I really appreciate that you show the whole engineering process, with all the research and decision-making to evolve a design. It’s not just informative but also engaging.
LATE BREAKING NEWS: There is now a firmware update that appears to fix the underextrusion issues I was seeing in the first layer. With the new firmware (01.01.00.00) I am now getting good results with the automatic flow calibration and the default profile for the Bambu Lab PETG Basic filament.
As far as review videos go, he didn't spend a lot of time talking about the product really - spent way more time showing an interesting use of it instead. The results sell it!
I came for the 7 segment displays, I stayed for the translucent windows, and I am *not* disapointed. Thankyou James, for answering questions I didn't even know to ask ❤❤❤ Oh, and P.S. Your video on the carbon-fiber roller bearing balance tester thing completely inspired me; I've started drawing up 3D parts for my modelling projects. Thankyou for the inspiration ❤😊
Diffuser thought... would a broken or cross hatched or whatever clear layer work as a diffuser. So all clear material for transmission of light, and facets with sandwiched air gaps to do the the light scattering. Even a grid of pits or pyramid shapes on the diode surface may be enough. 🤞 And you do very good work with bamboo!
white petg probably is using titanium dioxide as a pigment, so it is pretty opaque and will not work great as a diffusor. Non-pigmented filament (often branded as natural/natur/or simillar) would be definitly better. It isn't translucent, but should diffuse light without dimming it as much.
I was thinking maybe he could add a clear layer closer to the leds, then have the final lens in clear 3 layers thick. That way the clear closer to the leds does a little diffusion, then it's smoothed out again by the final lens. That air gap would probably require bridging tho
@@c0mputer The results are really go IMO, but I thought the result of some of his prints were good when he could see room for improvements. That is what this comment is about, improvement. The difference between 99.9% and 99.999%. 😀
What a slick idea. Standard 7 segment displays are honestly so tricky to get good visibility on without just the right diffusion layer and this makes it look so good and seems like it has the potential to allow make a very bright display without running into bleed or contrast issues.
Lol… I have no interest in that printer nor the topic and still, I‘ve watched the whole review… you are fantastic to listen to… found your channel with the Bambu Lab X1 Carbon review and really liked your way of explaining. So well, I guess that‘s one of the biggest compliments I can give you.. 😁
Terrific video. The fact you guide us through the whole process, your thinking, the successes and the failures, and your solutions is so, so, so, so helpful. RUclips is just the greatest resource thanks to people like you. Thank you.
When you did the first batch of surface finishes, I was thinking hit the face with some fine grit sand paper to make it all more consistent and matte, and then maybe a coat of wax?
Amazing. I have been on the fence about buying the a1mini with the ams to print backlit panels for my cockpit build. The results look just as good as laser cutting/engraving. And there is the extra added benefit of printing reliefs that some panels have. The only drawback to matching the color of the real panels which I think is a fair trade off. Thanks for the extensive test. I think I will pull the trigger on the purchase.
Great video, and a very interesting idea. This made me think of another possible variation. Instead of a black panel with white segments, print the whole first layer in white. Use black in subsequent layers to define the individual segments. I think that would make all the segments invisible when they are not illuminated.
@@Clough42 you could also try to separate the two layers (diffuser and transparent petg ) by leaving a 1mm gap between them. I know, the diffuser will be printed in the air , as bridge , but for those small sizes might work quite ok .
I had not seen your video before, I was searching for reviews of this printer and stumbled into this one. I was very pleasantly surprised to see some serious design engineering using this printer much in the same way I would if it got it. Rapid test parts for my model trains. Then when i saw you also had the multiple filament adaptor I felt I had no need for such a tool. UNTIL I SAW THE RESULT! Then I started thinking about my trains. Number boards, cab fire boxes and bulk heads, running lights, direction indicators, all kinds of reason to use the multifilament gizmo. Then I watched the details unfold. It was fun to someone working just like I do. Print multiple variations until it comes out right. Great methodology and example of printer use and value add. Well done on the three layers Amazing quality. My advantage is I can make the panels as small plates that fit in the larger frame. So a large part with these features printed in it is not required. What do you think ????? Dennis in Virginia
To have good diffusion, you want a first layer of diffusion closer to the LED to spread the light source origin. The secon layer acts as a screen on which the light is projected. Think of it like a laser pointer illuminating a thin paper and then the spread from that is projected on a wall. The most important thing is to leave some space between the first and second layer.
When you showed how the white digits didn't pass enough light, my literal next thought was, "How about one layer of white under the clear?" And then you did it! Cool. It does seem like the single white diffusion layer works, but I preferred the darker look of the un-illuminated windows. I like the suggestion that somebody else made to offset the diffuser layer from the lens. Another thought: perhaps try printing the interior light channels from white as well. That might help reflect a bit more of the off-axis light from the LEDs towards the window and boost the brightness.
