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Thanks for the suggestion I just ordered a roll of IEMAI from Amazon to give it a try. Since this video I actually started using Jessie PETG and am in the process of recording a video about that experience and my impression of it. For me my goal is to make as few setting changes as possible and get repeatable results on the Prusa MK3S+ and MK4 printers. Right now I am achieving that goal with Jessie and the only thing I do is dry the filament. What was your process for using Polymaker and what printer are you using it with?

​@@builderdads I am trying to use the Polymaker petg on both a Bambu P1P and a Peopoly Magneto X. After wasting nearly an entire spool, I'm certain the Polymaker PETG was not meant for these machines. Especially not the Magneto. I think it would work great on an Ender 3 or similar machine. Which is probably why it works good on the Prusa. The surface quality, shiny vs matte finish, and layer bonding is entirely inconsistent unless I raise the temperature to at least 255c, preferably 265c . However at those temps the material itself starts to accumulate on the nozzle and burn, leaving burned petg blobs at random places across the print bed and parts. Maybe it just doesn't like either the hardened nozzle on the P1P or the tungsten nozzle on the Magneto. Perhaps a brass nozzle would be better for it, or maybe it's just not mean to be used as a high flow material.

@jazzcabbage_official good questions. I abandoned running Prusament on the Bambu X1C because after multiple spools and more hours than I can count of tuning, I just couldn’t get it to work. I have actually found Bambu’s brand of filament PLA and PETG to run well on it. In another comment someone mentioned that eSun was the actual manufacturer, but I did not verify on my own. Might be worth a try to see how Bambu runs? I know if I buy it on Monday in Ohio that I usually have it by Friday.

That is a great suggestion! I don't know why I didn't do that before the old CTRL + T and it looks great on my file. Thanks gain!

Well the test was to actually not spend time tuning it and to get a first impression based on use of generic settings. Who did the best job with the least amount of work. In the end Polymaker and Jessie turned out to be really good substitutes with no tweaking to switch between the MK3S+ machines and the MK4 machines. Sure I could have spent time doing temperature towers, flow, and other setting tweaks, but my goal was to not do that. I have a long thread on Reddit about tweaking Prusament to run on the Bambu X1C and after that experience my goal was to find out of the box success. I hear where you are coming from and I am sure I could have gotten any filament to work by putting work into it, but that wasn’t my goal.

Ya I wasn't happy with it at all. I was using a lot of Polymaker for a bit, but have now moved on to Jessie. So far so good the color has been pretty consistent and spool to spool good results. I am about 10 spools in with black PETG and 2 spools in with red. I am happy with the results.

@@builderdads You should do another set of reviews. I'm sure folks would love to see your results.

That is a good idea! Right now I have Polymaker in the MK3S+ and Jessie in the MK4s so that would be a good comparison the same part too!

I agree with you having a machine that just works is the most important part of this. So far now that the MK4s are dialed in they seem to be less needy than the MK3S+ machines were. Cost is a big factor though and I agree the Bambu X1C has a comparable price tag and pretty much works out of the box (as long as you don't clog the nozzle like I did with Prusament... ooops). I like the Apple to Linux analogy and I get it. I think at this moment I am still sold on Prusa, but time will tell as the X1C gets better can they upgrade it to be flawless first time | every time? I don't know the answer to it, but they are grabbing up a ton of market share from Prusa so it will be interesting to see these two go head to head for the Premium home printing solution and also for the small commercial print farms.

