3d printing LEGO compatible pieces at home? Testing with Flashforge Adventurer 4 - part 1

3d printing at home became quite common nowadays, so I thought it is time to test whether you can print easily LEGO-compatible parts at home. Many thanks for the Flashforge team for offering and Adventurer 4 3d printer for this test.
Click here if you want to know more about it - shrsl.com/3tiyy
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[@RacingBrick]

Thank you very much everyone for the comments, yes I had to do a bed leveling and calibration again to fix my issues. You can find the second video of the series here - kzbin.info/www/bejne/r2GWZZpjgN2qhq8

[@josiahstutorialsminecraft9216]

You should try and print a Lego one piece ship hull element

[@noedufour1060]

I recomend to you to create your own pieces because there isn't a lot of pieces in thingiverse. Frirstly, do nesting tests and secondly fit them into your parts. Print these pieces with the higher quality possible. Good luck

[@RacingBrick]

I will definitely try to design parts myself, but first wanted to try the "quick and easy" way

[@NLGeebee]

Printablebricks has a nice collection.

[@spikethegamer6690]

I suggest a universal joint but on one side it is a 3 stud long axle it would be so useful

[@RacingBrick]

@@NLGeebee I tried to download and print a few files from that site but the models are rather low-poly versions so the results are not compatible with other LEGO pieces

[@noedufour1060]

@@spikethegamer6690 but universal joints need a lot of couple. 3D printed parts will be break.

[@DanteHaroun]

He bought it as a "kid"??? He doesn't look like he was a kid in 2016

[@MackBricks]

I 3d print rods for my lego train models on my ender 3. A method I used for tolerances was to print out several slightly different sized holes and studs. Once I found the ones that worked, I copied them into my actual parts and they still work consistently. If you’re interested, I’d be happy to share files of some of my custom parts to test out!

[@anhex.5747]

If you use cura as your slicer you can fix it using the expansion function, specifically the hole expansion function. Also calibrating your printer's esteps might help

[@RacingBrick]

Sounds like a great approach, thank you! I'd be also happy to test your files!

[@MeshJedi]

@@anhex.5747 e-steps and flow for the material

[@brwed]

ender 3 gang 💪

[@AaronAlso]

As others have said calibration and tweaking settings can get you much better prints. Most FDM printers should be able to hit the 10micron tolerance. However, for better precision and surface finish a 4k SLA printer would probably be best.

[@themacbookgamer]

@RacingBrick the problem you're having at 7:50 is caused by your first layer being very far from the build plate. When you start printing, the nozzle should be almost touching the build plate, but from your video it seems to be a few millimeters to about a centimeter away. Here's a great video on how to set your first layer height and level your bed: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kJaWZ4aOZt2thac Hope this helps!

[@thebluestig2654]

Resin printers are the way to go if you want to print Lego parts, but you'll have to experiment with mixing resins of differing properties to get the best mix of strength and just enough flexibility to not snap the first time you try to take it apart.

[@Jynxx_13]

When I see a person new to 3D Printing having problems, diagnosing those problems incorrectly, going off of incorrect information, and trying to fix what they have done in the most ineffective way, it puts a smile on my face. 3D printers are finnicky ill tempered machines that have to be tamed. Your knowledge and skills in running/fixing/modding the machine, CAD, and slicer, will develop over time. When someone asks if I can print them something and it comes out perfect the first time and relatively fast, they always think it must be easy to do. Makes me feel good for the 1000's of hours spent honing my craft. Great video of the beginning struggles. Thanks for showing them.

[@tubamacmac]

I've had decent success with 3D printing Technic frames on my Ender 3 pro. It reaaaalllly takes a lot of trial and error to find the right settings, but I've found that the print speed and elephant's foot compensation are the 2 largest problems I had to overcome to get proper stud/technic pin engagement. I would love to see you try to print some of the roller coaster track parts! I've had terrible luck with those.

[@ZEROBRICKS]

I learned to 3D print mostly on my own and did succesfully print LEGO-compatible parts such as wheels for Spano GTA, Ferrari Daytona and many other prototypes such as housing for BuWizz 3.0. As you said, you have to tinker a lot to get the proper tolerances and fitting, but once you get the proper dimensions figured out, the parts are quite reliable and repeatable to print. If you need any help for specific projetcs, please let me know!

[@martingothberg3593]

I'm currently taking a course at university about 3D-printing. One part of the course is to write a small essay about 3D-printing. My group is looking into the possibility of 3D-printing spare parts for classic cars, but anther group is looking into 3D-printing Lego-bricks. I believe they will among other things will look into which printing method is the most feasible. I'm curious to see what they come up with

[@RacingBrick]

That's interesting! It'd be super cool if you could share a short summary about their findings :)

[@martingothberg3593]

@@RacingBrick I'll se what I can do!

