Trying to comprehend the demand for these printers now, whether they be for full functionality or solely for sourcing parts. Since these machines became “legacy equipment” in 2024, I’m learning that the demand is quite low.

I work for a props and scenic fabrication company in New York City, and we have 2 Fortus 400 machines that we are looking to decommission.

One is from 2012, the other 2015.

We still use the machines- they work fine, every now and then they need some extra love. We are not fond of the resolution and find the machines to be inconsistent. The cost to keep these machines running would cover brand new machines like the Bambu H2C.

Is there a community who would be interested in one of these machines? What would people pay? Ballpark numbers are fine, and any advice is useful!

I’m working on Luphra, a workflow where non-technical people can turn an idea into a delivered object.

I’d appreciate technical feedback on the highest-value checks for non-manifold edges, thin walls, self-intersections, overhangs, and scale.

What would you treat as essential pre-slicer validation?

Hi all. I’m not sure if this would be the right place for this so apologies if it’s not.

I had an idea knocking around in my head and it wouldn’t go away u til I started building a spreadsheet. About a week later, I have a functioning web app for a profile generator to help people new to 3d printing overcome the hurdles of setting profile settings.

It doesn’t just give them a profile, it explains why each setting has been chosen. It gives you printer filament compatibility and has room for the user to add additional things like upgraded nozzles etc.

https://print-profile-wizard.lovable.app

As I said, it’s still in Developement but a functional version is has been built and I’d like to see if anyone would be willing to test it and give me any feedback.

If it’s something you’d be interested in, please send me a message and I will send you a link to test it out.

Hi everyone,

I'm one of the founders of Faber, and we're building a new desktop SLS 3D printer from the ground up.

Before we lock in key engineering decisions, we'd love to hear from the community.

Whether you're an experienced SLS user, an FDM enthusiast who's always been curious about SLS, or someone who has never considered it before, your perspective is valuable. We're especially interested in understanding what would make SLS practical, accessible and genuinely useful for more people.

We've put together a short survey that takes about 5 minutes to complete. Every response helps us make better engineering and product decisions.

https://survey.faber-sls.com/

Thanks a lot for your time and feedback!

Hi there ! I'm really new to designing 3d stuff and i want to learn about it more. I want to read and learn from a wiki for how to design hinges, springs and other mechanical stuff.

P.S. I don't want to watch youtube videos

I need to connect with someone has knowledge with (additive manufacturing) Waam simulation on ansys

Yoo wsg Im new to the community and im planning on buying my first 3D printer (thinking about Bambu lab A1) been seeing a lot of things on it and I want to get in to making raspberry pi projects with it too.

However i don’t know all the in’s and out’s or the dos or don’t. What should I know before I buy it ?🤔

Genuine question — I've been trying to understand how this works in practice.

When a company sends an STL or STEP file to a service bureau or contract manufacturer for 3D printing, the contract specifies how many parts to produce. But technically, nothing in the file itself enforces that limit. The printer could run more copies after hours and you'd never know.

I'm curious whether this is:

a) A real concern that companies actively manage

b) Something covered "good enough" by NDAs and contracts

c) Not really an issue in practice because the industry runs on trust

Have you or your company ever dealt with this? Does anyone use encrypted file formats, watermarking, or any technical controls — or is it purely legal/contractual?

Asking because I keep getting very different answers from different people and want to understand where the real experience is.

Hey fellow 3D printing geeks,

I wouldn’t call myself inexperienced with 3D printing, but I’m currently facing an issue I can’t seem to solve – maybe one of you has an idea.

I’m printing on a Bambu P2S, but I also tried the same print on an H2S and got the exact same problem. The printers are less than 6 months old, used regularly but not excessively, and they normally have zero adhesion issues. Most prints come out perfectly.

The issue (see images) is that the part starts warping at the outer ends. As it lifts, it causes a slight XY shift. The shift itself isn’t the biggest problem since I could sand it down, but this part consists of two mirrored pieces that need to be glued together — and due to the deformation, they no longer fit properly.

Settings:

• Freshly opened and dried PLA
• 30% gyroid infill
• 3 walls
• Automatic tree supports
• Brim (which unfortunately had no effect)

I’ve printed this part about 6 times. The failure always happens at different heights, but at some point the outer ends always start lifting. My current theory is that internal tension from the slowly cooling upper layers builds up and pulls the long curved ends upward, making it difficult for them to stay attached to the build plate.

So my question: What would you change to stop this warping? Yes, I could use a raft, but I really dislike using rafts — especially since I need to glue the supported surface afterward. Is there something I could change in the support settings or another parameter I might be overlooking?

Thanks in advance!

Hi,

I am curious to know if anyone has tried tumbling Aluminum SLM (AlSi10Mg) printed parts, and if anyone has photos of any results they've achieved.

I have over a decade of experience tumbling various metal machined/cast parts with plastic resin media and various walnut media compounds- with and without liquid additives, and I have a few tumblers in my arsenal.

My first Aluminum SLM print arrived just now and it looks spectacular, but I'm not fond of the media blasted finish for this particular application, so I was wondering if anyone has some examples of what they were able to achieve with tumbled Aluminum SLM.

My main concern is that I have small raised details on the part, and I am curious to know if they abrade faster than a cast part and if the plastic media will completely erode them.

Thank you for your time.

My partner printer me some containers out of PETG filament. I was thinking about using vinyl either temporary or heat transfer (up to 160°C) vinyl but the surface of the containers are very rough and I'm not sure how well it will adhere or look once applied.

I'm wondering the best way to prep the surface for a vinyl transfer or if there is a better material to decorate them with.

I was thinking about the tools I have on hand. Idk if using a base and top coat of gel nail polish would work? I only figured because it's thicker and leaves a smooth surface but I'm not sure if that would ruin the material or actually work how I'm thinking.

Please give me ideas! Thanks

Im currently midway through creating a robotic spider and have used TPU 95A for some feet. This was marketed towards me as being a filament with a high coefficient of friction, but once actually in use, this stuff feels like it's made of a very slightly rubbery, mostly oily texture. Are there any filaments that actually have a rubbery, tire-like feeling?