That is good to hear about Prusament in the EU. I know the part that kills me is the shipping on it which is why I am happy that Polymaker and Jessie filaments are working out for me. The call between Bambu and Prusa for me comes down to my experience with printing PETG and how it was a struggle for me to get parts to come out right without lots of tweaking to settings. Now that was months ago and I recently tried printing again after months of my Bambu sitting idle and things worked out better. I actually do use my Bambu again now, but it is because the Prusas are always busy. I know a lot of folks swear by the speed and I have seen a ton of videos where folks swear by the Bambu, but honestly the Prusa has been a great machine. I love the support and the ability to reach out and talk to someone about any problem. With Bambu your best bet is the user community which can sometimes be a rough place. I have seen a folks come down hard on simple questions because they felt the question to be dumb. I never really get that mentality because we all have to start somewhere and sometimes that one question might be the lightbulb moment that person needs to really get things going for them. As for problems with Bambu my issue was dialing in settings to find the perfect mix for Prusament PETG. It just seemed to not like it though I have had success with Bambu filament. For the Bambu I have had enough issues where it really just is not my go to machine. I'd rather schedule the job for one of the Prusas to do it because I know the quality will be great. Bambu just doesn't live up to the hype for me. My issues have all been surface imperfections. For the MK4 as long as you keep the print head clean I basically walk away. I have some WYZE OG Cams in the cases to watch, but honestly they run as many hours as I can run them with very few issues. I have had a couple things go wrong and I do not use the Input Shaper because it seemed to give me more errors than the improved speed could overcome. I had a few crashed and level shifted parts so I printer standard speed, but honestly PETG loves slow and steady or at least that my observation so why not keep it there. My vote is still Prusa and I know some will question my logic, but honestly despite being behind the curve a bit to Bambu I just think they will keep building quality machines that are reliable. I am actually about to upgrade one of my MK3S+ printers to a MK3.9 because I needed to do a few larger repairs like hotend and filament sensor so if investing the time I decided why not upgrade. This way I will have spare parts for my other MK3S+ to last for years. I am not a Cosplay person, but I print a lot of parts and jigs for woodworking and my go to is PETG. It fits all of my needs and stands up to all that I put it through in the shop. I have clamps printed, parts to machines, templates for routing, mounting brackets, and so much more. I would say you should be fine but depending on layer height and speed to print you might need to do some post processing so just make sure you understand the best way to get the results you need for the things you print. I hope this answer helps you out and would be interesting to see which way you decide to go for printer and filament. Event better would be 6 months or a year down the road are you happy with decisions you made. Thanks!

@@builderdads Thanks for the awesome and detailed answer! I'm giving me 2 weeks to still do more research and think about it (it's partly link to the availability of the P1S combo in my region). I love that the Prusa is perfectly tuned to work with Prusament, especially knowing the quality of those filament. I'll try to remember to keep you up on my decision and a feedback months later!

@Thagor95 your welcome and good luck with your research. In the end either way you go I don’t think you will be disappointed. I have talked to several folks who bought the PS1 and they love it so if you go that direction hopefully you will to. Me personally I am just patiently waiting for a free shipping sale then pulling the trigger on 2-4 more MK4s depending on how things are going with my business. Right now I am keeping up, but want to add some more products to my woodworking parts lineup.

Great information to have and I totally agree about the wetness. Even after 6 hours of drying it barely moved.

Good question. I’m trying to remember multi material. Does it give you a quantity for each filament? If yes then I would put the time to print under one and then treat the filament from the other as a separate part. Does that make sense? So you just calculate the filament as two parts with one carry print time for depreciation and power cost.

@dronesdirector9615 please shoot me an email info@builderdads.com with a screen shot please.

thanks @@builderdads

No problem, if I don’t reply right away to your email let me know here in the comments. Sometime things I want to see get marked spam.

Thanks so much for the information! Great question I know I have seen mine display results below 10% but I don’t know if the lower limit is 0. I would assume it would be 0, but my house stays around 40% and I am generally OK when the reading is in the teens after 6 hours. Though I have noticed with the cardboard spools they seem to hold moisture which skews the numbers.

That is interesting. On my Bambu X1C I had problems with Prusament PETG which I love and as a result I stopped using that printer for a while. Now I am using Bambu filament and finding success.

@@builderdads yeah Bambu filament worked great for me too

@Quinnebaug I have been impressed with their stuff printing on the X1. I need to try it on the Prusa to see if I can get good cross machine results.

haven't tried Sunlu but eSUNs filament quality has been horrible for me and I'm never buying eSUN again. Arriving off the shelf at a humidity that makes the filament literally pop without drying and even after drying it for extended periods of time giving me very bad results. I'm currently looking into other brands but so far Polymaker and Elegoo have given me very good results on PLA, didn't try PETG yet though

@@huntingfighteroramara I don't print PLA so Idk how theirs is I just know their PETG is great every time never needed to dry it ever. Also Bumbu lab filament is made by Sunlu and people rave about Bambu filament

No problem glad to help.

Thank you for the compliment. That is brilliant advice! Which dehydrator do you use?

Sure no problem. It took me a minute to put this together, but I make very few changes. builderdads.com/prusaslicer-settings Let me know if you have any questions.

@@builderdads Thank You! I need models for Prusa MK4 electronic cover and psu cover. They are too hot, I would like to cool them passive with better cover.

No problem. I am curious why yours are running hot and need to be cooled? I saw this model online for a board cooling when in a case www.printables.com/model/553004-prusa-mk4-board-cooling . Found this thread on overheating. Not sure if they will help you, but worth looking into. forum.prusa3d.com/forum/english-forum-original-prusa-i3-mk4-hardware-firmware-and-software-help/possible-overheating-of-the-mk4-electronics-case-inside-an-enclosure-with-summer-temperatures/

@@builderdads Dont know why is hot. I would like to cool it passive without fans. I already printed out PSU cover from PETG to cool the PSU, so now I just need a cover for the eletronics box.