[@donnachaslegocreations]

You should try to design and print waterproof motor cases for lego boats and submarines.

[@aruthadc]

Great video. A couple of bits of 3d printing advice. You may want to use a smaller nozzle. The standard 0.4mm nozzle is likely too big for lego pieces and you may benefit from 0.2mm nozzle. Also, the calibration of you printer and filament appear off. Each filament extrudes at a set volume and shrinks at a variable rate. If these parameters are not perfect the prints will not be dimensionally accurate such as what was happening with your printed bricks. There are many calibration objects that can help with this adjustment such as the Voron cube

[@RacingBrick]

Thank you for the advise, will check the calibration for sure

[@pablesm]

I have a lot of experience with 3d printing, since my dad often uses it.

[@seanturner1197]

I have 1st generation Bionicle Lego sets which included all 6 the Toas and all 6 the Turagas. One of them, turaga Nokama's trident got lost. I'd love to use the 3D printer to make a replacement.

[@goatmodegaming]

For precision pieces, you need a resin printer or SLA, it’s basically perfect detail and it’s pretty cheap, super easy too

[@sidewinded1]

toxic fumes are the main problem. It definitely is annoying to deal with the byproducts of resin, and can be dangerous too. Just get a higher end printer, they offer similar tolerances, especially with a tiny nozzle

[@soloondotnet]

Absolutely, SLA is the way to go.

[@pradyum30]

@RacingBrick you need to do Z calibration before printing. That why the first layer is messy. After Z calibration also do heat bed leveling. This should solve most of you current problems with first layer. And also try to use 0.2mm nozzle with lower layer heights ( Example 0.08mm works well with 0.2mm nozzle ).

[@Dewebje]

Very interesting. Not just for the Lego, but as an introduction to the whole 3d printing world. How about printing an ordinary 6x2 brick?

[@vp4rrot51]

It seems to me that your nozzle isn't close enough to the buildplate, and its not putting enough pressure on the plastic. A bit of bed leveling and calibration should fix this issue.

[@sharpnova2]

couldn't you bump the resolution more?

[@Answer404]

Thank you!

[@profBricks]

I printed a lot of functional (rather good looking) LEGO compatible parts for my car factories.

[@ThatHBDude]

I use my Creality Ender 3 to 3D print custom technic beams, and despite the occasional stringing and rough edges, the finished parts are usually of decent quality:)

[@Rubenmoon1]

try resib 3d printer think that would work really good and you could try a smaller nozzel to on a fdm printer

[@perioquido]

i have the smaller adventurer 3 and i can tell that it needs be calibrated. the stock bed calibration is really loose in my opinion also increase the walls on the slicer to fill the gaps on the print

[@i-muts]

There's this website which has pretty much all Lego sets as 3D models as well as all parts as downloadable files. If you want i can see if I can find it for you.

[@RacingBrick]

I've seen one but that had very low quality files, it'd be great if you could share the one you found

[@i-muts]

@@RacingBrick i just checked and it unfortunately doesn't seem to exist anymore. You could try converting stud.io files with blender or meshmixer but that's kind of a mess you don't want to get into when it's your first time trying 3D-printing

[@BizKwikTwist]

I wonder if resin printing would do better in this situation, as resin printing is pretty good at very small detail, I may test later this week and leave my results in this comment!

[@RacingBrick]

Let us know how it works, most people who tried resin printing said the result is too brittle

[@3dprintingpress]

I suggest making the model bigger by a couple percent

[@iuter87]

you cant compete versus abs molted bricks. 3d stamp is good for not structural pieces as the train tracks and figure fittings.

[@nameless1246]

could you try to make The Duck?

[@RacingBrick]

I might try it at some point but at that size it's a real challenge, and of course I'd need to design it first :)

[@prototip109]

Mb use UV 3d printer? It has bigger resolution

[@magnumsalyer]

You should print a 32 tooth gear

[@diegodoumat415]

Bro. I went in August, I'm not going back in November

[@RacingBrick]

I was there in September, bad luck

[@sherifsabry6411]

things will be better in the near future

[@AckzaTV]

what about resin printing legos?

[@RacingBrick]

I also have videos about that

[@AckzaTV]

​@@RacingBrickI got an a1 and a1 mini bambu printer man and I have plenty of amaz8ng Legos and 1 scale minifgires all from the 1 click banbu handy app no messing at all with settings LOL so easily and I've replaced all my lego bricks even SMOOTH surfaces with ironing and insanely good 0.4mm nozzle text with hilbert cueve!

[@Joramee]

I think this is foreshadowing of what we will have in the not-too-distant future. The technology just has to get better, and then Lego will have to reinvent itself because everyone will be printing their sets off at home instead of buying them. It's not really a matter of if, just when. The question is, will we be able to do it for cheaper than what Lego sells it at? Going by the recent skyrocketing Lego set prices, I don't think that will be an issue.