Great video! I just picked up the A1 mini as my 1st 3D printer. I also went ahead and picked up a hardened steel hot end and some PETG-CF (along with some PLA).
Did you try putting the diffuser layer further away from the surface? I'd expect you'd get better diffusion of the light with the diffuser closer to the LED, and less reflectance of the room light off the diffuser making the segments that aren't lit darker. Or maybe fill the whole space between the LED and the front of the panel with the clear, and with all the layer lines, you might get better diffusion without reflecting as much room light on the unlit segments.
I ENVY your ease with SMD parts. This 78 year old retiree does best with point to point (P2P) wiring. Again, an old man's preference in solder alloys: 63/37 Sn/Pb and "audiophool" Ag bearing eutectics for me. Kudos to James for teaching "old dogs" about recent technological developments. Some of the presented material actually penetrates.
Thanks for taking us through your process! To improve on the print surface quality even more, it might be worth using the Bambu High Temperature Plate so the first layer has no texture and is completely smooth. Also, with ironing selected in the slicer, all top surfaces can be melted smooth! Cheers!
You can use Hilbert curve infill for the first layer to prevent any diagonal pattern in the front of the panel. I’ve done it before with great results. Takes a lot longer but worth it.
I've been away from 3D printing a while, James. Seeing these capabilities has me dumbfounded, especially for the costs! Using that faceplate in a product, one would not know it was printed and could perhaps be a one-off (unless of course they removed it and looked at the backside). Amazing!
First time channel viewer here… Very informative, no-nonsense video that doesn’t shy away from the more advanced projects (in my eyes, anyway, as somebody looking to go into 3D printing). I’m amazed at the quality of such a relatively cheap printer and this has re-awakened (re-awoken?) my interest in them!
Wow. 30 ish years ago we were doing one offs with inkjet transparency film, black paint, colored bits of film, and white film stuck to the inside of of the transparency film, and they looked ok, but could easily be scratched, and would take hours if you changed your mind. Now you can do a better job with something that conceivably could be a Christmas present. Great work as usual.
Remember no matter what printer you have, you should always be doing E-Step Calibration and every material should have flow-rates calibrated. I have filaments that need 0.93 as the flow rate, and others that need 1.07. EVERY time I get a new filament I run a flow rate cube to check it. Same filament in my CR6SE might have a different flow rate of my Ender3. I have never tried multi-material with my printers, it is a manual operation on them, but I've never understood how to do it. This gave some insight. Thanks James!
This is generally unnecessary to get good results when using Bambu filament on a Bambu printer. In fact, there was a firmware update for the A1 a few minutes before this video went live that fixed my issue, and I'm getting good results with the default flow ratio setting now. (edited to fix typo)
@@Clough42Interesting. Even PRUSA's need to have filament flow rate calibrated using their own filament. That said, Having used INLAND PLA+ and PETG, the numbers are VERY consistent (just different between printers), and PRUSA Mint is similar, numbers are consistent and just vary between my two printers. Would like a Bambu, but the cost just keeps me away. I had 4 printers at one time (2 home built from 2010, an Ender3 and CRS6SE). I just have the two Creality printers now. Only reason I see to get a different printer right now is if I want exotic materials. Good stuff as always though James. Learned a LOT of Fusion from you through the years! :)
High recommend the smooth PEI plate for something like this 🙂 Also, making the sides of the window channels white would probably improve transmission if you wanted it even brighter.
- The dovetail isn't necessary for adhesion at all - When printing black/white be aware of the flush-volume option - For fine details you could give the 0,2mm nozzle a try - When printing complex first layers with PETG I highly recommend to reduce the speed for the first layer down to 10mm/s
This looks so slick! In terms of legibility in a bright room, that could maybe be helped by printing the diffuser layer further from the lens, or even simply sliding a piece of paper over the PCB so that you don't see the white when the segment is unlit?
Great idea. Been printing for years, and this seemed a no brainer to get for small parts rather than sending to bigger and slower machines. Waiting for it to arrive. Wasn't sure about the AMS, though ordered it as well, and glad I did now.
Another great video. Mixing multiple colors and filament types is a huge leap forward for the maker community. My X1 should be here tomorrow. I've been working on a car dash project off and on for a couple years and this looks like the ticket. Most people use the old DYMO labels UGLY. Two things. I tried a sheet of diffuser material and found the light would bleed into adjacent arears. I would print the "light funnel" out of the white with black around each one. This helped diffuse the light much better for me.
for some reason the algorithm knows it best! I stumbled upon your video for no particular reason, and now I find myself buying a Bambu P1S after clicking on your link for the mini... I hope you get a commission for that too! waiting on that Fusion 360 tutorial!! keep the faith.
Committed to excellence. How you drill and dig to improve an already acceptable result. Congratulations. As other comments show, very inspiring for further improvements (seems to be ingredient of 3D printing though 😊)
When you hold objects that are a little reflective on the top down camera view, the glare can make it kinda hard to see detail. I think getting a circular polarizing filter for your camera would be a nice video upgrade that won't break the bank. Great video as always. I just noticed this with the printed parts casting a lot of glare in some shots, not a huge deal.
