property fueled by my love of YouTube creators.   I like using it but getting the footage edited in the form I’m willing to share with others is too much non-satisfying work on the computer.   The view isn’t worth the climb for me.   Thus the drone sits!  Will my 3D printer sit with it? Bill the Wood Butcher Have any of you used any 3D scanners? Are any of them good? I think it's a great idea, but I'm guessing the technology isn't mature yet. Joe

This Episodes Question: Hi all,  I have recently build my first voron . Hell yeah .It's a 2.4 Ldo motors edition. But now Iam ready with that i where thinking aboud thé next step . I'am thinking aboud a mmu system for it . I have seen thé trad rack and thé box turtle . But i heard the box turtle is more popular than thé trad rack . Co pilot gives me thé intention thé trad rack is cheaper but has also a bit more faults in it than thé box turtle . I love to build things so buying a of the shelf mmu system is not a option. Could you guy's talk aboud what are your pro's and neg's aboud these systems what you have build and which one you Prefer and why ?  I'am now more pulling towards thé trad rack because of the possibility of more fillements and i thinks it looks cooler  You guy's would help me with this so i can decide better  Kind regards Jeroen from Belgium

This Episodes Questions: Hey this is Brody just sold my ender 3 and am going to be buying a p1s. Just wondering because the x1 x one of the P1s are 2 years old now, if they’re still valuable option in 2025 or are they just outdated over priced junk? Hey guys, I recently bought a 0.6mm nozzle for my Ender 3 V3 KE. Sadly neither Orca or Creality Print come with a profile other than 0.4 for my printer. How do you tune a profile for a different nozzle size and what do I have to change? I'm using Orca primarily. Btw love your podcast and wish you the best :) Jaron

I bought a P1S for my daughter (5) and I to have a hobby together. Well, now... now I "need" a big printer (350 cubed, or bigger). It would be just for PLA and maybe PETG... more fun prints/decorations. Any recommendations? I'm looking for reliable, solid quality, and cheaper ($300-400 preferably.  I'm fine with the secondary market)... "quiet" would be a huge bonus. I'm not really concerned with speed. On the flip side of that... I'm also pondering an "in office" printer. Again, looking for reliability, but it being quiet gets bumped up. Build volume A1 mini and up...  it will be more for fun prints, more than functional, something to help pass the time. Kristian

This Episodes Questions: I want to print a TPU base for my Stanley so it doesn’t clang and scratch my glass top tables. I was wondering what is the best glue to use which would work best and hold up in the dishwasher. I have some beaver contact cement laying around and am wondering if that would work. I wanna hear Guys full nerd answer :) Jeff I keep hearing conflicting augments about wear from abrasives filaments. I run all diamonback nozzles and they have did extensive testing on abrasives. They say all the wear happens at the tip of the nozzle from the pressure being reduced from a larger diameter to a smaller orifice(nozzle size). That’s why they have a diamond tip. I understand Bowden tubes wear out but what I want to know is. Do you think the heartbreak and extruder gears will wear from printing abrasives? What are your thoughts on this? Tommy

This Episodes Questions: Is multi color printing actually worth it? I’ve seen lots of multi color stuff on maker world and I am getting a creality hi combo. I know trust multi color wastes a lot of material, but would it be better then painting after print? Nixon

This Episodes Questions: As a frequent listener to your podcast, I am curious as to why you do not discuss PETG and ASA filaments more often.  There is no longer a cost premium for PETG and ASA is only marginally more expensive.  Both materials have superior physical qualities for use with functional parts, both indoors  and outdoors. I started with a FlashForge Adventurer 4 three years ago and upgraded to a Bambu X1C two years ago.  The Bambu X1C profiles for Polymaker PETG and ASA print as easily as any PLA, to the point that I have stopped buying PLA filaments.  TPU is only slightly more difficult to print and greatly increases the utility of a 3D printer. Based on your experience with many different 3D printers and vendors, is there a reason why you avoid using ASA and PETG? Bert

This Episodes Questions: Rosemarie Hi, I enjoy listening to your podcast! I have four Bambu Lab printers, each with its own issue as to why the printer is not working. There are connectors with corresponding pins which constantly fail when having to pull out the pin to clear a clog, change a nozzle, or install a replacement part. I align the pin properly within the connector BUT it doesn't 'catch'. How do I remedy this issue apart from throwing all four printers out of the third floor window of my home? Yours truly, A very frustrated BL owner. Matthew I am new to the 3-D printer world and I just put in my pre-order for the Elegoo Centauri Carbon today. I have never done any 3-D printing and have minimal experience with Shapr3d generating 3-D models. What recommendations do you have for me to research/study so I can hit the ground running when my printer should arrive this summer. I am also a new listener so if you have any episodes you can reference for me to focus on that would be helpful.  Thank you for keeping this podcast going.

JJ, Jerry and Guy have a great conversation on a lot of different topics. New printers, printer issues and other fun 3d printing things.