Interesting... Have you talked to Prusa support? I would be very interested to find out more about why you are having the issue.

I am glad my review helped. I actually am waiting on two rolls of Jessie PETG filament from PrintedSolid. I have heard good things about that filament and feel like now that I have two the work really well is there a third option or will it outperform either of the other two. So far I have used my 10th roll of Polymaker since shot that video and while the results have been consistent on almost all rolls. I did have 1 roll that had a portion of the spool produce bad bridges. Since I run that machine so much and it is enclosed I am pretty sure I can isolate the issue to that roll as everything else shows normal through the whole print.

No problem glad you liked it. My opinion is that you can’t go wrong with the MK4 it is a solid machine. I have been debating what should I do with MK3S+ machines as they start to have issues. Repair or upgrade and if I upgrade how far should I go. Not sure what I will do other than buy another MK4 to put in the stack.

@@builderdads Thanks for sharing your opinion. I guess it's just a question of when I get a Mk4.

@bhartissimo awesome! I am wondering what they do next once they officially idle MK3 production. I think a lot of folks feel like they are still behind Bambu so wonder what they have cooking.

@@builderdads Prusa had an Instagram post about it today. They'll stop selling new MK3 kits tomorrow and will only sell assembled Mk3s till the current stock runs out. But in the same post, they said they'll continue to "offer support, spare parts and MK3.5 upgrades, ensuring that the MK3 will be with us for many years to come."

That is great news. I know personally with my two MK3S+ printers I have to weigh printing as is or upgrading and if so which modification to go with. I guess we will see how things go with needing to replace parts and make a call then.

Thank you I appreciate it!

Awesome to hear!

I’m not sure, but I know costing is a major part of everything I make whether it is furniture, 3D printed, or other. It is also a major source of stress which is why use spreadsheets to make the process logical.

@builderdads I'm just starting to learn on my new printer, just having fun and trying to get all the filaments, trying to get friends to buy a roll and I make them some stuff lol. there's a lot to learn to be a skilled creator, hope it doesn't take too long 😅

@kevinb7551 the best thing you can do is keep doing it. The more you do the better you get and as things break on your printer you learn even more by fixing and troubleshooting. I recently took on the challenge to expand my knowledge of filaments. It was enlightening and best yet I was smart enough to film it! What kind of printer are you running?

@builderdads I jumped into the x1c... I have some experience in setting up machines for wood molding. let me tell you the versatility of our old machines was awesome, but the set up time was a killer. So I went with quick setup to print without all the tinkering to save on that learning curve, lol. But if I learn all the CAD, slicing, and coding on this then I'm probably going to get a rig to mod. Unlimited print bed and multi head interest me so far.

The X1C is a good machine. While I prefer my Prusa printers even though they a slower the X1C does have a place and it is actually right behind me. I recently gave it another shot printing some quick clamps I designed to hold a shoe rack to my bench better and I was so happy with the results. I then took a roll of Bambu PETG and decided to run a test on my DeWALT planer modification to see how it went. It was such a better experience than it was 6 months ago when I stopped using it for that part and reinvested in Prusa. Still some minor surface stuff but a solid print overall. The CAD stuff is where things really get fun. I use Sketchup to do my modeling because it was what I learned when I first got into woodworking and I know it really well now. I love my ability to go from design to finished print in a short amount of time. I to am very interested in those topics you mentioned and a Prusa XL might be in my future (if I can justify the spend).

Agree! I don’t see a problem with the cardboard with the Prusa printers at all, but won’t know about Bambu until I try it. I will say that I have been reusing my plastic spools from Prusa for a while now and have a collection because I like to buy the refills and save a few bucks.

Your welcome! It’s funny as soon as that test was done I went to Amazon picked up 3 more rolls to arrive this morning and have 2 cooking already to go into the machines later today.

@builderdads when you were comparing the packaging of the Polymaker, ".... and it comes in a re-sealable bag." Hold up! What? <goes over to a new box of PETG> sure enough. I completely overlooked that when I opened the first one. Now I'm headed to the store to get a sturdy cardboard box to enclose my printer until I can finish making the parts for the enclosure to enclose my printer to print more better parts. I feel like I'm headed down a visious spiral of maker enjoyment.

This is how you quickly go from one machine to many. Enjoy the spiral it is fun!

Wanted to let you know I am now printing Polymaker on all 4 Prusa machines. One of them is on its second roll and I have 2 drying. I am extremely impressed so far.

