Gene363 wrote:Nice, now when you get tired of slinging plastic there some great files out there, though maybe not in Massachusetts.
It's just a hobby sized unit. It's a Bambu A1 Mini with the 4 color automatic material system (can feed 4 different filaments for multi color or multi filament prints). Before buying it I watched a bunch of reviews with both pluses and minus. For a hobby printer, it's one that has set the bar higher and is above and beyond others in same realm.
Here's one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GzlQHsvsUA
Max piece size is 180x180x180 mm prints (7x7x7 inches). Also, the heated print bed and print head temperatures limits it to the common PLA, PETG, TPU, PVA filament along with those in the same family of plastic that use glass fiber or carbon fiber reinforced additions for added strength but those additives lead to extra abrasion wear on the extrusion print head. However print heads for this unit are only about $10 (+S&H) and if using the carbon fiber or glass fiber filaments, one should pick hardened steel one vs stainless steel for better wear resistance. They will both last quite a long time for hobby printing. Other printers use brass nozzles that have a shorter life.
It doesn't come with an enclosure so printing stuff using plastics that kinda out gas when melted and like to be printed in a warmer surrounding like ABS and ASA, it is not recommended due to shrinkage as it solidifies plastic solidifies. You can, however, put a plexiglass enclosure around it if you want to keep any off gassing inside and help keep the inside environment warmer and free from outside drafts thereby limiting the fast temp change going from liquid to solid.
I like the thing but I'm not going to be printing anything suspicious. Maybe I should start printing some plastic bricks and build a new house or sometin' but that would take too long.
A cigar ashtray... now that is something I should look into and see if there is a model on the webs to download.