With all the respect to your work and effort I would like to give a tip to those who have single filament printers. You can achieve the same results by using UV resin for the windows. With small syringe apply 3-4 layers of resin and cure each layer with UV light. I'm using glass on my printer bed for better finish. You can use color dye also. Thanks!
I really love hidden indicators. For that you print a single 0.1 layer (0.2 works as well, it's good for larger windows) solid / don't have the holes poke through entirely. Even that lets through a surprising amount of light. Even with a textured bed I succeeded doing that and it looks really nice as you can't see the indicators at all unless they're lit. In a recent project I even printed a clear PETG light guide and then into such a hidden feature. That didn't turn out too stunning, but good enough for a charge indicator
Actually back a few years ago, PETG was mostly translusend dyed. While pigmented dye is now the "standard", you can still get translucend PETG. So maybe a "translucend" black first layer would hide the segments if the light is off, but work better than using the normal black used for the other layers.
@@oleurgast730 Normal black is little enough pigmented for it to work really well. This way you don't need to swap filaments. But this is a nice idea for sure! 100% worth trying out!
Thanks for sharing, I'm impressed by the results you were able to achieve with the A1. Regarding the quality issues you saw with the 0.1mm diffuser layer, I ran into similar issues with PETG and fine layer heights in my X1C. Bambu Studio uses volumetric flow rate to constrain its printing speed with PETG, so when you switch to finer layer heights it tries to print PETG much faster than it should, which can result in poor print quality. Reducing the maximum flow rate for the material might help get the result you're looking for.
Try setting the diffuser back farther. Decoupling it from the lens. I'd think that'd help increase contrast while decreasing the brightness when off. Thanks for the video. I'm blown away that multi-material has gotten this effortless.
The white diffuser layer reduces contrast between OFF and ON segments so I prefer no diffuser. Maybe if you can make diffused color the same as LED color, contrast will be better. Really impressed on how you can print different layers in different colors! -- Thanks for a great presentation.
Really great video. Love all the details and seeing your thought processes. Would love to see more detailed slicer settings you use. Still getting used to BambuStudio myself with my A1.
Oh man this is awesome! I have designed 'dead front' displays before and those use a smoked clear lens. Try using translucent grey filament for the lens and i betcha the segments will be hard to see when the LEDs are off!
Sir, I have just designed some after market car remote replacements ( not nearly as edjucated as you, but they work ... 🙂). It has a little round clear insert for the LED, and this would be a GREAT way for avoiding that inserted extra. Also you have showed me how to bring multiple stl's in as a single unit, in stead of using the combine feature in Fusion. Thank you so much for your educated and also fantastic content !
Good result! Though I don't like the white diffusion layer, since it reduces contrast and brightness so much. I'd put in a clear layer or two as a diffusor at maybe 2mm distance from the window. And just leave air between them; the printer can bridge over gaps nicely, especially at those small sizes.
i used a very similar technique for one of my prints a few months back. worked flawless. when i then printed the same part with a newer version of the slicer, i had those same small holes that you got. i was able to tweak some parameters here and there, but never got to a point that satisfied me. they have to have changed some slicer algorithms and introduced some bugs that way. really hope they figure that out again...
This is so cool! I did a project a while back for 8 segment displays using neopixels that was way more complicated and did not turn out nearly as good as this. Thanks for a great video.
Another option to get the light more evenly diffused over the lens would be to make some transverse stripes on their inside surface so they catch light from different directions. With that, they could be completely made out of transparent material, minimizing the light loss. It's similar approachto how diffusers e.g. on car blinker lights are made out of single piece of transparent plastic.
@@NicksStuff with a 0.4mm nozzle you can pretty safely lay down lines 0.3mm thick, and you can do multiple layers of that, staggered slightly to achieve a finer overall pitch. and, since this isn't like a camera lens or something, just a "try to randomize the light rays" type application, it's ok if you push the limits and the individual lines don't turn out that great, because over multiple layers that randomness will average out to even illumination. i find with this type of thing, the hardest part is often just figuring out how to model something to manipulate the slicer into placing the individual lines exactly how i want. (hopefully someday we'll have better tooling for more granular control over the gcode)
Love the idea James, this helps bring more accessible display features to the layman. I'm not fond of the A1 pitch though, felt very scripted and I had to skip through the parts where you described the printer. I may be crazy, but I feel like I've heard the pitch word for word before on other content creators channels where they were provided the machine from BambuLab.