[@RacingBrick]

I don't think home 3d printing will be a true competition to injection molded pieces in the upcoming years

[@Joramee]

@@RacingBrick OH I totally agree, 100%

[@MrButuz]

You should have read the instructions! You need to level the bed your nozzle is way to far away from the build sheet on your first layer.

[@RacingBrick]

Thank you for the kind comment, I did read the instructions and did do the initial leveling / calibration, yet it didn't work properly for some reason. I re-calibrated the printer since this video and now it works fine.

[@bosdagunslinger5479]

Do not go from scratch as there is efforts already put into these. Just modify to your needs or custom pieces are what I'm looking into but don't really wanna go non official unless is for personal projects. Otherwise they won't count as "Lego" builds.

[@kylaxi]

I printed a 10*10 plate on my ultimaker . Real lego did well on it. Some technic parts work fine. Normal lego bricks for me did not work.

[@ismaelillan5548]

LEGO parts are usually machined after moulding for extra precision. It will be nearly impossible for printed studs and anti studs, but you could improve exteriors and pin holes this way. Additional equipment will be required, but if you focus on something (like beams of different length), it can be worth it in case that works.

[@norbertlukacs3661]

No, they aren't. It would be amazingly expensive and makes no sense (I'm using 3d printers and i used both Engel and arburg machines)

[@ismaelillan5548]

@@norbertlukacs3661 OK. Then not an option, even for custom parts. So bad.

[@jacktueton7445]

just spend a little more on getting a laser resin printer, they really are not that much now, only the hu8ge ones cost a lot. You absolutely can print Lego replacement parts with laser printing and for the love of god use some sand paper to remove your support parts lol.

[@XiXora]

could an SLA printer do better for this?

[@sagichnicht6748]

The quality of the appearance definitely. A well tuned in SLA printer will also have good precision. The challenge is mainly that most resins are fairly brittle. You would definitely have to use more expensive engineering resins for Lego parts, which do not snap immediately. I wonder how resistant to creep theses resins are, ie how fast parts would become loose when clamped together.

[@RJoco]

Szia! Ilyen jó angol nyelvtudással nem hiszem, hogy gondod lesz utánanézni a dolgoknak. Azért leírok ezt-azt, hátha szolgálhatok pár jó ötlettel. Szeletelőből van több fajta, nem muszáj ezt használni. A szoknya állítható, ki is kapcsolható, ahogy a tutaj is. Így már csak a lap felülete fogja meghatározni a nyomat simaságát. A lapokból van több fajta is. Ez meghatározza azt is, hogy milyen anyagot, hogy lehet rányomtatni. Van, amihez kell ragasztót vagy szalagot használni, különben nem akar elválni a laptól. A lapot célszerű rendszeresen takarítani. Főleg, ha kézzel hozzáértél. Ha nem jó a tapadás, feljön a tárgy. Ilyenkor jó, ha ott a kamera és látod távolról is, hogy gond van. Én izopropanollal takarítom. A tapadáshoz fontos a megfelelő első réteg beállítása is. Bár ennél a nyomtatónál ahogy néztem, van szintező, ettől függetlenül utána lehet állítani. Ha esetleg lapot cserélsz, akkor lehet, hogy kell is. Kis területű, de magasabb tárgyaknál érdemes a tutajt vagy karimát bekapcsolni, hogy jobb legyen a tapadás. Amúgy a szoknya bőven elég szokott lenni. A lego alkatrészek jellemzően nem nagyok. A filamenteknél van, hogy más-más színhez is már kicsit más beállítások kellenek. Más márkánál meg nagyon is gyakori. Én minden új filament-tel úgy kezdem, hogy SuperSlicer-ből nyomtatok egy hőtorony kalibrációt az ajánlott hőmérséklet tartományban 10 fokos lépcsővel. Ha szükséges, akkor más tartománnyal megismétlem 5 fokos lépcsővel. A kezdő hőmérséklet mindig a legmagasabb és onnan megyek lefele. Ellenkező esetben feljöhet a tárgy az asztalról. És itt megjegyzem, hogy bár a PLA-hoz nem szükséges az asztalfűtés, azért jó, ha van. Jellemzően 60 fok. Ha megvan a hőmérséklet, akkor PrusaSlicer-ben beállítom az értékeket és azzal szeletelek a továbbiakban. A SuperSlicer-nek van még pár kalibrációs mintája. Érdemes lehet megnézni őket. Most így ennyi jutott eszembe. Nekem Prusa MK3S+-om van. Összeszerelve vettem kicsit drágábban, mint a bemutatott darab. Kiraktam az asztalra, megcsináltam az első kalibrációt, ami annyi volt, hogy felment a fej a tetejére, hogy szintbe hozza a tengelyt. És azóta csak nyomtatok vele. Illetve lapot cseréltem, mert PETG-t nem jó sima lapra nyomtatni ragasztó nélkül, viszont Satin-ra lehet. És direkt vettem is a nyomtatóval ilyen lapot. Erre nagyon sok anyagot lehet segédlet nélkül nyomtatni. Itt kellett Z-Offset-et állítanom az első réteghez. A számítógépes kapcsolat hátránya, hogy a számítógépnek mennie kell a nyomtatáshoz. SD kártya esetén erre nincs szükség. Ha vacakol a wifi jel, akkor tönkremehet a nyomtatás. Egy 10-12 órás darab közepén elég kellemetlen lenne, a végén meg felettébb bosszantó. És a nyomtatható méretet nézve ez még csak nem is a leghosszabb idő. Lego alkatrészt én is próbáltam nyomtatni. Nem volt jó az illeszkedés. Vannak rugalmasabb anyagok is, mint a PLA, lehet azokkal kellene próbálkozni. Thingverse-n gyakran leírják, hogy milyen anyagból, milyen kitöltéssel, esetleges alátámasztásokkal kell e nyomtatni. A prusa oldalán van anyagtáblázat, ami általánosságban írja a hőmérsékletet és, hogy ilyen lapra milyen segédlettel vagy anélkül kell nyomtatni. Emellett nekik is van egy gyűjtő helyük a 3d terveknek. Innen is lehet szemezgetni. És még sok más oldalról is. Én a múltkor Star Trek-es fülhallgató tartót nyomtattam két részletben. Egy 3 órás és egy 10 órás darab volt. A thangs pont com-ról szedtem. Sok jó ötlet van ott is. Ingyen.

