Physicist Enrico Fermi first posed this question in the mid-20th century. It asks, “Where is everybody?”
Likewise, I’m wondering where all the photos are of H2D non-FDM projects? I’ve seen plenty of photos posted by people who used their H2D to to do FDM printing of one kind or another, but it just occurred to me that I can’t remember seeing even a single photo of somebody’s laser project. Or vinyl cutter project. Or pen plotter project. Then again, I haven’t been looking for them.
Is there a user gallery of some kind, somewhere,? A showcase of H2D non-FDM output? Where’s the big splash?
Try starting with this, he used the cutter for the rotor material, and the laser to engrave various parts, and of course the printer for printing the filament parts:
The A1 mini is ubiquitous and exceedingly popular not primarily because it’s a fantastic printer (it is), but because it’s both very inexpensive, and incredibly beginner-friendly.
The H2D is priced as a prosumer device, and the full capabilities are considerably more complex.
If there will be a big splash in the way you mean, it’s going to be after a few years when the product line is fully developed, the cost minimized, and the market penetration impossible to ignore. Much like previous generations.
@MaKim Thanks for the link. I guess all the posters skipped over the forum here and went straight to makerworld. Which maybe likely means it’s easy and they’re having no problems with it? Most people first materialize on the forum when they have either a question or a problem.
Yeah, it’s also probably a smaller group of people overall compared to the total number of people with Bambu printers. I can only speak to my own experience but I’ve found the cutting/plotting/laser tools fairly intuitive so far.
Outside of testing, I’ve been using the 40W laser on a project where I needed to work with some leather recently. Engraved some designs, cut some belt holes and a slot for a buckle. Also engraved a print made of Bambu wood PLA. The birds eye camera alignment needs work (usually engraves/cuts a few mm lower than it says it will), but otherwise I’m happy with it. Does it require cleaning when I’m done? Sure. If I’ve only engraved a little bit I’ve been doing a quick wipe down, but if I’ve been cutting I clean it, relube/regrease, and calibrate after.I don’t see this as a downside personally, it’s simply part of the changeover process. I will say it’s made me more deliberate about changing from print to laser mode and back, I triple check that I’ve done all the laser work I need to before I swap back. I have some ideas for the cutter/plotter but outside of “oooo, it’s writing with a pen!” I haven’t had the chance to play with it much yet as current projects don’t need it
I just haven’t used my 10w yet, too busy printing stuff. My daughter is getting married soon though so I’m sure I’ll be engraving and cutting all kinds of things soon enough.
This x100. I’m super disappointed in the birds eye camera. My BeamBox C02 cutter/engraver will take multiple pictures in a grid like our printers do for bed leveling. It then stiches the pictures together to get a real top-view. It is WAY more accurate. I can put an old part in after the fact, line up my lines with the part using the camera and my results are spot on every time. I’ve even traced existing lines to make them deeper and they were spot on. I wish Bambu would do something like this insead of just using one fish eye camera shot.
I would love the plotter to just do some writing and designs on cards I could put in with my ebay orders. That would be great. But until an upgrade path presents itself I am relegated to my H2D Combo (non-laser)
I’d be interested in the plotter too, though for different reasons. Does it not work with the non-laser version? I thought maybe the plotter and the drag knife might work with the standard H2D (non-laser version), if only because, well, why not?
You would still need the birds eye view camera to be able to use the cutter and plotter. But that would definitely be a cheaper upgrade than a full blown laser package, with all the other extra safety features.
Maybe Bambu Labs will be offering that as a separate upgrade option.
Though I have seen DIY plotter pen upgrades to 3D printers long before H2D came to market. They simply use a light spring or mild weight to maintain a constant pressure on the pen tip. https://makerworld.com/en/search/models?keyword=plotter+pen
Same with some drag cutters. But I suppose that must rely on some kind of manual calibration, whereas I presume on the H2D the camera allows the calibration to be done automatically? It seems like all you would need to know is the XY offset from the nozzle and you’d be good to go. You could probably first print a small measurement grid and then plot a point on it using the plotter pen to then quickly read the offset.
With current firmware you have to go through laser calibration before you can use the cutter/plotter tool, which means you need all of the laser parts (laser module, air assist, laser door, birds eye camera). It kinda sucks
Too bad.