I like it and your video is the 2nd one on the Bamboo lab A1 mini, she printed single filament, then 4 color filament, she said she would recommend it. She did say the bed will not get hot enough for ABS. And that it is 180 by 180 by 180. Most of the things that I want to print are small, and it would work well for me. I did notice that when in changes the filament, it does purge a lot out the waste chute. Other than that I see no problems with it. I am thinking of getting one. Time will tell. Lee
Depending what you print and how many filament changes are involved, the waste can be significant. The relevant question is whether the cost of the total filament consumed makes sense for the model, or whether there's a more efficient way to make it.
I am impressed with the filament changes and not having a ton of streaking messes through the different colors. I would have expected some nozzle dragging to inadvertently pick up some PETG across the boundaries.
I designed some 7 segment display two years ago, it was for displaying gps coordinates for geocaching, it could be backlight by single light source and user could set static number by cowering unwanted segments by another printed lid, the front side was whole white so it was not possible to see numbers without backlighting it
Thanks for showing your workflow in the slicer! I've been fascinated by multimaterial, but can't see myself justifying the cost of P1P or X1C or fiddling with an ERCF when any printer can do filament swap at X layer which was mostly adequate for the occasional print where I'd want multiple colours or different materials (PLA composites mainly). Yours is an excellent use case for MMU, same with the TPU+PETG mix membrane touchpad I saw the other day and so on - I think A1+AMS could be a decent starting point for me. Loved your presentation as well - you went through different iterations of the design and explained the changes you made so nicely, subscribed.
I'd try a fully closed 0.1 mm all black first layer, and clear filament behind the LED windows, so the LED segments in Off state aren’t visible at all. Clear filament in the windows to strengthen it. It will dim the brightness, but it’ll look much cleaner. If too dimmed or the light can’t pass that 0.1 mm first layer at all, one could try black translucent filament for the first layer.
Use clear PETG, but with more layers - maybe also with a wider surface on the inside (more extreme dovetail) - to get rid of those hotspots, but also with less of that white/black contrast when not illuminated.
It is really a matter of taste, but I am a big fan of smooth build plate first layers. Well tuned in those first layers can look almost polished with almost invisible layer lines. I think for covers like this, smooth first layers are fantastic. If the A1 Mini can handle smooth sheets well too that would be great. But you really need perfect first layers, its even less forgiving than perfect first layers on rough sheets. Would be interesting to see if the A1 Mini is up for such a task as well.
This kind of work with 3D printers is really helpful for us tinkerers! Subscribed and looking forward to more of your testing using 3D prints with Bambu printers.
Another awesome video! This is something I had been looking for - and thank you for the link to order! Shame they are now on back order until after thanksgiving! Keep up the great work on these videos... I am always amazed at your level of professionalism and thoroughness.
I really appreciate that you show the whole engineering process, with all the research and decision-making to evolve a design. It’s not just informative but also engaging.
Thats so cool James! The single diffusor layer is much better than what I did! Thanks for the shout out.
LATE BREAKING NEWS: There is now a firmware update that appears to fix the underextrusion issues I was seeing in the first layer. With the new firmware (01.01.00.00) I am now getting good results with the automatic flow calibration and the default profile for the Bambu Lab PETG Basic filament.
Kudos for plugging Christopher Helmke's content btw. Dude is impressive indeed!
No one on RUclips quite makes me feel imposter syndrome like he does. He's just so damn good at what he does.
I normally skip over review videos but I watched this one all the way through and I'm seriously considering one of these.
As far as review videos go, he didn't spend a lot of time talking about the product really - spent way more time showing an interesting use of it instead. The results sell it!
I came for the 7 segment displays, I stayed for the translucent windows, and I am *not* disapointed.
Thankyou James, for answering questions I didn't even know to ask ❤❤❤
Oh, and P.S. Your video on the carbon-fiber roller bearing balance tester thing completely inspired me; I've started drawing up 3D parts for my modelling projects. Thankyou for the inspiration ❤😊
This has made me decide to get an A1 for myself. Thank you for this video!
I used to be a fan James .. now you're making me order printers. Mixed feelings man!!
I almost feel like this new printer is even better than my existing X1 Carbon. The nozzle change is superb.
Diffuser thought... would a broken or cross hatched or whatever clear layer work as a diffuser. So all clear material for transmission of light, and facets with sandwiched air gaps to do the the light scattering. Even a grid of pits or pyramid shapes on the diode surface may be enough. 🤞
And you do very good work with bamboo!
white petg probably is using titanium dioxide as a pigment, so it is pretty opaque and will not work great as a diffusor. Non-pigmented filament (often branded as natural/natur/or simillar) would be definitly better. It isn't translucent, but should diffuse light without dimming it as much.
I was thinking maybe he could add a clear layer closer to the leds, then have the final lens in clear 3 layers thick. That way the clear closer to the leds does a little diffusion, then it's smoothed out again by the final lens. That air gap would probably require bridging tho
I don’t understand. Is the result not good here? Looks good to me.
Clear PETG transparancy depends on speed of print and other settings in lesser degree
I print 7seg displays with my X1C, and I use natural white as the diffuser layer, and it works great.
