[SML] 3D printing

[John McAfee]

I’ll second this.  I have two other printers (a snapmaker and an Anet) and I could get decent quality prints from them, but it required planning and troubleshooting.  I got a refurbished Bambu and it’s miles ahead of everything else I have used.  It feels like magic.

I use fusion for designing things, but find it counter-intuitive (because my drafting habits come from Vectorworks), so before I got the Bambu I would be irritated making my models in Fusion and irritated troubleshooting my printers and so I wouldn’t end up iterating my designs and just settle on the first “good enough” version I made.  The Bambu made it so that now I just get irritated at fusion.

Bambu recently released the P2S which means Micro Center is selling the remaining P1S’s for 400.00.  It’s still a lot of money, but if you are already planning to get a 3D printer, the time saved by the Bambu “it just works” system will make up the difference between a build-it-yourself and a Bambu.

> On Nov 13, 2025, at 10:49 AM, Jon Ares via Stagecraft <stagecraft at theatrical.net> wrote:
> 
> Getting into 3D printing can definitely become a rabbit hole, but
> things have changed a LOT in the last few years, with major
> manufacturers coming out with machines that are 1000% easier to use,
> less fussy, incredibly reliable, and almost plug-n-play.  I use a
> Bambu Labs P1S, after having gone through many other levels of printer
> quality. Today's major players make them so much better and faster
> than those build-it-yourself Erector Set printers of a few years ago.
> 
> I'd suggest looking at this printer:
> https://bambulab.com/en-us/a1-mini as a starter for a child. Any of
> the Bambu printers are awesome though - if you decide to get into
> production printing, their more advanced printers are awesome.
> 
> This company, as well as some others, even have a direct connection to
> downloadable 3D models (toys as well as practical) - no CAD work
> needed, until you're ready to try designing your own.  A lot of
> schools start with things like TinkerCad when they get the kids
> starting to make their own designs. I use Vectorworks and Autodesk
> Fusion myself, but for a kid, start with downloaded models, then maybe
> move to TinkerCad, perhaps.
> 
> - Jon
> 
> 
> On Thu, Nov 13, 2025 at 6:34 AM Dan Sheehan via Stagecraft
> <stagecraft at theatrical.net> wrote:
>> 
>> A bit off track,
>> but seeking info about getting started (from zero)  in 3D printing
>> (for a 10-yer-old granddaughter, as well as myself)
>> 
>> --
>> ...Dan Sheehan
>> Fixer of things that break
>> TD Walpole (MA) Footlighters
>> "Four wheel drive enables you to get stuck farther away from help"
>> 
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> 
> 
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> Jon Ares
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