This Episodes Questions: Hello to a fellow Hoosier and the J's, I have almost bought a printer for at least 15 years, almost bought a makerbot, almost bought a RepRap, but always got discouraged at their difficulty to use. I put purchasing one on the back burner. In December 2024 I purchased a Bambu P1S. This printer is great and just works. But, it's boring. I need to tinker. I'm just a hobbyist at this point. I can see making and selling stuff down the road. My question is which printer on the market now is in need of more user input to operate? Something more equivalent to driving a manual transmission versus an automatic. Thanks. Clint Just found your podcast and I’m binging it from the beginning forward. I apologize if you’ve tackled this before- As a very low volume hobbyist, I find myself  infrequently printing one or two of a small item I’ve identified a need for. Here, time, within reason, is no issue. I dont really care if a part takes 2 hours or 6 hours to print. Print quality, however, is an issue. So I’d sacrifice a great deal of speed to get better quality on the first try Do you have advice for settings  that prioritize quality over speed?  Thank you!! Gregory I am looking at a flashforge 5m pro, k1c, or flsun t1 pro as a first printer. All three are very close in cost. I have some cnc experience but no 3d printing experience. I am looking for a fast way to prototype and will eventually want to use nylon and cf materials.  I would love a bigger printer but believe it is probably better to stay small for now. Things I care about. 1. Ease of use. Easily number one. 2. Safety/ filtering, although I know i can add filters. 3. Consistency 4. Versatility. 5. I'm not interested in bambu. Again, thanks for your time and love the podcast. Appreciate any insight you can give me. Cheers. Lewis

Guy, JJ and Jerry discuss the latest drama from Bambu Labs.

This Episodes Questions: I picked up a cheap elegoo Neptune 4 pro on sale so I would have a fast way to kick out some PLA chotchkes for the kids. It was pretty fast and good, until some screws came loose on the hot end, and I while I was realigning the hotend and re-fastening the screws, something happened that caused the heater to go into runaway heating. Basically what I think happened is I wiggled the heater cartridge wires and they shorted out and "fused" the MOSFET for the heater which is on the main board. What is incredible is that this small electrical component failed "open" meaning anytime the power is on to the machine, it's pushing 100% power into the heater with no way to shut off. Is this normal? Because it seems really stupid! I've seen on some main-boards they advertise replaceable MOSFET modules and didn't really understand why. But, is this really something normal users should have to worry about? It's a super bad fire hazard to have the heater fail-"unsafe". Have you seen this with many other brands? Should I have known this could happen? Did I just miss seeing this lesson during my research on twitter and youtube because I came into the hobby in the last couple of years? It's scary. Tim Hello Guy, JJ, and Jerry ! I’m a recently new listener to the Podcast and I throughly have been enjoying the episodes. I currently have a Bambu Labs P1P printer and have been 3D printing since the pandemic with the Ender-3 line of printers, also I have been woodworking with my father even since I was a little boy. Now that I’m older I was wondering how I could incorporate my two hobbies to improve my woodworking experience. I have a pretty big lab and I have a Grizzly Sliding Table Saw, Grizzly Bandsaw, Miter saws, routers, drill presses, Jointer, Lathe, and a vacuum. Another sub-question I have is about wood glue and what filaments would be better or worse. Thank you all for your help!! Gabriel

This Episodes Questions: I have a CR-10 Smart that is on the verge of becoming scrap metal.  The hot end clogged so bad I could not even get the filament out of it.  I replaced it with a hotend from a cr-6se, because it is compatible, and have not had any luck despite my constant tinkering, PID tunes, re-leveling, etc.  Is there any other options for me and this printer? Would it be possible to turn it into a big ender with a different hotend set up, control board, etc? Thanks in advance! Leo Here is one for all three of you.  I have two Bambu labs printers but feel I may have been robbed of the experience of putting one together. I remember putting together my first CNC and enjoyed doing it.  What printer would you recommend that would be fun to put together and be a decent printer? Maybe you can each give a unique answer. Thanks for the great podcast. David Mcabe

This Episodes Questions: I want to put a touch screen on my ender 2 pro without any knob on like I have on my ender cr-6se and was wondering if you know if I get a cr-6 one would it be plug and play? Is there a community firmware for the ender 2 pro? Thanks, William I am looking at buying a new printer for myself as a Christmas present and right now there's two big questions in my mind. One is the Qidi plus 4. Seems like everything I want on paper with speed, accuracy, build quality and most important to me - Is its ability to print high temperature materials with the heated chamber. I am designing parts that could benefit from some more exotic materials like PBT, PP-CF, glass filled ABS etc. I know that there's a recall with the heater heated chamber relay on the plus 4, but it really does look like they're gonna make it right for customers. They're gonna give what's needed to repair it. I'm not concerned about repairing things, it's  easy for me to do a little bit of work for some maintenance and upgrades over the years. On the other hand, I'm really really enticed by the new K2 max. I don't particularly need its larger volume. K2 max does a lot of the same things that the plus 4 does as far as high temperatures and heated chamber and the K2 max seems to be from a brand and a company that's a little bit more trustworthy. I don't particularly want the multimaterial system, I don't mind changing filaments. I am concerned about the price. It's $1200 versus $800 and I love the idea of longevity, maintainability and buying something of high quality and having it last for years longer so maybe reality is the right answer for me but, wow, that $400 difference just is really hard to justify going all the way up to that Creality K2. What other differences should I consider in my decision? Tim