[@RacingBrick]

Szia! Köszönöm a sok tanácsot, egyelőre a kalibrálást szeretném jól összehozni, a túl távoli verzió után túl alacsonyra sikerült most belőni... Egyébként a vezetéknélküli kapcsolat a számítógéppel csak addig "él" amig áttölti a nyomtatóra a file-t, utána akkor is megy a nyomtatás ha megszakad a wifi vagy kikapcsolom a gépet :)

[@RJoco]

@@RacingBrick Értem. Az elektronikáról a hivatalos oldalon nem találtam semmit, de gondolom valami jóféle, ha több MB-nyi anyagot is képes tárolni. Nézegettem már pár elektronikát, de ilyet még nem találtam. Illetve olyan megoldásban van, hogy egy Raspberry Pi vezérli a nyomtatót és annak a tárhelyére töltődik fel a gcode. Kíváncsian várom a további videóidat a nyomtatóval kapcsolatban!

[@RomAerial]

I already using printed parts like planetary gearbox and torsen differentials in my MOCs made by @AnTs13 and I can say - they are awesome! You should try them too)

[@7ohm.]

resin 3d printer would have been better i think

[@antoniomalavoltaandrade2637]

Try 3D print LEGO in resine next time.

[@RacingBrick]

Search for "resin" on the channel, already tested :)

[@Wolforce]

Might have better luck with an SLA

[@notmacabelymml]

you can already buy a frame for the ferrari

[@RacingBrick]

I already have it, just need to find another spot for the printer :)

[@notmacabelymml]

@@RacingBrick ok

[@pwtprojects5610]

Dude, no offense intended but your printer sucks in every aspect, the video shows that really well.

[@sammyblaze4234]

6:58 for those who want to skip to the actual lego printing

[@jakubpollak2067]

Best practices? - Do not forget that plastic will cool down and SHRINK few % of the original size, so make a part that will have 1cm, print it and measure You will probably get something like ~97%, so do the math and edit your design (enlarge by ~1.04%) so next time when it shrinks, it will have exact dimensions (numbers are not real, you need to find out for your material and printer) That's why you had problems to put it together with LEGO parts - This shrinking is different for different plastic/brand/color, so unless you are making whole rainbow of pieces from different brands, it is not much work to do - If you are making something with holes, best orientation for part is that up/down printer axis is along the axis of holes. Bridging (laying plastic above air gap) could make holes non-spherical - If you are making parts that will be loaded, for example leaf springs, make the spring lay on its side, loading all layers equally when used

[@SpacedHawk]

I’ve been 3D printing since 2017. 1. I’ve never used a raft and don’t plan on using one unless it’s for a specific purpose. 2. I’ve never used a flash forge but there should be a setting called z-offset. Find it. 3. After you’ve leveled the bed, move the z axis to zero and then adjust the z-offset until the distance between the nozzle and the bed is about the thickness of a piece of paper. The perfect z-offset is critical for getting the initial layer to adhere correctly. To close and you’ll be scratching the bed; to far and your print will look like 7:52 The KZbin channel Teaching Tech is very helpful for all things 3D printing!

[@KRXLlON]

Very cool topic RacingBrick, I am looking forward to see what will this serie bring to us, Technic MOC builders. If I would suggest one thing to try out, it would be custom differentials with different gear ratios, maybe real torsen differential that could fit in 5x7 technic frame? :D Take care and best of luck in your researches!