@@c0mputer The results are really go IMO, but I thought the result of some of his prints were good when he could see room for improvements. That is what this comment is about, improvement. The difference between 99.9% and 99.999%. 😀
Hi James, that was a Fusion 360 masterclass as far as I'm concerned.I learned so much from it. Love the videos. All the best from Jim in the UK.
What a slick idea. Standard 7 segment displays are honestly so tricky to get good visibility on without just the right diffusion layer and this makes it look so good and seems like it has the potential to allow make a very bright display without running into bleed or contrast issues.
Lol… I have no interest in that printer nor the topic and still, I‘ve watched the whole review… you are fantastic to listen to… found your channel with the Bambu Lab X1 Carbon review and really liked your way of explaining. So well, I guess that‘s one of the biggest compliments I can give you.. 😁
Terrific video. The fact you guide us through the whole process, your thinking, the successes and the failures, and your solutions is so, so, so, so helpful. RUclips is just the greatest resource thanks to people like you. Thank you.
When im looking into a printing topic you are the first choice every time.. buying this system for sure now. Thanks again!
one tip saved me a lot of time - using keybord numbers in order to select filament instead of mouse selection
When you did the first batch of surface finishes, I was thinking hit the face with some fine grit sand paper to make it all more consistent and matte, and then maybe a coat of wax?
Amazing. I have been on the fence about buying the a1mini with the ams to print backlit panels for my cockpit build. The results look just as good as laser cutting/engraving. And there is the extra added benefit of printing reliefs that some panels have. The only drawback to matching the color of the real panels which I think is a fair trade off. Thanks for the extensive test. I think I will pull the trigger on the purchase.
Excellent test of this little fella. Bambu Lab have really lifted the bar with their printer performance and pricing in all their range.
I loved how you broke down the topic and showed your process through it all. Thank you!
Great video, and a very interesting idea. This made me think of another possible variation. Instead of a black panel with white segments, print the whole first layer in white. Use black in subsequent layers to define the individual segments. I think that would make all the segments invisible when they are not illuminated.
Lots of great ideas to try in the comments today.
@@Clough42 you could also try to separate the two layers (diffuser and transparent petg ) by leaving a 1mm gap between them. I know, the diffuser will be printed in the air , as bridge , but for those small sizes might work quite ok .
I would love to see a "PC fan showdown" -style video where he tries out all of the crazy ideas we send him.
I had not seen your video before, I was searching for reviews of this printer and stumbled into this one. I was very pleasantly surprised to see some serious design engineering using this printer much in the same way I would if it got it. Rapid test parts for my model trains. Then when i saw you also had the multiple filament adaptor I felt I had no need for such a tool. UNTIL I SAW THE RESULT! Then I started thinking about my trains. Number boards, cab fire boxes and bulk heads, running lights, direction indicators, all kinds of reason to use the multifilament gizmo. Then I watched the details unfold. It was fun to someone working just like I do. Print multiple variations until it comes out right. Great methodology and example of printer use and value add. Well done on the three layers Amazing quality. My advantage is I can make the panels as small plates that fit in the larger frame. So a large part with these features printed in it is not required. What do you think ????? Dennis in Virginia
To have good diffusion, you want a first layer of diffusion closer to the LED to spread the light source origin. The secon layer acts as a screen on which the light is projected. Think of it like a laser pointer illuminating a thin paper and then the spread from that is projected on a wall.
The most important thing is to leave some space between the first and second layer.
When you showed how the white digits didn't pass enough light, my literal next thought was, "How about one layer of white under the clear?" And then you did it! Cool. It does seem like the single white diffusion layer works, but I preferred the darker look of the un-illuminated windows. I like the suggestion that somebody else made to offset the diffuser layer from the lens. Another thought: perhaps try printing the interior light channels from white as well. That might help reflect a bit more of the off-axis light from the LEDs towards the window and boost the brightness.
There are lots of great suggestions in the comments. So many things to try...
Great video! I just picked up the A1 mini as my 1st 3D printer. I also went ahead and picked up a hardened steel hot end and some PETG-CF (along with some PLA).
Did you try putting the diffuser layer further away from the surface? I'd expect you'd get better diffusion of the light with the diffuser closer to the LED, and less reflectance of the room light off the diffuser making the segments that aren't lit darker. Or maybe fill the whole space between the LED and the front of the panel with the clear, and with all the layer lines, you might get better diffusion without reflecting as much room light on the unlit segments.
I ENVY your ease with SMD parts. This 78 year old retiree does best with point to point (P2P) wiring. Again, an old man's preference in solder alloys: 63/37 Sn/Pb and "audiophool" Ag bearing eutectics for me. Kudos to James for teaching "old dogs" about recent technological developments. Some of the presented material actually penetrates.
Thanks for taking us through your process! To improve on the print surface quality even more, it might be worth using the Bambu High Temperature Plate so the first layer has no texture and is completely smooth. Also, with ironing selected in the slicer, all top surfaces can be melted smooth! Cheers!
