INSANE quality 3D stamps for leather with BAMBU LAB A1 MINI printer

[@JamesBerry]

It's come to my attention that PETG CAN be used with the 0.2mm nozzle. I will definitely need to test this as the benefits of printing with the harder PETG material could be very interesting!

[@v4lgrind]

So PETG is more durable, UV-resistant and more heat tolerant PETG, but PLA is the harder of the materials.

[@ravenlandry7416]

agree with @v4lgrind that PLA is harder but more brittle. PETG is more flexible.

[@daweitao807]

In the BambuLab slicer, selecting "Top Most Surface" for ironing can significantly improve the quality of your stamp.

[@jsmxwll]

for details like the starbursts i adjust the print to make them slightly wider at the end and trim them back with a chisel to get sharp points. a very sharp chisel cuts through PLA without issue. i shave it back with a few strokes then use thin needle nose pliers to break the shavings off the base. if they are particularly stubborn i use a thin sacrificial tip on a cheap soldering iron to melt them out at the base. i keep the heat pretty low, just enough to melt the PLA so the radiant heat doesn't cause warping of the nearby fine details. i very rarely have to do this, usually when i took too large a bite with the chisel. thin cuts will break out easily with just the pliers.

[@NabilTouchie]

"Ironing" a function in the slicer, that indeed irons the top layer can help you get a better finish as well

[@EdHanlon-ue6td]

I've been printing stamps commercially for 10 years for leather stamping. They stand up very well over time, I've never had a stamp fail in many years. If used correctly the stamp work is amazing. I print at 33% infill with at least 3 shells. My depth of the stamp is 3/8". I use a simple Harbor Freight arbor press with good quality veg tan leather. Most of my stamps are created with the Lulzbot mini with 2.85 PLA filament.

[@JamesBerry]

Thanks a lot for your input on this! It's really interesting reading about how others do this :) What nozzle size do you use?

[@littlefrank90]

I love that the best material ended up being the cheapest and easiest one!

[@colinfreeman7649]

Could you do a test to see the smallest letters printable for leatherwork?

[@klich3]

Add Ironing option on your slicer for better final layer result

[@RNMSC]

One thing you might want to do in Tinker Cad is to round the corners of the base for the stamp. My method (for other similar projects) is to: Bring in a block that will be cut down to the size of the finished base in the process. Set height to 20 mm, and then size x and y to be larger than the image you are stamping. Apply a Radius to the block. Make sure all the content will still fit within the block space Drag the new 'base' off to the side. Now bring in two "hole' blocks, setting them each for 9 mm in height, and sizing them to the dimension of the base. Center the 'base' on one of the hole blocks, then merge them. This will cut the bottom off the block leaving a flat surface.. Flip the base, and bring it down to the graph bed of the workspace, Center the 'base' on the other 'hole block. Again merge the two, You should have a rounded corner block to use as a base for your stamp. Drag it down to the bed, center the block on the bottom of the stamp image, mirror one or both for the stamp, and export the resulting STL. If you don't merge them, it's a lot easier to extract that base for later re-use on another stamp. The main reason for this is that having a rounded set of corners will leave less chance for a corner to break off, or if there is some reason that the stamp gets started off center, for the corner to end up stamping into the leather. Mostly the former means that at least this part will be less likely to be the reason a given stamp breaks or fails. There's still going to be durability issues with the stamping image of course. 🙂 I believe there are nozzles down to 0.1 mm as well, but as you've no doubt discovered, reducing the nozzle size dramatically increases the time it takes to print. I'd like to see a process that allows you to add some draft angle to the stamped image to improve it's durability, but that's a bit more than TinkerCad can do at the moment. Autodesk would like you to move operations like that into Fusion360, which considering you're doing this as part of a leather working business would likely engage their prohibitively expensive (for most of us anyway) licensing fees. As long as this works, and you're OK with the time it takes to print spares of stamps, and have the sliced versions ready to print replacements at the end of the day, or on demand if the printer is in the back room of your shop, that works too.

[@MichaelSheldon]

PETG is not "harder" than PLA, it's tougher. PLA is harder, but less flexible, thus more brittle. So, I would definitely choose PLA for stamps. PETG flexes some, which is why it's tougher, but that's not a really desirable trait in a stamp. ,The next better choice probably would be Nylon or Polycarbonate, and maybe ASA?, as they would last longer, but those require a much more expensive printer, and frankly, I'd only choose it if I was selling stamps. For my own use, I don't care as much about serious longevity, since I can just print another, and my A1 is definitely NOT rated for ASA, PC or PA. For infill, I'd probably recommend 95% over 100%. At 100% any "over extrusion" will cause some distortion, and the strength difference between 95% and 100% is negligible.

[@Stevieboy7]

Would love to see longevity tests. You should be able to get all of the filaments to look the exact same with machine dialing, or a hair of sanding at the end. The biggest issue with these style of stamps is that they wear out after only a handful of uses. I would love to see tests till destruction.

[@JamesBerry]

Agreed, I still have a lot to learn about using this machine and I'm sure I can narrow down the results even further (literally). for example, I've discovered just today that PETG can actually be used with the 0.2mm nozzle. PETG would already be quite a step up in terms of hardness and therefor longevity.