[@SpacedHawk]

Not sure FDM printers can handle that sort of intricacy

[@RacingBrick]

I will show a professionally printed torsen differential, not sure if that one can be replicated with this printer though

[@sagichnicht6748]

Regarding precision of small pieces and detail SLA printers might be an interesting option. I have to try out printing some bricks on my Elegoo Saturn 2. The big problem there is that most resins are fairly brittle. There are however engineering resins which are at least somewhat robust (but usually still fail violently when they fail) but they might be robust enough for some lego purposes. FDM printers really struggle to have the level of detail and precision necessary for reliably clamping power.

[@sidewinded1]

It all depends on your FDM. Assuming you get a higher end printer like a prusa and take the time to tune it in, they get remarkably accurate

[@legobrixz]

I printed a metal lego technic gear but not at home. It ended up being to small but it does stick to magnets so it is now a magnet

[@mkprofessionalism]

I think the lego community need new custom 1:8 scale supercar rims for cool mocs,new bigger gears,and some parts were broken easily in some cases unfortunately and a lego dont produce them so this will be a really promising possibilty to replace older sets and don't give collectors headaches with missing or color-changing items. Best regards your respectable work!

[@rickydoingtech]

For the top layer, if the software supports it, try enabling ironing to smooth out the layer and receive a better finish.

[@Fixtor]

You should make a collab with @CNCKitchen on this. Adjusting some settings on your printer could improve the quality dramatically.

[@Edward-pw6zz]

cool video! can you try custom gears? specifically planetary gears?

[@jakubpollak2067]

I actually did that, works nice I just made a cylinder and removed the 24th gear shape from it

[@danielsaenz5570]

Hello! I have a couple suggestions, 1. Make sure to level the print bed almost every print 2. if want higher print quality there should be a setting in your slicer 3. I prefer using a skirt rather than a raft 4. You can slow down the print for higher quality 5. maybe turn on 'retraction' it should be in your slicer Hope that helps!

[@RacingBrick]

Bed leveling at every print sounds quite exhausting, I hope that's not the standard :) Thanks for the other advises, will check the settings in details!

[@danielsaenz5570]

@@RacingBrick I know, It's quite exhausting but it's worth it!

[@SpacedHawk]

I’ve been 3D printing since 2017. 1. I don’t think it necessary to level the bed before each and every print. 2. I’ve never used a raft and don’t plan on using one unless it’s for a specific purpose. 3. I’ve never used a flash forge but there should be a setting called z-offset. Find it. 4. After you’ve leveled the bed, move the z axis to zero and then adjust the z-offset until the distance between the nozzle and the bed is about the thickness of a piece of paper. The perfect z-offset is critical for getting the initial layer to adhere correctly. To close and you’ll be scratching the bed; to far and your print will look like 7:44 The KZbin channel Teaching Tech is very helpful for all things 3D printing!

[@danielsaenz5570]

@@SpacedHawk Thanks for the feedback! I am already enjoying Teaching Tech channel.

[@farusiu]

for 800$ it should have auto bed leveling only thing u need to do is to set the z offset and for pla u dont need raft. that old prusa u have probably would do a better job than flashforge, in the next episode u could do a little comparison

[@LukeVanIn]

It would be useful to print adapters for things like Arduino UNO and servo motors, to be able to use these with LEGO Technic.

[@Bricks.Master.Builders]

I don’t think that it’s a good idea, the parts are very ugly 🥺

[@nexusnui]

I created an adapter piece for Technic to Gravitrax and I also included a test cube for pin tolerances. But to change the tolerances you need to change the settings in the scad files and render it. You can find the project(Thingiverse) and videos(KZbin) under "Technitrax".

[@-FARKI]

As an experienced 3d printer owner, this was painful to watch. There are a few things to change right off the bat. First of all, please dont use rafts, and if you have bed adhesion issues, use a brim instead. Also level your bed and set z height correctly. Secondly I would not recommend using flashforge printers, use your prusa instead! It has settings dialed in perfectly, also use prusaslicer. I know its a sponsored video, but this makes 3d printing seem really bad, and even a cheap ass ender 3 can produce way nicer prints. And again, because of its popularity, it has all the settings dialed in. Thirdly, I'd suggest trying to print technic picies first, as they dont require such small tolarences. I would suggest checking out some youtube channels that specialise on 3d printing lego picies, for example SaperPL Maybe you could even do a collab with him!

[@RacingBrick]

I'm sorry but I don't believe in such brand preferences. My Prusa printer needed a lot of work to be "dialed in", and I've seen many people using Flashforge (and Prusa or other brands) printers with great results. What I wanted to show first is the experience "out of the box" without many background information and research. You're right my initial leveling was incorrect for some reason, but that's also something I will address in the next video.