At the time I made the video, I did not yet have the smooth plate. I just got it yesterday, and will be trying it shortly.
Considering the clear is not perfectly clear would adding more layers of the clear defuse the light better wile be brighter? Idk just a thought.
You can use Hilbert curve infill for the first layer to prevent any diagonal pattern in the front of the panel. I’ve done it before with great results. Takes a lot longer but worth it.
Very nice project. Thanks for all of the details and critical observations. Just bought an A1 a couple of days ago and am waiting for it to arrive.
i have an x1-c but i really want one of these too, i love their products
That printed result at 12:30 is sooo nice.
I've been away from 3D printing a while, James. Seeing these capabilities has me dumbfounded, especially for the costs! Using that faceplate in a product, one would not know it was printed and could perhaps be a one-off (unless of course they removed it and looked at the backside).
Amazing!
I really enjoyed this project. Great example of what the printer is capable of and also a fantastic way of producing custom displays.
First time channel viewer here… Very informative, no-nonsense video that doesn’t shy away from the more advanced projects (in my eyes, anyway, as somebody looking to go into 3D printing). I’m amazed at the quality of such a relatively cheap printer and this has re-awakened (re-awoken?) my interest in them!
Wow. 30 ish years ago we were doing one offs with inkjet transparency film, black paint, colored bits of film, and white film stuck to the inside of of the transparency film, and they looked ok, but could easily be scratched, and would take hours if you changed your mind. Now you can do a better job with something that conceivably could be a Christmas present. Great work as usual.
Remember no matter what printer you have, you should always be doing E-Step Calibration and every material should have flow-rates calibrated. I have filaments that need 0.93 as the flow rate, and others that need 1.07. EVERY time I get a new filament I run a flow rate cube to check it. Same filament in my CR6SE might have a different flow rate of my Ender3.
I have never tried multi-material with my printers, it is a manual operation on them, but I've never understood how to do it. This gave some insight. Thanks James!
This is generally unnecessary to get good results when using Bambu filament on a Bambu printer. In fact, there was a firmware update for the A1 a few minutes before this video went live that fixed my issue, and I'm getting good results with the default flow ratio setting now. (edited to fix typo)
@@Clough42Interesting. Even PRUSA's need to have filament flow rate calibrated using their own filament. That said, Having used INLAND PLA+ and PETG, the numbers are VERY consistent (just different between printers), and PRUSA Mint is similar, numbers are consistent and just vary between my two printers.
Would like a Bambu, but the cost just keeps me away. I had 4 printers at one time (2 home built from 2010, an Ender3 and CRS6SE). I just have the two Creality printers now. Only reason I see to get a different printer right now is if I want exotic materials.
Good stuff as always though James. Learned a LOT of Fusion from you through the years! :)
High recommend the smooth PEI plate for something like this 🙂 Also, making the sides of the window channels white would probably improve transmission if you wanted it even brighter.
- The dovetail isn't necessary for adhesion at all
- When printing black/white be aware of the flush-volume option
- For fine details you could give the 0,2mm nozzle a try
- When printing complex first layers with PETG I highly recommend to reduce the speed for the first layer down to 10mm/s
Wow never really felt the need to before but, I might have to get myself some kind of multi material upgrade for my printer after watching this.
This looks so slick! In terms of legibility in a bright room, that could maybe be helped by printing the diffuser layer further from the lens, or even simply sliding a piece of paper over the PCB so that you don't see the white when the segment is unlit?
Great idea. Been printing for years, and this seemed a no brainer to get for small parts rather than sending to bigger and slower machines. Waiting for it to arrive. Wasn't sure about the AMS, though ordered it as well, and glad I did now.
This is eye-opening, gives me a whole option for designing control panels. Thanks!
Thank you for putting and intelegent and practical use for this segment. Everybody else wants to repeat the specifications not the use.😎
Another great video. Mixing multiple colors and filament types is a huge leap forward for the maker community. My X1 should be here tomorrow. I've been working on a car dash project off and on for a couple years and this looks like the ticket. Most people use the old DYMO labels UGLY. Two things. I tried a sheet of diffuser material and found the light would bleed into adjacent arears. I would print the "light funnel" out of the white with black around each one. This helped diffuse the light much better for me.
for some reason the algorithm knows it best! I stumbled upon your video for no particular reason, and now I find myself buying a Bambu P1S after clicking on your link for the mini... I hope you get a commission for that too! waiting on that Fusion 360 tutorial!! keep the faith.
Committed to excellence. How you drill and dig to improve an already acceptable result. Congratulations. As other comments show, very inspiring for further improvements (seems to be ingredient of 3D printing though 😊)
Probably one of the coolest applications for AMS. Nicely done
When you hold objects that are a little reflective on the top down camera view, the glare can make it kinda hard to see detail. I think getting a circular polarizing filter for your camera would be a nice video upgrade that won't break the bank.
