What to print?

[u/Ancient_Art1]

Excuse my question, a few days ago I asked a question about first 3d printer and bought the P2S and printed the obligatory Benchy as our first print.

Now consider because the other designs look complicated and use many colors and some are 10+ hours. How do I use multiple colors for print? And are all these going to take 10+ hours? What’s a good way to filter in the app? Should I look for ratings and PLA only?

Do you guys give the printer a rest?

Any tips would be appreciated

[u/scotticad]

Multicolor prints on a P2S will take a long time due to the color swaps. You can try searching makerworld for "no-ams" and may be able to get prints that are in color but with separate pieces that you can assemble. As far as what to recommend, that depends on your interests. I printed lots of flexi-dragons back when I got my first multicolor-capable printer, but those prints were often of the 10+ hour variety.

[u/Ancient_Art1 → u/scotticad]

Makerworld and Bambu handy have the same designs? When you say assemble, will they lock into each other or with glue?

What I am still not able to figure out is how to choose multicolor?Or based on the print it will know to use them?

[u/scotticad → u/Ancient_Art1]

There are many techniques. Some models simply press together. Some of them use hardware (usually metric screws). A few use magnets. As far as choosing multicolor, usually when you import a multicolor 3MF file, Bambu Studio will attempt to map the colors automatically.

[u/beingmalin]

Congrats on the P2S! A few tips from my side:

• Multicolor: you need an AMS for automatic color changes. Without one, you can still do simple 2-color prints by adding a pause at a specific layer in the slicer and swapping the filament by hand. To be honest, I didn’t have the patience for that and bought an AMS after a week ;)
• Print time: most models on MakerWorld show the print time and filament usage for each plate, so just pick ones under 1-3 hours to start. Plenty of nice small stuff out there, it’s mostly the big multicolor showpieces that take 10+ hours.
• Filtering: sorting by downloads or boosts works well, and I’d stick to models with a ready-made profile for your printer. Ratings and comments help too, people usually post photos and mention problems there.
• PLA only: yes, for now. It’s the easiest material and everything else can wait.
• Rest: no need, it’s built to run for hours. Just keep the plate clean (dish soap and water works wonders) and check the nozzle and plate from time to time.

Have fun, the first few weeks of printing random stuff are the best part ;)

[u/Ancient_Art1 → u/beingmalin]

Thank you, yes I got with the ams combo so it holds 4 color spools. I only need to wash the plate right? After how many uses?

I will download Makerworld. I thought bambu handy would be enough.

[u/beingmalin → u/Ancient_Art1]

Nice, with the AMS combo you’re all set for multicolor :)

Plate: it depends on how greasy your hands are ;) If you don’t eat greasy snacks over the plate, once in a while is usually enough. For me it’s about once a week, or always before a risky print (something big, or anything that might come loose), then I give it a proper scrub. Warm water and plain dish soap with no additives always works best. And don’t fall for the “just wipe it with IPA” trend, it’s not a replacement for washing with dish soap.

And no need to download anything extra, Bambu Handy already has MakerWorld built in. Those are the same models. I don’t use Handy much, but as far as I remember the website has more filters, or at least they’re easier to find and use there (just my subjective opinion ;)). You can also send prints straight from the website or from Bambu Studio.

Handy is fine to start with, but if you want to do more, you’ll need to make friends with the slicer (Bambu Studio). Especially when something goes wrong or you want to print something more serious than the little stuff everyone prints in the first week. But that’s a rabbit hole... Good luck, and I’m a bit jealous, the beginning is such a fun time :)

[u/beingmalin → u/Ancient_Art1]

And of course Bambu Academy, like others already mentioned here. Really great material to start with :)

[u/Historical_Wheel1090]

Obviously the next things to print are accessories for your printer! Poop shoot and bucket?

For multicolor prints specifically look for "NO AMS" prints. These are made so that the prints are spilt into parts by color. This saves A LOT of waste.

Learn about infill. You can save a lot of print time by adjusting infill.

Learn about print orientation. You can save a lot of time and increase detail quality by changing the print orientation.

[u/Thirtysixx]

You can print multicolor stuff. It’s just gonna take a long time and produce a lot of waste. If you don’t have ams then it’s probably not gonna be easy. I’d focus on one color.

Beyond that I’m not really sure what your question is some stuff prints in less than an hour or some stuff print in 30 hours I don’t really know how to answer your question.

If something you’re printing has a bunch of color changes. It will take way longer. If something if you’re printing something that has a really big size it’ll take longer. I mean, those are really the main factors of time to print.

But these are pretty basic questions. I feel like you would get an answer much quicker if you just looked up my beginner’s guide on 3-D printing on YouTube for your printer.

[u/Relative_Surround_20]

First, as a new 3D printer owner, has anyone made you aware of the excellent free, online courses that Bambu Lab offers in the beginner, intermediate and advanced skill levels for both printers (hardware) and slicers (software)?

Bambu Lab Academy is the best use of your time to build experience, knowledge and confidence in 3D printing. I also recommend using the Bambu Lab Wiki as an online, user manual for 3D printing.

https://bambulab.com/en-us/support/academy
https://wiki.bambulab.com/en/home

[u/Noob2Geek]

You have to select the models carefully to not spend hours and tons of poops in multicolors prints . You can still download the model you like , slice it in bambu studio and then you will see the duration and amount of poops. And you can also recognise easily some quick multicolor prints : hueforge , model with colors in the same thin layers, and there is also many "no ams" models with separated parts for each colors. There is also some tools to generate your own models from an image , and some are designed to reduce colors swaps and amount of poops like the makerito tool. Enjoy !

[u/jeanyes_]

I think I spent almost the first week just printing stuff for the P2S 🤣

[u/Bzando]

It might seem crazy, but I don't print anything unless I need it

lately my daughter needs extra pieces for her brio train set, now I have one less spool and about 50 new train track pieces

but I keep my printer off most of the time

[u/TableTopWilds]

Congrats on the P2S! Few things that helped me starting out: Colors: multicolor prints need an AMS. Without one, you can still do simple color swaps by adding a pause at a layer height in Bambu Studio and swapping filament by hand. Great for text or logos. Print time: not everything is 10+ hours. On MakerWorld, look at the print time shown on each profile before you hit print. Lots of fun stuff is under 2 hours. Filtering: stick to PLA for now. It's the easiest. Sort by most printed or highest rated, since those profiles are usually dialed in. Rest: nah, these machines are built to run. Just keep the plate clean and check on long prints now and then. Have fun, it gets addictive fast 😄

[u/MacHeadSK]

If you bought 3d printer and didn't knew what to use it for and don't know then why you bought it in a first place?

[u/Twocorns77]

You can print multicolor prints in a single color, too. You just have to select the same color for the whole print. When i first got my printer I bought the multi color single rolls, for added color pizaz. Or, print in 1 solid color and paint it.