[@2godbdglorylegotechnicvide966]

I've been 3D printing myself Technic parts at home (On a dirt-cheap $190 Ender 3), and I'd be inclined to be more optimistic than this video makes it sound like, if one is willing to do more work. I had to do initial calibration to figure out what sizes worked best for pinholes and axle holes(I haven't printed much studded; that would also be required.), and it turns out that my printer is happiest with 4.8mm pinholes, for example. Because of the fine tolerances, I don't think you're going to have success with generic stuff from Thingiverse, though I'm sure your printer is more precise than mine. However, when models are homemade, with dimensions well-suited to the individual printer, I have had good results! I've printed lots of custom gears that work fine, alternating-pinhole liftarms that are just a bit weak, and even a fullly functional custom-modeled swashplate for the new Airbus helicopter, so I'd say good results are possible at home, if you're willing for it to look a bit worse. One tip you might want to try: Look into the ironing option in certain slicers. (I know Cura has it). It can be used on relatively flat objects like the bricks you printed in this video to make the upper surface look a lot smoother and less 3D printed. Thanks for a start to an interesting video series!

[@RacingBrick]

Thanks for sharing your experience! I definitely didn't want this to sound pessimistic, tried to be realistic with the simple "just 3d print it at home" approach most people say. I will try to design my own stuff for sure, and also look at other possible resources than Thingiverse.

[@2godbdglorylegotechnicvide966]

@@RacingBrick Yeah, good point, it's possible but not going to be simple.

[@sagichnicht6748]

I have to correct a statement in the video. PLA is actually a stiffer (and also more brittle) material than ABS. If it is printed thin enough however, it will also flex fairly easily, but less so than an equal ABS part. By far and large at least. There are differences between different filaments even from the same base polymer. The reason why PLA is absolutely unsuitable for Lego is that it does creep quite a lot. That means under long term forces it deforms. In other words, clamped together bricks would get loose over time, much more so at least than with ABS which shows much less creeping tendencies.

[@RacingBrick]

It's interesting, thanks for the comment! I am definitely trying to print ABS, but based on my previous experiences it was way more difficult to print properly, had tons of warping with my previous printer.

[@sagichnicht6748]

@@RacingBrick Yes, ABS is more difficult and not the best material to start 3d printing with. If you have however a printer with an enclosure which reaches 40 or better 50°C during printing (because of heat from the bed and nozzle), that can mitigate the warping problem almost entirely, certainly for smaller prints. If you don't reach that, try out some ABS+ formulations. My recommendation is "TitanX" filament. It is not pure ABS but shows most of its features while warping possibly even less than PLA. The key for successful ABS prints is to cool as little as possible as that reduces layer adhesion (however, also here, the hotter the enclosure the less this is a problem). I print regular ABS with my Voron 0.1 where I have ~50°C enclosure temperature and it works like a charm. PETG (or its brother PCTG) is in many cases which do not involve extreme heat, a very good alternative to ABS, slightly more flexible but fairly easy to print. It is not the most beautiful material though, because it is very shiny and highlights layer lines and imperfections.

[@farusiu]

@@RacingBrick i'm assuming u printed unenclosed base abs now u can get abs+/super/smart is way easier to print(esun have good abs) and now i have enclosed printer so warping shouldn't be an issue just turn on bed heater for 10min before printing to het up the chamber

[@DimaLegoFUN]

I printed Lego parts several years ago, they work ok, but if you print with PLA the plastic is soft on several connections or sometimes damage original lego parta so they will have weak connection, also František Hajdekr printed a lot of parts designed by himself.

[@Edward-pw6zz]

i have some experience printing lego bricks on a FDM and SLA machines, allow me to share some tips: general tip, use a proper slicer, not that flashforge "garbage", i use cura but superslicer (version of prusaslicer but no ads and bs) is also very good for FDM printing bricks: (i have cheap V1 ender 3) -print technic beams with the holes vertically, the technic beam is then ~7.8mm tall, print with layer height: 0.2mm (7.8/39layers) or 0.12mm (7.8/65layers) for the best quality -retracting could be used -for better quality i prefer not to print with a raft, try printing directly on the bed, i have first layer speed of 10mm/sec, very hot and slow, also first layer is 0.28mm high, i have spend a lot and time and plastic on a good first layer, it is no fun but very rewarding... -in general try to only print vertical holes -do calibration prints to see if your printer prints parts within dimensions and to test overhangs/bridges, first layer, temperatures, etc, etc, i know it isnt fun and it takes a long time but once you have your printer dialed in (even the expensive ones take a good time) you'll have proper and consistent results.... -printing lego gears is possible but you REALLY need a good dialed in printer to do so! for SLA printing bricks: (i have elegoo mars pro) -have the brick tilted 45° on one side -A LOT of supports, i would say every 1 or 2 mm, definitely have supports in the corners!!!! SLA printers suck with overhangs, max overhang of 45° is best, dont bother with bridging over 2 points... -proper parts rely heavily on dimensionnaly accurate resin, sadly these resins are very expensive -cleaning is very important...i use the sun for curing... in general: -FDM: good with a good dialed in printer, useful for custom parts -SLA: not recommended but rewarding when properly done but quite hard and wasteful, expensive and dirty i think that is about it... :-) happy printing!

