So I got a 3D printer. Having lots of fun with it so far, but still doing plenty with my GF, too. Sooner or later I’ll start coming up with good projects that use both.
Anyhow, one sort of unique thing about the BambuLab X1 is that when you use it for multi-material printing (which like many other multi-material printers requires purging excess filament from the nozzle on each color change), the purged material gets dumped out the back instead of creating a big block in your build area. But what to do with whatever gets dumped out is left as an exercise to the reader.
There are a handful of 3D-printable designs for buckets that catch and accumulate your purge waste, but I thought that kind of structure might be better done with wood:
The little circles on the side are just the right size to friction-fit some little round magnets snugly enough that they hold the whole thing against the printer without pulling away from the wood.
The cardboard prototype weathered a couple of purge-producing prints pretty well. But now I’m in the middle of an extra-purge-heavy one and finding that the waste piles up and over the back before falling down into the rest of the bucket. So it’s back to the drawing board before I post a good version in Free Laser Designs.
One thing that attracted me to the BambuLab printer is that this startup seems to be trying to do for FDM printing like Glowforge has for laser cutting — making what’s been more of an arcane tinkerer’s hobby more accessible to the casual enthusiast.
This printer might involve less tinkering than others, but not none. (I had to unclog an extruder already. And then replace it because I broke it in disassembly.) So I have a handful of spare parts — some that came with the printer or its Kickstarter bonus, some that I ordered. As well as some consumables like glue sticks for the build plate. (Including all the extra ones my daughter keeps trying to give me faster than I use them up.)
And we can’t just have those strewn about the workbench, can we? So, some boxes.py and a bit of tinkering later, we have a nice little caddy for all the extra bits:
Thanks for the initial info and ideas. I just received a BambuLab X1C as well, and look forward to GF projects which incorporate 3d printed elements. I’ve only had it a day, but I think your explanation on the Bambu being close to the GF of 3d printers is pretty accurate. To have a successfully printed anything (useful) within an hour of assembly is remarkable, considering I’ve never used a 3d printer. I was even able to download a couple free objects and figure out how the support function works, with only one small spaghetti mutant restart, so far…
Obviously my opinion is completely naive. But selecting and designating certain elements or layers in predesigned files, within the relatively simple UI, and having it automatically switch filament colors while printing - that’s just awesome in my book.
Anyway, hopefully you’ll post some of your GF combined creations in the future.
I’ve been having issues with my 3D Printers lately, and broke down and ordered an X1-Carbon with AMS. I was just going to 3D print one of the many poop chutes freely available, but like this concept and might go this route. My other thought was to incorporate a 3D printed chute into the Gridfinity ecosystem and include bins, tool holders, and magnetic plate storage up the side. So many options! Thank you for the great idea.
One of the things to consider in my mind is cost. Materials in the GF are expensive generally, although you can get basswood plywood and some other stuff for $2-3 bucks a sheet.
If you have time, you can generally get a spool of filament for as little as $13, but it is generally at the cost of time that it takes to print out the grids.
Ahh, that’s just the base. This was basically a modular system based on the grifinity principals. 3D printing would give more options on shapes and uses. The laser ones would be faster and boxy.
I realized that if you wanted a custom tray, then you could use a generator to make one and be done. I don’t think I would be constantly rearranging them. So I stopped working on it.
I decided to go the 3D Print route for this, went ahead and modeled a Gridfinity poop chute in Fusion 360. I’ll design a few more for tools, glue, build plates to sit on the side. Excited to see how it works!
“Hi, I’m Mike. I have a Gridfinity Problem.” But I do like the organization. Tons of custom bins. It’s a really good 3D Printing rabbit hole to go down if you’re on the fence about adding a 3D printer to your workshop. Here a few of my Gridfinity bins, and constantly tackling new drawers and areas.
I’m not showing all of them silly, as then people might start to worry. I’d be reluctant to mention how many custom STL’s are in my Gridfinity folder. It’s more than a few.
This is both my hope, and my fear, if we ever get a 3D printer up and running. Luckily the one we have currently is a resin printer, so the bed space isn’t large enough for most storage items!
Mine was printing non-stop for months just doing Gridfinity. Would it have been cheaper to just use generic bins, absolutely. But what fun is that? Now there is a place for everything, and everything has a place. First Order of Retrievability is my philosophy, and Gridfinity definitely makes that possible.
