Hi, i got a P1s last week and moved it out of the living area today.
I want to try printing some of the ‘engineering’ materials as well, what should i purchase?
Only hardened steel hotend, the whole hotend assembly, or that plus the hardened steel extruder gear? Can i put the hardened steel extruder gear in the ams, or is it just for the direct extruder? do
To answer your question about the extruder. That is for the hotend and is not necessary upgrade unless you do start to print with abrasive filaments like CF. Check the filament cross-reference at the Bambu Wiki for guidance
On the subject of moving the printer into your living area and printing ABS. Presumably by your opening statement about just receiving the printer, you have not experienced ABS. Let’s be blunt, the outgassing of Polystyrene vapors like burnt plastic. It is strong enough that if you live in an apartment complex, don’t be surprised if your neighbors call the fire department.
Now if you’re living alone and aren’t worried about people living with you, then at worst, you might experience a headache from the fumes. The jury is still out whether the VOCs generated by ABS are harmful. But let’s be candid, if it gives people a headache, that’s your body’s way of telling you that this is probably not good for you.
Also consider ASA instead of ABS as “it is said” that it has fewer obnoxious fumes. Take a look at this video on ASA poisoning and take it with a grain of salt.
Having said that, ABS is an appealing filament to say the least. It can do things well that other plastics don’t. When I first got my P1P, I enclosed it and sealed it off in order to get the chamber temp up to the recommended temps. The model printed flawlessly. However, I was told by the missus, if I ever did that again, I would find my belongings on the front lawn.
Here’s what you need to do this affectively.
- Go up to printables.com and find a venting solution and create a path for fumes to escape. There are numerous choices.
- You will want to insulate your chamber and try to keep the temps at the minimums stated in the filament cross reference. For me, I found using magnets and attaching the bubble wrap to the frame of my P1P was good enough. In fact, don’t throw away the bubble wrap that the build plates come in, they are the perfect size for this. You will need strong magnets. I used these from Amazon.
- It should be noted that when I ran my ABS experiment, I didn’t have it vented and if you have a negative pressure external vent, you will experience chamber temp loss, so you may have to design a warmer for the chamber. There are some designs on printables.com.
- Upgrading to the hardened steel extruder is a good idea either way.
Good luck and let us know how you make out.
hi, thanks, i wrote I moved it OUT of the living space, cause i definitely wasnt planning to print in the room due to the reasons you outlined (i live with wife and kids, and i wouldnt do it even in the university days).
and i think my missus would do the same, except without the lawn:D.
the comment about smoke and neighbors is well taken, i didnt know its so bad, i was thinking of using a hose to exhaust it outside (now its in a small (2m2)room on the common floor, well-ventilated, I was thinking of running a hose out of the window there, thought that might be fine, but the ‘call the fire department’ comment kind of gives me a pause .
do you think with venting to the outside it would be an issue?
ill definiteLy put the bubble wrap (if i find it, heh) back with some magnets, as well as the vents (i take these are a good idea without trying to print abs either?
last question, is the hardened extruder for the ams or only for the direct driver?
and lastly, to print say pla-cf, which is the minimal price subset of the following is it recommended to buy?
, Hotend with Nozzle | Bambu Lab EU
,
Hardened Steel Extruder Gear Assembly | Bambu Lab EU
(i guess in the context above the 1 and 2nd one are mutually exclusive)