@builderdads Hey! That's awesome! Big money savings. I bet you're thrilled. Mine is printing way better now that enclosed it with cardboard until I get the actual enclosure built. The parts are strong and clean. I'm very happy with Polymaker so far.

Well to be honest I haven't printed anything for any pets though I did once consider doing a water bowl.

Your welcome! I am actually getting ready to run a comparison on Prusament, Polymaker, and eSUN PETG to see how they all stack up against each other on the MK4.

@@builderdads I look forward to that

Me too! I am running low on Prusament and need to validate that my choice to use it exclusively for PETG in my MK3S+ and MK4 machines has been the right decision.

@builderdads Nothing against Prusa, and I'm sure their filament is great, but I'm hoping the others do really well. I would like to avoid the $10 more per roll plus the extra shipping charge.

Exactly where I am at right now. To get the shipping cost per spool down to $6.71 for me I need to buy 21 spool an order. Which I can go through pretty quick, but that gives me a per spool cost of $36.70.

Glad you liked the video and thank you for that suggestion! I actually shot some video while I was assembling the two for the MK4s and figured out a better flow to it than I had when I assembled the two for the MK3S+ printers. It shouldn't be to hard to find something to talk about because I did print the sheet holders, the tool holder, I added fire suppression, I added cameras inside the cases and I have still to go making an LED light setup for inside the enclosure. Now the hard part finding the time to shoot the video.

I still need to make a video talking about the Prusa enclosure, but wanted to share with you this upgrade I just made for it so I could mount some Wyze cameras in the cases. www.printables.com/model/801046-wyze-cam-og-magnetic-mount

Absolutely! Metal work is on my bucket list of things to learn how to do. Hopefully I can add that as a stretch goal for my 2024 list.

That is awesome to hear you got one too! My basement is almost exactly like yours on the old side which is where the printers are now and the MK4s are running perfect at the higher temp. Funny enough the MK3S+ printers are right next to them printing perfect at stock settings, but my guess is my Z is just low enough where it matters less. I have two SUNLU driers and they do make a difference by cooking out extra moisture though mine are not plumbed into the machine directly. I print enough that I run through a roll in 2 days so I haven’t had to do any recooks yet. I do also preheat the enclosure to get things warmed up while I am prepping surfaces. Be interested to see how things change for you as temps warm up in spring so keep in touch. And happy printing and building to you too!

It’s funny because you’re not the only person I have heard not having issues with PETG. I did have a post on Reddit last year that had some traction where I was not the only one. Here is the link if you want to check it out. I shared pictures of the problem as I tried to figure it out. www.reddit.com/r/BambuLab/s/d17fJhEH7T

@@builderdads Reading that link, only a few people have problems, I mean, you find that in every printer forum, often these problems are user error, but not saying a printer can not be faulty. I hate to sound like a Bambu fanboy, I really am not, I see things for what they are, and maybe the software was better when I got the printer 6 month ago, but the ammount of time you are putting into dialing it in is not normal for Bambu, their stock profiles are really well dialed in, making your own profiles from scratch is a thing of the past with Bambu. It almost seems like you have changed so much, that you have become busy correcting your own corrections. If you start it up, get the latest software, run stock profile, put in a new roll of filament, you really should have no problems. I can see you are using the textured PEI plate, with this you need to turn off the flow calibration, the textured plate can throw off the lidar and mess up the following print. I have run quite some kilos of PETG through the printer, I also sometimes use ASA or Prusament PC blend, sometimes also PLA+ but mostly for fast prototyping. It is an expensive printer, you might as well use it, try it with stock profiles. maybe their updates have solved your problems :-)

I think you are right that they have probably made a lot of updates since I last had it running. I just moved my Prusa Farm (4 printers farm lol) to another location in my basement so the Bambu is back in a stable spot where I can fire it up again. I’ll give it a shot and let you know if things are better. I had done temp towers and flow tests when I set up OrcaSlicer. Just for my knowledge are you printing on textured sheet with PETG and if not which sheet? Are you using Bambu Stuidio or another slicer? Also I want to thank you for your input and let you know I appreciate it! I really do want to love the printer because I was so excited when I bought it. While I might be labeled a Prusa Fanboy I just really love this style of small scale manufacturing and fingers crossed the Bambu starts doing what it should do. I do believe I now have a roll of Bambu PETG to give it a try.