Great video as always. I just noticed this with the printed parts casting a lot of glare in some shots, not a huge deal.
The clear one with diffused LEDs might be best. Custom front panels here we come!! Also how about a smaller nozzle.
With all the respect to your work and effort I would like to give a tip to those who have single filament printers. You can achieve the same results by using UV resin for the windows. With small syringe apply 3-4 layers of resin and cure each layer with UV light. I'm using glass on my printer bed for better finish. You can use color dye also.
Thanks!
That's a cool idea.
Excellent engineering thought process! Aside from the entire white layer I was predicting exactly what you would do!
Thank you for your detailed description on your settings. I learned a lot from this.
That's super cool. It's quite amazing what Abilities technology has given the average person at home these days
I really love hidden indicators. For that you print a single 0.1 layer (0.2 works as well, it's good for larger windows) solid / don't have the holes poke through entirely. Even that lets through a surprising amount of light. Even with a textured bed I succeeded doing that and it looks really nice as you can't see the indicators at all unless they're lit.
In a recent project I even printed a clear PETG light guide and then into such a hidden feature. That didn't turn out too stunning, but good enough for a charge indicator
Actually back a few years ago, PETG was mostly translusend dyed. While pigmented dye is now the "standard", you can still get translucend PETG. So maybe a "translucend" black first layer would hide the segments if the light is off, but work better than using the normal black used for the other layers.
@@oleurgast730 Normal black is little enough pigmented for it to work really well. This way you don't need to swap filaments. But this is a nice idea for sure! 100% worth trying out!
Thanks for sharing, I'm impressed by the results you were able to achieve with the A1. Regarding the quality issues you saw with the 0.1mm diffuser layer, I ran into similar issues with PETG and fine layer heights in my X1C. Bambu Studio uses volumetric flow rate to constrain its printing speed with PETG, so when you switch to finer layer heights it tries to print PETG much faster than it should, which can result in poor print quality. Reducing the maximum flow rate for the material might help get the result you're looking for.
Try setting the diffuser back farther. Decoupling it from the lens. I'd think that'd help increase contrast while decreasing the brightness when off.
Thanks for the video. I'm blown away that multi-material has gotten this effortless.
The white diffuser layer reduces contrast between OFF and ON segments so I prefer no diffuser. Maybe if you can make diffused color the same as LED color, contrast will be better.
Really impressed on how you can print different layers in different colors! -- Thanks for a great presentation.
I need to get a proper PCB for this made so I can judge legibility if the digits with different configurations.
Great video! I hav a P1S on the way so I'm doing my research about how to do stuff like this while I wait. Thanks
Very much looking forward to that Fusion video where you talk about how you created those dovetails/keystones in the object!
Very cool idea on the diffuser, nice to see your try prints
Really great video. Love all the details and seeing your thought processes. Would love to see more detailed slicer settings you use. Still getting used to BambuStudio myself with my A1.
That seems to be a very capable machine! Thanks again James!
Say, James, you’re quite at ease with Diffusion 360! 😆
I’ll see myself out.
Oh man this is awesome! I have designed 'dead front' displays before and those use a smoked clear lens. Try using translucent grey filament for the lens and i betcha the segments will be hard to see when the LEDs are off!
I think you must be the king of high tech. Thanks for the video keep on keeping on.
This is an excellent video. Quality throughout, and I love the bass groove outro. Well done!
Another great lesson on 3D printing. Thanks for all that hard work.
Sir, I have just designed some after market car remote replacements ( not nearly as edjucated as you, but they work ... 🙂). It has a little round clear insert for the LED, and this would be a GREAT way for avoiding that inserted extra. Also you have showed me how to bring multiple stl's in as a single unit, in stead of using the combine feature in Fusion. Thank you so much for your educated and also fantastic content !
Exactly what I was wondering about how to do exactly something like this.
Thanks!
FYI: Protopasta iridescent ice. works great as a diffusion material. It is PLA though. I use it all the time for things like this.
review that surprised me, we need more review like this
Good result! Though I don't like the white diffusion layer, since it reduces contrast and brightness so much. I'd put in a clear layer or two as a diffusor at maybe 2mm distance from the window. And just leave air between them; the printer can bridge over gaps nicely, especially at those small sizes.
If you print the segment 'cages' with white or silver (so everything above your white layer), it will assist in diffusing by bouncing light around.
i used a very similar technique for one of my prints a few months back. worked flawless. when i then printed the same part with a newer version of the slicer, i had those same small holes that you got. i was able to tweak some parameters here and there, but never got to a point that satisfied me.
they have to have changed some slicer algorithms and introduced some bugs that way. really hope they figure that out again...
Very cool design. I'm looking forward to the walk through.
Well done. Your review was so much better with a real problem to solve.