[@TheTeknikFrik]

@@JamesBerry PETG may have higher longevity, but PLA is actually one of the hardest (as in stiff/rigid) plastics for 3d-printing while PETG is more flexible and more 'impact resistant'. PLA also has higher tensile strength than PETG, but when it breaks, it shatters without warning - I think that's where the 'weak' reputation comes from.

[@David.P.]

I don't know anything about leather work, but could you tell me if that is a suitable long term solution? From what I read you apply heat to these things for the stamp to stick with time. But without heat is also alright? Leather would be exposed to outside temps & UV.

[@MsLostboysforever]

This a great idea, wouldn't mind doing a few bits for myself, i already have 2 , 3d printers, thank you for showing us this idea. What would be a cheap press for a beginner please ?

[@colinfreeman7649]

Hi guys new to 3d printing whats the smallest height letters you can print clearly?

[@hankyknot]

You could also print the design on a 45 degree angle to get clearer tiny letters without dropping to a smaller nozzle

[@JamesBerry]

That's hugely interesting! Will definitely look into this, thanks for the tip :o

[@pelel2046]

May I know what kind of press you use for stamping?

[@JamesBerry]

I have a 1.5 ton press from Vevor. I like the large bed on this press meaning I can press larger stamps.

[@Tshaker879]

Does anyone know of a good resin to use for making stamps?

[@brittonstudios]

Think you could get even better results by flipping the print and printing by the stamp detail on the print bed and getting a nice even textured surface, instead of the top layer lines that you can see on some stamps. The bed layer will always be better than the top layer. You can add supports and it doesn’t matter the surface quality where the supports hold the top of the stamp since it won’t touch the leather.

[@JamesBerry]

AAAAAAAHHHHHH that's such a great tip!! I will 100% try this thanks :D

[@bbrachman]

James: My only question is...Do the PLA stamps (at .2mm nozzle) stand up to comparison with a brass stamp. Especially the right angle edges. I have been eyeing the Bambu Lab A1 mini for monthis. This is just another reason it would be great for me. I have a 9 year old Lulzbot Mini and it is slow. Finicky and a pain to work with. Lulzbot has been sold once or twice since I purchased that printer. $250 US vs. $1500 for the mini (years ago) is a bit easier to swallow. I don't need color changing filiment so the AMS is not necessary.

[@jksjrgfpsjgr]

pla wont be comparable to brass stamps, but you have all the design freedom you want. as you already mentioned, the right angles are not ideal, but it would be easy to design a stamp that is more sturdy. or use several progressive dies, or just print a new one for a couple cents if its fails.

[@JamesBerry]

Hiya! I can only confirm what was already answered that while it does not compare in terms of solidity and crispness (and of course you can't heat it up), it does offer a lot of versatility especially if you are creating custom stamps for customers. If you only need one stamp and want it to last forever, then brass is the best option. But if you need several stamps, the cost of the printer would be lower than that of the stamps.

[@pcje]

我去年買了這台印表機，第一件事也是拿來做皮革印章哈哈。

[@tizwah]

A 35yr old Harry Potter clone talking about leather embossing... how did I end up here?

[@JamesBerry]

Clearly you're in the right place ;)

[@vric]

You should try resin printer. Perfect clean embossing.

[@JamesBerry]

I spent a long time looking at resin printers as an option and understand this could be a better for many. For me however resin printing seemed more complex and daunting. Most importantly though, I was able to test out a filament printer at work before getting the Bambu Lab machine, so I felt more comfortable with playing with filament 3D machines than resin.

[@AgustinSaldias]

@@JamesBerry resin printing is a lot of work, I own one and while the details are amazing the work (and care) needed to clean, cure and handling hazardous waste don't make sense in this application. I've been doing PLA stamps for quite a while and while I don't have an actual press with some patience I can get good results even with a rivets/button press and some 3d printed and wood adapters. It even works for some chrome tanned leathers, but with less depth that would be achieavable on natural tanned leathers of course

[@JamesBerry]

Thanks for the insight on this matter. It does help me validate my choice of printer while also making me insanely curious now at how good resin printers could be :'D ...maybe I'll get a chance to play with resin in the future. For now I still have a ton to learn and enjoy using filament.

[@tommygamba170]

I built my 3D printer 6 years ago.

[@johnnyc.5979]

Did you look at the warranty for these printers? 14-days? What kind of warranty is that? I was considering buying one, but now I will have to pass. Tells me these machines won't last.

[@pczajkowski9]

Oh boy this is so wrong.. 14 days... is return window. What is required in EU. Warranty is typical. 2 year warranty in EU and 1 year outside.

[@Lukman-uk5gm]

Wrong info

[@edinburghtubes]

For what it's worth, PLA is not biodegradable in any meaningful way - it requires specialist high-temperature processes to break it down, it's not just something you can toss in your garden composter. The 'PLA is biodegradable and therefor nicer to the environment' thing is something filament manufacturers pushed, but is well debunked in the 3d printing community. That said, it's still the most common and easiest filament to use!

[@JamesBerry]

Thanks for the clarification on this! I must admit to being quite disappointed (though not surprised) to read your comment. I guess I fell into the classic marketing trap...