@@builderdads I am often using the textured sheet for petg, I just turn of flow calibration when sending to the printer. Petg works fine on the engineering plate as well, and here you can let it do flow calibration, but I find no change in the print quality. I am using Bambu slicer most of the time, I have used Orca as well sometimes because I also have other printers where I use Orca, I did not notice any difference in print performance. I have never had to do any flow calibration or temp towers using the Bambu slicer, I just chose the Bambu PETG profile, even that it is not Bambu filament I am using, and it prints great. When printing petg I have the printer all closed up, I never get warping or other issues. Printing PLA+ then I need to have the door open, otherwise I have experienced heat creep. About clogging, I have had a few clogs, each time it have happened during change of filament type. You now going from one type of filament to another is the most critical point, some people even have different sets of hotends for different type of filaments (not only related to Bambu). If you are printing PLA+, you can use petg as interface support layer, with 0 spacing to supports, and get totally smooth underside of prints as well where the supports were, this is one of the great things about the ams. You can also buy Bambu support material, but I find petg works even better as support interface layer for PLA than the expensive special support material.

Awesome information to have! I really appreciate all of that and I will have to keep you posted once I get the X1C fired back up this weekend to let you know how it goes.

Thank you!

That is awesome to hear! I like the enclosure because it gives me that stable environment for the machine to live in and helps with the fact that on the other side of the wall from the machines is a wood working shop that produces dust. For the MK4 you will love it and now that I have figured out how to print PETG successfully on the textured sheet without issue I am super happy. Spoiler alert it all came down to bed temp needing to be higher because the machines are in a colder room than my office.

@@builderdads I just ordered the enclosure and all the accessories. I have a health and safety background, and the micro-particle stuff is a bit disconcerting. Plus I know that my wife will complain about it since it will be where she works. I can then add the fire suppressor to it and feel comfortable printing overnight. Now if I were only as health and safety conscious with dust in the garage...

@@farmcat3198 I hear you on that. I currently have 3 printers in my office and am moving them to another area away from me so I am not sitting right on top of the fumes. I did not buy the filters, but I did consider them. All of my 4 Prusas have the fire suppression devices and they do add some piece of mind. I would be interested to see what you think of the filtration. I think I am going to eventually install a small blower fan and vent the the air around the machines outside.

@@builderdads I'm reading a variety of studies about nano-particle emissions from 3d printers. Each study has different concerns and exposure limits. The common theme of exposure prevention theme is to supply sufficient fresh air into the space and to exhaust emissions to the outside. I'll use the powered filter in the enclosure to generate negative pressure so that the exhaust goes through the filter. I may exhaust outside if I can find a way to do it efficiently and effectively.

@@farmcat3198 good information to know and I appreciate you sharing it. Please continue to do so.

Absolutely agree

Do you mean instead of modifying to go from direct off the head to using a 90° off the back stock port? If the answer is yes then the reason is that I upgraded to a Shelix head which overloads the rear impeller. I get less suction so more chips on the floor and an overheated motor that trips my circuit breaker by keeping it stock. By switching up to collecting right above the cutter the chips do not have to pass through the rear port and do not then overwork the motor. This enables my motor to run cooler without over heating . It also gives me better collection which leaves almost no chips behind. I hope that answers the question and if not let me know.

@@builderdads Thanks! Yes this did answer my question and I can see from your explanation that it was necessary to do it the way you did.

@@ibuyufo awesome!

Excellent questions and thoughts! Yes, the angle was past the planer and was causing extra pressure without the 90. After shooting the video I realized that if I went to a total of 6 layers between magnets the hold was strong enough to support the flex pipe. However I did have another coupling adapters so I moved the connection almost directly under the machine now and put the 90° pipe back in. Right now the ceiling connection is holding perfectly and the pipe is in a spot where I won't hit my head (OK maybe won't hit my head).

That is a really good question because I just got my MK4s started up and will begin printing with them later this weekend. My first tests were with the smooth sheet and PLA which worked very well. My PETG test on a the textured sheet did not stick well. What I can say is that my MK3S+ printer both print PETG on the textured sheet inside the original Prusa enclosures with doors closed. I use standard settings and they print fantastic, but it took some work. First thing was to use dish soap and a Scotch Brite pad on the sheet to sort of scuff it up a bit. After that I cleaned with Isopropyl Alcohol and do so after every print. The next thing was to get my Z offset perfect. After all that the printer just runs. For the MK4 I am hoping to duplicate those results. As soon as I do I will comment thoughts and tips. Thank you, Dan

Wanted to follow up on this because I have to MK4s running perfect now. The answer for me was all about bed temp. With the MK3S+ printers I had them in my office where it is a relatively stable 72 degrees F and my shop where I was getting these all setup was 65. What I found was bumping the bed temp to 95 C solved my problems on bed adhesion. As long as I clean my beds with alcohol well between prints I am not having any issues now.

