A Day in my Small 3D Print Farm: Quick AMS Fix, A1 Mini Ironing Troubles, and A New Laser Engraver!

A little under the weather today but we must push through, this actually takes place over the course of 2 days but who's asking! We fix the AMS jam, talk about some PETG and discuss my ironing issues with the A1 Mini plus a whole lot more
More 3D Print Farm Fun: • My small 3D Print Farm...
Things I use in my Print Farm:
Bambu Lab P1P - us.store.bambu...
Bambu Lab A1 Mini - us.store.bambu...
Bambu Lab AMS - us.store.bambu...
Creality Ender 3 V3 SE - amzn.to/40ZeNBk
Elegoo RAPID PLA+ 3D Printer Filament - (Direct: elegoo.sjv.io/JKrvEq) - (Amazon: amzn.to/3Ah9eTQ)
Elegoo PLA Plus 3D Printer Filament - (Direct: elegoo.sjv.io/o4egEO) - (Amazon: amzn.to/3NLiCC8)
Elegoo PLA 3D Printer Filament - (Direct: elegoo.sjv.io/zxa5Lr) - (Amazon: amzn.to/4e9U68B)
Elegoo Matte PLA 3D Printer Filament - (Direct: elegoo.sjv.io/09JMLR - (Amazon: amzn.to/3YGAAw0)
Overture PLA+ 3D Printer Filament - amzn.to/4hEWPK9
100ct Bubble Wrap Bags - amzn.to/3UvaQjL
9x6x4 White Shipping Boxes - amzn.to/3YtD27C
100ct 4x8 Padded Mailers - amzn.to/3C5TOCi
25 ct 6x10 Padded Mailers - amzn.to/40vErgu
40ct 10.5x16" Padded Mailers - amzn.to/4eUrwJz
12" Compact Paper Cutter - amzn.to/4flIiBa
Anycubic 1KG Green PETG Filament - amzn.to/3YFwrIG
200ct 3x5" Clear Cellophane Bags - amzn.to/4ef8RHq
200ct 5x7" Clear Cellophane Bags - amzn.to/4hn4eh9
300ct Lightweight Cardstock Paper - amzn.to/3C7RJpx
BIQU Pandagrip Build plate for X1C/X1E/P1S/P1P/A1 - amzn.to/48q4KXC
50ct Flameless Tea light Candles - amzn.to/3C0JImm
1000ct 2x1" Rollo Thermal Lables - amzn.to/4f4J45G
Magigoo 3D Printer Build Plate Adhesive Glue - amzn.to/3YJqzOK
175ft Roll Bubble Wrap - amzn.to/3YxYqJc
Adhesive Guru CA Glue and Activator - amzn.to/3YFWuPQ
CYAFIXED Medium Viscosity CA Glue - amzn.to/4enmHHM
4x6" Thermal Shipping Labels - amzn.to/40vErgu
200ct 1" Keyrings - amzn.to/3NI4TMz
6Pack Scotch Heavy Duty Packing Tape - amzn.to/3AkfeuS
vretti Thermal Shipping Label Printer - amzn.to/49z5E4s

[@jonwoodworker]

I like your channel because your just an everyday person doing your everyday stuff.

[@TheMountainMaker]

Thanks! I appreciate that!

[@itsallasimulationman]

Weighing the partial spool should give you a good idea of how much filament remains.

[@TheMountainMaker]

I keep one empty spool around for each of the brands that I use so I can do just that! It has definitely come in handy many times. (Zero/Tare out the scale with an empty spool and then remove it and put your partial on and there's your filament weight... in case anyone was curious)

[@MrBurnie8]

Well done bud ,you have got a bit of a different way of doing your content 👏

[@TheMountainMaker]

Thanks! I appreciate the support!

[@Penguinishy]

1:25 not only are they past their prime, they are spent. The packets that come with the spools, by the time you open them, have basically already been used up by what ever moisture that was in the air and filament when sealed at the factory.

[@TheMountainMaker]

Time to print some containers and order some actual desiccant beads from amazon I guess!

[@scaledoctors]

I print exclusively in PETG for my product and almost gave up because the parts stick too much to PEI and I don't like using glue stick. Then I discovered the secret, Windex. Spray a small amount and wipe it around with a paper towel. Doesn't leave a residue on your parts either.