This is so cool! I did a project a while back for 8 segment displays using neopixels that was way more complicated and did not turn out nearly as good as this. Thanks for a great video.
Another option to get the light more evenly diffused over the lens would be to make some transverse stripes on their inside surface so they catch light from different directions. With that, they could be completely made out of transparent material, minimizing the light loss.
It's similar approachto how diffusers e.g. on car blinker lights are made out of single piece of transparent plastic.
Wouldn't that need a resin printer? To reach the necessary resolution, I mean
But then you can't do a multicolor resin print (yet)
@@NicksStuff with a 0.4mm nozzle you can pretty safely lay down lines 0.3mm thick, and you can do multiple layers of that, staggered slightly to achieve a finer overall pitch. and, since this isn't like a camera lens or something, just a "try to randomize the light rays" type application, it's ok if you push the limits and the individual lines don't turn out that great, because over multiple layers that randomness will average out to even illumination. i find with this type of thing, the hardest part is often just figuring out how to model something to manipulate the slicer into placing the individual lines exactly how i want. (hopefully someday we'll have better tooling for more granular control over the gcode)
Love the idea James, this helps bring more accessible display features to the layman. I'm not fond of the A1 pitch though, felt very scripted and I had to skip through the parts where you described the printer. I may be crazy, but I feel like I've heard the pitch word for word before on other content creators channels where they were provided the machine from BambuLab.
Thanks for another great video! I ordered one with your link and looking forward to my first multi color printing experience!
I like it and your video is the 2nd one on the Bamboo lab A1 mini, she printed single filament, then 4 color filament, she said she would recommend it. She did say the bed will not get hot enough for ABS. And that it is 180 by 180 by 180. Most of the things that I want to print are small, and it would work well for me. I did notice that when in changes the filament, it does purge a lot out the waste chute. Other than that I see no problems with it. I am thinking of getting one. Time will tell. Lee
Depending what you print and how many filament changes are involved, the waste can be significant. The relevant question is whether the cost of the total filament consumed makes sense for the model, or whether there's a more efficient way to make it.
Multimaterial sein Vater. Beeindruckend. Danke.
I am impressed with the filament changes and not having a ton of streaking messes through the different colors. I would have expected some nozzle dragging to inadvertently pick up some PETG across the boundaries.
I designed some 7 segment display two years ago, it was for displaying gps coordinates for geocaching, it could be backlight by single light source and user could set static number by cowering unwanted segments by another printed lid, the front side was whole white so it was not possible to see numbers without backlighting it
Thanks for showing your workflow in the slicer! I've been fascinated by multimaterial, but can't see myself justifying the cost of P1P or X1C or fiddling with an ERCF when any printer can do filament swap at X layer which was mostly adequate for the occasional print where I'd want multiple colours or different materials (PLA composites mainly). Yours is an excellent use case for MMU, same with the TPU+PETG mix membrane touchpad I saw the other day and so on - I think A1+AMS could be a decent starting point for me. Loved your presentation as well - you went through different iterations of the design and explained the changes you made so nicely, subscribed.
❤WOW ! Fantastisch! auf so eine Idee 💡 zu kommen ist wirklich sehr schlau. Hut ab.
It could be cool effect if lense was tiny layer of same black plastic. Nice LED should shine through it just fine.
I'd try a fully closed 0.1 mm all black first layer, and clear filament behind the LED windows, so the LED segments in Off state aren’t visible at all. Clear filament in the windows to strengthen it. It will dim the brightness, but it’ll look much cleaner. If too dimmed or the light can’t pass that 0.1 mm first layer at all, one could try black translucent filament for the first layer.
Very well done and I‘m very much intersted in getting an A1 mini myself now. 😊
Your design of that display was super cool, never considered a diffuser layer before!
Cool project. That's a lot of lofts on the Fusion, I'd recommend drawing one digit separately and then insert it and use the Combine tool
Use clear PETG, but with more layers - maybe also with a wider surface on the inside (more extreme dovetail) - to get rid of those hotspots, but also with less of that white/black contrast when not illuminated.
8:40 I never knew this was even possible, thanks for the hint
It is really a matter of taste, but I am a big fan of smooth build plate first layers. Well tuned in those first layers can look almost polished with almost invisible layer lines. I think for covers like this, smooth first layers are fantastic. If the A1 Mini can handle smooth sheets well too that would be great. But you really need perfect first layers, its even less forgiving than perfect first layers on rough sheets. Would be interesting to see if the A1 Mini is up for such a task as well.
This kind of work with 3D printers is really helpful for us tinkerers! Subscribed and looking forward to more of your testing using 3D prints with Bambu printers.
Hi James, you convinced me to order an A1, unfortunately I couldn’t use the affiliate link to order from Australia.
Another awesome video! This is something I had been looking for - and thank you for the link to order! Shame they are now on back order until after thanksgiving! Keep up the great work on these videos... I am always amazed at your level of professionalism and thoroughness.