I got the Prusa textured print sheet for printing PETG and it works great. To avoid warping I have been using ‘mouse ears’. In PrusaSlicer right click on the part and select Add Part->Gallery then add support_disc.stl, I think.

Great advise mouse ears!

I was just talking to a friend today who has an X1C and she was mentioning the same benefit of being able to kick off a print job while at work and pull it off the printer when she got home. It was interesting that I got that comment from her and then read this one from you. While I do love my Prusas maybe I need to give my X1C another chance to amaze with some multi-color 3D prints. I have really been wanting an Autobot Matrix of Leadership and I remember seeing a print somewhere with that.

It sounds to me like PETG is the deal breaker on the X1 Carbon. I’m curious as to what you are printing that makes PETG the best choice. I print mainly cigar box guitar parts on my Kickstarter X1 Carbon in PLA and have had very few problems. PLA is easy and meets my needs. It’s great having 4 colors loaded and ready and changing colors in the AMS is very easy if I need a different one. I don’t do much multicolor printing, but it has come in handy too. The significantly faster Normal speed has been a real plus over my retired Robo3D R1 Plus. I never considered Prusa when I got my X1 Carbon because the build plate was smaller than what I had (the deal breaker) and the price seemed high for what you get. Without a doubt experiences with 3D printers vary and some people seem to have more problems than others. I appreciate you sharing yours.

Thanks for the comment I am enjoying sharing my experiences. I print a lot of parts for woodworking from jigs, fences, dogs, tool modifications, etc... For those applications I choose to go with PETG though I just moved all of my Prusa printers to a new location in my basement so I am going to fire up the X1 Carbon and start using it again. I have gotten so many good comments that I am wondering if all of my problems with PETG might go away now that Bambu has their own PETG. I have picked up a fair amount of PLA though from Bambu to try out with some fun prints.

@@builderdads I appreciate the response. I’m still curious as to the why of using PETG? What advantage(s) out weigh the difficulty of printing with it. I know rigid strength isn’t it; PLA is the better choice. I remember in the early days of my X1 Carbon and in the Facebook group many were wrestling with successfully printing with PETG. Meanwhile I used Windex as the release agent on the Cool plate for PLA with consistent, excellent results. In addition to printing cigar box guitar parts, I print drilling guides and other aids to the woodworking aspects of building my guitars. I use PLA: it works well and is easy to print; a win-win in my book.

@@cbgslinger no problem, I appreciate the conversation. For me there were some things about PETG that stood out over PLA: durability, chemical resistance, ability to hold up against higher temperatures, and hold up to mechanical stresses. When I first started printer years back on my Creality CR-10 I was having fun and learning while printing mostly models designed by others. I was using PLA and did not give much thought to it. Fast forward to when I got my first Prusa I started looking at ways to improve my shop. At the time I was trying to figure out how to low profile hang my dust collection pipes as to not waste the limited height of my ceiling. It was at this time I started looking into what was the best mechanical filament knowing I would be suspending a good chunk of weight over my head. It was at that time that I went with PETG and opted for Prusament because it was designed specially for my printer. Soon after figuring out a good design I picked up a second printer because I wanted to print more parts quicker so I could get the upgrade complete. It wasn’t long after building my pipe mounts that I started seeing the need for other items in my shop. Since I knew I could make PETG work I stuck with it. Moving forward to when I purchased the X1C. At the time I had just started selling my prints and I was looking to add manufacturing capacity that was quick. The MK4 had not yet been released and all the buzz was the X1C. I purchased it and wanted to replicate what I was doing with the Prusas, but faster. I loved the idea that I could have multiple rolls that as one finished the next one would automatically load. Then I ran into problems. I struggled to figure out how to get PETG to reliably print. I would make the same part 5 times and 1 would be perfect and the other 4 would have cosmetic or failure problems. It was a much different experience from the Prusa MK3S+ printers. After several rolls and hours wasted trying to figure it out I put the X1C to the side in my office and purchased Prusa enclosures so I could stack the two MK3S+ printers. That is where the X1C sat on the side not used with the Prusas running 20+ hours a day until actually today. Sorry long story, but the reality is that I was buying PETG for a reason and didn’t see a reason to switch. Now that I have 4 Prusa printers running smooth I am starting to look at things. I know I like my parts in PETG and I have them printing reliably. Which means now I can play a little bit and have purchased some Bambu brand filaments to try out and see what I am going to use the X1C for. For me I have read a lot about PLA, PLA+, and PETG. I think for my application I am still going to stick with PETG though I am expanding my stock of filaments with the hope of finding time to try out some new ideas. Hope that explains things for you and why I have chosen to use PETG.