[@TheMountainMaker]

So far, i don’t mind the petg sticking too much, aside from the prime line cause that just breaks away when you go to pull it off after the plate has cooled down. With that said, I’m definitely going to give it a try just for some testing because the biggest pain in the ass with petg, for me anyways, is tree supports or when your print only gets a couple layers down and has to be stopped for whatever reason… I’m there half the day peeling little parts of plastic off with the snips 😂

[@scaledoctors]

@@TheMountainMaker I've been there. I print black parts and white parts. I had to label the sides of the plate for which color to use because tiny little pieces were stuck in the plate and would show up in the bottom of the next print (also tiny bits of the build plate embedded). When using Windex, the part still sticks more than PLA, but releases without having to bend the plates too much to get the parts loose. Let the cool a little first. I think it's the perfect blend of sticking enough that I don't have to worry about adhesion issues and cleanly removing from the plate. Now I don't worry about having the correct color side of the plate to print on. Just an FYI, it doesn't take much Windex. You can even spray it on the paper towel and just wipe it around.

[@TheMountainMaker]

Awesome! Thanks for all the tips. I'm adding it to the list of things to test out on not just these machines, but a few others I have coming into the Print Farm early next year!

[@Salzletten]

Interesting way of presenting everything - Thank you! I found the dumbell business card holder stl, do you mind sharing a few tips for printing (orientation, fuzzy skin, etc.) Yours look so good!

[@TheMountainMaker]

The Fuzzy skin Is turned on, and the Dumbbells are printed with the round holes facing up. I had to lower the fuzzy skin though from its default settings but am not around Orca at the moment. It is in the comments on either my Amazon video, or one of the other Etsy ones from when someone else asked the same question.

[@Gryfang451]

I've used about 3 cans of hairspray since starting with PETG, and it seems to work well for me. Cleans up easy with water or IPA.

[@TheMountainMaker]

I've never had any issues as far as getting petg to stick or really getting it off for that matter, aside from failed prints where it only gets a few layers up, those are a pain across the board though. One handed though, they are a bit more challenging to remove.

[@goatelope7539]

Congrats keep up the hard work

[@TheMountainMaker]

Thanks!

[@Drubal14]

I too am having trouble ironing on the A1, mine is full size. P1S comes out great but the A1 is having a hard time. Would like to hear you talk about it more if you notice anything. Great vid as always, love following along!

[@TheMountainMaker]

Definitely going to be digging into it a little bit more now that i'm hearing it from others and i've seen it on all of my minis, not just the first one, as it initially was. Thanks for the support!

[@Jokershadow696]

Disable fan on ironing.

[@Drubal14]

@@Jokershadow696 I do this on the P1S for the auxiliary fan but will try on the A1 as well.

[@ratedmark4704]

The kingroon on Alliexpress is good stuff. Would love to just stick with PETG. It's under $8 a KG and am through 5kg.

[@ElderNerd3D]

Thanks for sharing, look forward to watching your videos.

[@TheMountainMaker]

Glad you like them! Thanks for watching.

[@zagabog]

On the A1 mini, I suspect that the hot end might have some of the screws worked loose, if the first layer is also lumpy this is more likely.

[@TheMountainMaker]

I'd 100% agree with you if it was consistent between prints or even printers. It happens with all 3 of my A1 Mini's and it doesn't seem to matter which filament im using or the model(s) im printing. Sometimes it works, sometimes it just doesn't. I will go through all of them and check the screws just to be on the safe side but it was happening right out of the box on the 3rd mini I got a few weeks back, but worked great on the other 2 for the first 2 or 3 months then I started to have the off and on issues. I appreciate the suggestion! (First layer looks good btw)

[@Jokershadow696]

I had same issues with ironing. You need to disable fan when ironing. Add extra g code to profile. I think is this one {if extrusion_role=~/Ironing/} M106 S0 ; disable fan M106 P2 S0 ; disable additional fan {endif} Insert it to change extrusion role g code

[@TheMountainMaker]

Thanks for the tip, I'll add it to my list of things to test out!