[@RacingBrick]

Thank you for the great suggestions!

[@galaxlordcz3933]

With the raft it seems to me that the printer might be calibrated wrong and prints too high.

[@SpacedHawk]

Just don’t use the raft it wastes material and time. You need to adjust the z-offset properly

[@legotechnicworld]

Hi, I was going to use my 3d printer to mainly print custom lego rims, so I wanted to ask you: could you try to print the rim from set 42056 or in any case a lego compatible rim? I've already tried to print it, but i encountered some problems and in the end the result wasn't the best. If you decide to print it i would be very happy because you could also find some settings to change that I didn't do to further improve printing. Thanks in advance.

[@RacingBrick]

I will definitely try to print some rims once I manage to fine-tune the printer

[@AckzaTV]

I can print that entire ferrari model with my bambu a1 mini with ams lite as long as i uave the lego parts list and i can find all the pieces which may be difficult but i bet i can find most and peoppe do have pirated lego torrents which is crazy and i can go look ... but i already have many lego parts from a 3mf file on makerworld of a lego syar destriywe, wven flat lego pieces etc

[@snowcat3116]

First and foremost, you need a proper buildplate calibration (Z offset and levelling) From the video, I can clearly see that the nozzle start way too far from the surface. Then, disable raft (switch to skirt). Quality will dramatically increase.

[@RacingBrick]

I did the calibration initially, and you could see what happened when I disabled raft. But I will try to calibrate again..

[@SpacedHawk]

I agree with snowcat3116: you need to find the z-offset and adjust it to about the thickness of a piece of paper. 7:44 the nozzle was way too far off the bed indeed

[@RacingBrick]

@@SpacedHawk thanks! I did calibrate the printer initially, but I did it again and now I clearly see the difference so at some point my settings were apparently lost. Now I'm printing a perfect test cube without raft :)

[@GamerNut420]

I’m printing death star 2 Lego set. So far coming out very good. With a preset super quality on Cura.

[@AckzaTV]

My $200 bambu a1 mini makes beautiful technic 8x1 pieces with holes

[@frdesign3034]

i have printed several parts for my lego sets but obviously the original lego tolerances are impossible to achieve. to understand if it was possible to print good quality legos I printed a whole lego set twice its original size. The result is very nice and the pieces fit together satisfactorily. I made a video showing the model and assembly.

[@blaccteezy]

I print super high precision parts with my stock ender 3s. I could make a set of legos that will snap together all day. You need to learn to dial in your machine and also you need some experience to make tolerance fit parts.

[@R0Sch88]

Resin SLA printer and adjusting the 3D models dimensions manually is the way to go with LEGO compatible pieces. Plastic will shrink and warp and depending on the length and material it will impact the dimensions of the final part differently, so you can't just take the nominal dimensions of LEGO bricks and expect it to work. At least use ABS filament and experiment with that more.

[@briqtastic]

I would be so scared to do this, I don't wanna be sued by LEGO haha

[@SaperPl1]

I've got some designs on my thingiverse, but I guess I can't post a link here... More interesting ones are custom wheel rims with perfect pivot steering arms and 2-piece 2-stud-wide differential frame.

[@RacingBrick]

I don't see why you couldn't post a link, I'd be happy to take a look at the files

[@bosdagunslinger5479]

I have made successfull Lego pieces that connect and are compatible. 1. Use the official brick link labs. # (modify parameters for shrinkage/expansion of material# use abs#) 2 test print at 98% infill my best result. Then modify size % in tinkercad if needed.

[@rosserobertolli]

I'm sorry, but the sponsored printer is just not that good and it would be a shame to generalize your conclusion. The biggest giveway of the lacking quality is the need for a raft. This is a lazy way of compensating for slop and misalignment of the bed by first building it's own bed. It takes time, filament and a rough surface for disappointing results, so the manufacturer will only go to this last resort if the quality of the printer is not there. Not a big fan of prusa either because of their DIY but still kinda expensive approach but their printers and beds are a lot better. I have had lots of success printing compatible lego pieces with my printer so I would be interested in seeing a follow-up video where you use your Prusa. I'm the engineer for a dutch 3D printer aimed at schools (Dutchy3D) that is more expensive but does give an out of the box experience, so it is possible. Oskar van Deventer and Wintergatan are both using our printers after having previously sworn off at home printing for their projects. Both have it running day and night. I think your flashforge is not easily able to do what you want it to but the Prusa should be. Very important is to make your own designs (tinkercad should suffice). If you need any help I will be happy to assist, 3D printing should be for everybody, even LEGO :)

[@RacingBrick]

I don't think you could simply declare that anything you see in the video is the printer's fault. I had many challenges and difficulties with my Prusa printer as well, and I simply wanted to show in this first video how the printer works "out of the box", just like an average customer without any background knowledge would use it. I appreciate feedback and suggestions, as others already mentioned my calibration seems to be off which I will of course test and do again, will test another slicer etc.