Good idea! I actually solved the problem by reducing the layers between each part. I had 6 layers on each side originally and reduced it down to 3 layers. The part is still strong, but now the magnets are close enough to hold.

I have not yet, but I did pick up a roll of Bambu’s PETG with my last order using their filament deal for “members”. I have been collecting different PLA colors in hopes to make some cool prints in the future. I mean who doesn’t want a Matrix of Leadership from the original Transformers movie.

@@builderdads cool. I will be picking up an X1C next month so if you have issues with theirs too maybe I can test the Bambu PETG also and see how it goes.

@@hicamajig that would be awesome. I know others who haven't had issues and then I have seen a lot of Reddit of people who have so it always makes me wonder if the issue is local to my machine? I would hope to think machine to machine results would be repeatable.

I agree with you on support and if Bambu had that then this video would have probably gone the other way. Right now though based on my and my ability to quickly fix any issue that comes up Prusa is winning. Time will tell if things change and I don't plan on getting rid of my Bambu. It is just designated for other tasks while the Prusas are the work horses of my very small 5 printer farm. Not sure I can call it a farm more like a pasture? Though I get innovation and I am sure many things will change over the next few years.

@@builderdadsI just ordered an Mk4, and I’m super pumped. I just want something that works. I don’t need all the fancy extras, and I want it to be reliable. Prusa is like the Toyota of 3D penters: not flashy, not all the new features, just works reliably for a long time.

@@philxcskier awesome! I can tell you right now I have two prints running on my MK4s and though I had a bit of a rocky start when I switched up to PETG and the texture sheet it took a couple runs and cleanings to get things worked out. Right now I am keeping an extra close on on the first few layers, but one print is at 50% complete and looking perfect. The other is at 5% and looks promising. I should note that the two are only working on the second print for one and the 5th print for the other.

Awesome, I am glad you found this helpful and I hope you find some of these prints make your life easier.

Exactly and that is the reason why I love having my printers so much.

@@builderdads I have one and I love it too. I haven’t even begun to tap into what it can do for my shop.

@@themeandrousengineer the possibilities are endless especially if you are into making jigs. I have a few on printables www.printables.com/@BuilderDadDan and need to make some more.

That is great to hear and that is an interesting note about the Polymaker PLA. I would be interested to know when you do use it if you like it.

@@builderdadsThere's PLA Plus/Pro from a number of manufactures, that is like that. There's an awesome model out there somewhere of a bear trap. Fails horribly with PLA, haha, but works amazingly with PETG. I remember when PLA Plus/Pro hit the scene, and it was doing just as good of a job. I was amazed. It's the spring portion, so as you can imagine, with PLA it'd break, snap! That PLA Pro/Plus stuff is awesome, but in the end it still has PLAs biggest shortcoming, in my opinion. Which is that point in which it becomes soft and deforms. You should give ABS/ASA on your X1 a try. I've printed a bunch of ABS on a P1S and it does an amazing job, with the textured bed. I find it is the easiest material to print on that thing. Only downside is you need it in a ventilated area, as the fumes aren't good. I'm scared to try PETG on my bambu now, haha, because it seems a common issues. I printed more PETG than anything else on my Prusa Mk2. That thing always rocked it!

@@HarveyVarietyHour that is great info! I just got some new Bambu branded filament to try out and see what happens. Right now I print in my office, but I am making a new cabinet to move the printers into the room next to my office where I can easily vent externally through the old laundry vent. My office use to be the laundry room before I moved laundry to the main floor of the house. I'll have to give ASA a try I have a bunch of that for printing a project for my garden next year.

That is awesome that you just got your MK4! That is also an impressive amount of time to log in just 6 weeks. What kind of things are printing? I am not sure that you will see much difference in the printing beyond PETG is more prone to oozing and doesn't bridge as well as PLA. As I understand the main difference is in the use of the model. PETG can withstand harsher environmental conditions so is better suited for outdoor or part use. For me I print mostly PETG because I am typically making parts or jigs for my woodworking shop. In my case I had curling issues with my prints due to a draft in my office so I found printing doors closed on my enclosure was the best option for me.

@@builderdads Most of my print time went into Gridfinity with PLA. PETG was for other things that needed a bit more flex under stress or were additions for the MK4. Only printed 1kg of it so far. I also made a vase with rainbow PETG. I love that it is so reliable that I can just print over night without the fear of a built plate full of noodles. For the doors shut, I fear that it will be too warm for PLA inside after a few hours. I had 45°C inside once with the doors closed.