[@CalladorJ]

There are several tiny printable tools that give you an estimate of grams remaining on a normal spool by holding it against the filament and measuring the edge of the spool

[@TheMountainMaker]

I'll have to go check some of them out, Thanks for the tip!

[@NWGR]

I use a lot of PETG; anycubic is made by sunlu. As is kingroon, jayo, techbears and probably a few others. As for color matching festool green, bambu's lime green PETG HF and hatchbox's lime green PETG are virtually perfect matches. Hatchbox is a bit better with heat resistance.

[@TheMountainMaker]

Thanks for the tip about the lime green PETG! That will be helpful. I will definitely be ordering some of the Lime Green PETG-HF and I use Hatchbox for the Makita Green/Blue already so I've got those settings dialed in as well!

[@NWGR]

@@TheMountainMaker No problem! I did the same search for a perfect festool green myself. Protopasta makes a "loostef" green that's a a perfect match, but it's PLA. I prefer PETG for functional parts. Hatchbox is good stuff, just a bit more than I'm used to spending per spool, so I grab a few spools whenever they have a sale. Polymaker's dark blue is a close match to festool's dark blue they use on their tool bodies. Also, voxelab (made by flashforge) makes a dark blue carbon fiber PETG that's probably a bit closer to festool's tool body color than the polymaker; the color is "midnight blue". Happy printing!

[@TheMountainMaker]

Thanks again! Totally agree with you on the PLA vs PETG. I started printing the Sander holders out of PLA and I could separate them at the layer lines where the lip started to come up. Didn't matter which PLA I used, switched to PETG and problem solved.

[@ivolcaudill9466]

Try placing cardboard on back and sides of your A1 when ironing.

[@rwandrew077]

over 4k now :D

[@RealCoreyJWilliams]

Yo bro! Love the content I saw that you were putting in the elegoo filament in your AMS without any adapters do you recommend doing that? Or do you just not care about the dust from the cardboard

[@TheMountainMaker]

Thanks man! I appreciate it! I have, and would recommend printing the adapters to preserve the parts for as long as you can. But when it actually comes down to using them in my day to day operation, i can’t say i keep up with it. They pretty much only get used now if the spool comes damaged. Then it needs that extra help otherwise it would definitely come apart in the AMS.

[@chezcotton]

I have the a1 and ironing was terrible, I got it a lot better by changing to 25% and 25mm/s, still not perfect. I was shocked because my artillery sidewinder x1 does ironing beautifully and that printer is 5 years old. Bambu needs to do more work on their profiles and updates etc. I hope they don’t become like creality or stratsys.

[@TheMountainMaker]

I'll give it a try! I think they are moving forward in the right direction! It takes a lot to startup a company and they kind of accelerated to the top faster than expected. I think 2025 will be a big year for 3D Printing across the board, especially with some of the other manufacturers coming out with Multicolor printing now.

[@connorwiseman6646]

Would love to know your ration between Etsy and Amazon sales/revenue. Do you see a larger number of sales from Amazon due to the higher customer numbers?

[@TheMountainMaker]

I will include that in my first year/ year end review video that will be out right after the start of the new year!

[@TomFilmHUN]

You mainly have Bambu printers. What is the reason for using Orca silcert instead of your own Bambu slicer?

[@TheMountainMaker]

They’re basically the exact same piece of software aside from some small differences in regards to the calibration features that Orca offers. Having started with other brands of printers, and also having some more coming soon that are not Bambu, i just prefer to stick with one slicer. Not that Bambu Studio wouldn’t work with other printers, but i started with Prusa Slicer, moved to Orca and just decided to stick with it.

[@TomFilmHUN]

@@TheMountainMaker Thanks for your answer! Yes, I really miss the 3D adjustment function in the editing window (bottom left wireframe) of the Bambu slicer. I use Bambu and Elegoo printers but with two separate software. I will consider your idea!

[@andy.schwartz]

Are you using the Stock PETG profiles? I have so much trouble with it.

[@TheMountainMaker]

I was also was having issues with it with the stock profile. The profiles and settings that worked for me will be in the full comparison video of the PETG-HF vs Elegoo Rapid PETG coming out next week. It'll be far easier to share them there, than to try and fit them in a comment.