[@myrhraivideo390]

Use a resin 3d printer. Should be fairly easy to get the tolerances, though the time/hassle of using resin would definitely limit you to rare parts.

[@meltdown78]

no offense, but I guess you are still quite a beginner with 3d printing as there are quite a few mistakes/issues here: - Seeing your results with a raft is borderline cringe-worthy. There is no need for a raft - especially for the parts you have shown. A raft causes horrible bottom surface quality and dimensional errors. - your printer clearly isn't leveled correctly (see other comments) - I'd go that far and say that the printer needs some serious calibration when I look at the print quality. Even low budget printers like an Ender 3 can achieve better results. - print orientation is crucial for optimal strength. A part like a liftarm will break easily when printed upright instead of printed flat. - lego pieces usually have holes, hollow parts, etc. which make them very difficult to print. I have printed "easy" parts like rims or even tires out of TPU - that worked well. But getting stud dimensions right is VERY tricky. That would be easier with Resin printers as FDM is far to inaccurate on very small dimensions.

[@crazybird199]

3D printing is one of my favorite hobbies. I also have a Prusa, but mine is a bit more modern. I'm a bit confused since this brand new flashforge seems to have fairly low print quality by default, but my 2018 Prusa would print these perfectly. I'd be curious to see how well you can get this tuned. EDIT: This video may be of good use kzbin.info/www/bejne/jqizfaFtjbyCrZY , it's by Prusa Research and it explain so of the setting you may want to use to print good parts.

[@sidewinded1]

aye prusa gang :) those machines are workhorses, the best prints I have seen are from my own printer

[@mssm9495]

People may want to consider webrick.com which sells excellent quality lego-compatible parts, including some rare pieces and unique pieces and colours not available from lego. The advantage is others can buy from there as well and build your MOCs.

[@HeresTony]

You should use a creality printer, the quality and the precision will be so much better but they won't connect to wifi and they haven't gotten any camera, but you could of course add these things yourself. I made a non exciting lego gear for my rc lego bugatti chiron and it works great and it looks almost like it's a real lego part.

[@gokhan5016]

First get rid of the flashforge and get a ender3s1 or a sermoon d1, and to not use raft apply some glustick evenly on the bed to make it stick and calibrate the x and y esteps with printing a calibration cube and taking measurements

[@f1dog]

That’s awesome. I wish you could print me a Technic hood scoop for the Technic Mclaren P1 MOC…it’s like $40 per piece.

[@John.Robotic]

I’d love to see a 3D model for that limited edition Lego duck that can be printed at home, I also love this video!

[@akauppi2]

The video (0:00 - 7:00) also functions as a Primer to 3D Printing. No prior knowledge needed. Impressive.

[@rosedonnapur]

Thank you so so so much for this vido i have add3 and just got back in to Lego mods your video came up when i sherd 3d printing leo. will be b2bing all your vidos and yes the sound can be ternd of its the 1st thing i did as its super anoying. on thingivers thers a holder for the people i printerd 5 of tham out its verry good

[@surotv3360]

You need to calibrate your printer. Extruder is too high and it is printing wrong. Try to calibrate it and print again lego parts. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iGTFhqyDmK58iZY

[@hellothere6627]

Those prints should not have ended up so badly, this is either user error of the slicer and printer setup, or a bad slicer and printer $700 is way to much for prints of that bad quality if it is the printers fault (I doubt)

[@cyanidebass6519]

you have to spend a little time on setting your printing parameters right, your results looks awfully crap and may be the reason for poor dimensionnal accuracy too.

[@deskmat9874]

3d printing lego is actually kind of worth it considering that lego is just overpriced plastic crap

[@legocreator2.076]

I print on a ender 3 and i have actually printed a lego brick with text on it, the file is on thingaverse it is one of the first results when you search up lego on the site.

[@Blitzer1001]

maybe try to make some weapons for minifigures

[@TheKingmen-eb7gs]

what could help is reconfigurate your bed hight, it looked that there was a very large gap between the bed and nozzle

[@a.s.b.]

you can export an obj from MECABRICKS to get parts

[@ThatGuy_0815]

Can you try to print a 1x6 gear rack? That'd be a very useful part imho

[@014D]

Too much water. 5:30 out of 12, we've still yet to touch on the subject.