@@drstefankrank that is awesome. If you have pictures somewhere I would love to see them. For doors open temping at 45°C make sense. Absolutely agree on the reliability. I tend to start the print and walk away to let them run all day. I did go as far for added piece of mind to add the BlazeCuts Fire Suppression system that I got from Printed Solid. I am getting very excited because I just finished printing all the parts needed to add my two brand new MK4s to the line up. Just need to finish the projects in the shop so I can get cleaned up to start assembling.

@@builderdadsSure, but no clue how to provide you some.

If you are on Facebook you can send a message by finding me facebook.com/@builderdads

That is good to hear your experience was different than mine. I find it a hit or miss on some folks loving them and others feeling so so like me. Just a question did you have to tweak settings, which slicer are you using and what PETG? I tried Bambu Studio and OrcaSlicer using Prusament PETG as I had a lot of it on hand at the time. Never could get it good enough so just accepted the slower speed of Prusa and run machines about 16-20 hours a day.

Alright now I am really getting excited. I have to get mine up and running ASAP!

Well I am two weeks into my MK4s running and I love them! Great machines!!

@@builderdadsthanks for your vids. I’ve been struggling to choose my first FDM printer: MK4, X1C, or C K1Max… I want to fire and forget, not tweak like I have to with my resin printer. I think im going with Prusa.

@@aariuswins what I can say is that I have heard from a lot of folks that my experience with the Bambu X1 Carbon is not the normal experience. I do plan to start using it with PLA and I am going to try again with PETG. That being said my experience thus far has been solid with Prusa. The MK3S+ printers have been very solid and the MK4s are making me smile with each print they complete. I am really only printing PETG with them, but I can tell you that I hit print and walk away. I do have them in enclosures, I do cook my filament prior to running in a SUNLU 2 dryer, I have fire suppression in the enclosure (peace of mind), and I do have WYZE cameras in the enclosures to check on the prints because I like watching them work. If I was buying another printer tomorrow it would be a Prusa MK4. However, I know a lot of folks are singing a lot of praises for Bambu. The AMS is a nice feature. Hope this helps you out and feel free to ask any questions you might have. I will hopefully have an answer.

That is great to hear! I am really excited to get mine up and running now that they arrived. First I need to build a new spot for them.

Thanks for the tips!

Good points to make. That is one of the things that annoyed me from the start was the fact that you had to have a master degree in their software to get things right. Though after a while it did force me to learn things so that part was helpful.

Is that really true? I've heard people complain about this, but I've seen a few comments stating that it is possible to use the Bambu printers offline. I don't own one, so I have no idea. I have Prusa's as well.

You can upload prints via an SD card, but it is easier to just sit at your computer and hit send from Bambu Studio or OrcaSlicer. I prefer OrcaSlicer because you can opt out of the flow control at the front of the print. Basically once you set the parameters you "should" be good to go. Masters Degree in their software yes and no. Since I use Prusa printers and Slicer I think I am a bit spoiled because I just use default settings and go. When it came to Bambu I spent a lot of time reading about what to do to get a print to come out right. With their PLA I had no issues using default, but running Prusament PETG was a nightmare for me. Way different experience than the slice and go world I was use to with Prusa.

⁠@@grantdeisig1360 There is an offline mode, but to update the firmware you have to put the machines online. There is an encrypted block of data sent back to Bamboo when you put them online for the update. Since the data is encrypted there is no way to validate what is being sent. This is only a problem if you work with sensitive models that need strict protections. If you are just designing your own toothbrush holder, brackets or things from the internet, it’s not a big deal, but if you worry about intellectual property, then not having an option to update offline is not acceptable. I think the reason they don’t allow USB firmware updates is because it gives an attack surface to “jailbreak” the printer. I think the data being sent is the hardware encryption key for the firmware and not personal information. But if you read Bambu terms of service they state they can have full access to all memory, sensors and camera at anytime. That is not great. Also when dealing with sensitive prototypes or models you can not risk the data based on “trust me bro” or “I think they are not sending my data”. If you are about make the next best plastic thing that will find your retirement, go buy an ender or Prusa or any of the printers out there that can be air gapped. Cheers.

At least if you are going to make a point, make an accurate one. No "cloud services" are not required if you don't want to use them. SD card or local LAN work fine. "Proprietary parts" sure just like your car or TV but Bambu sells almost all parts at very cheap prices. And shipping over $50 is free, I usually get any part in 4 or 5 days. How much is shipping from PRUSA? HaHa. Sorry, your arguments are no longer true.

That would for sure be a unique modification.

@@builderdads I have an older dw735 that I bought for back up to my new one. I’m thinking about pulling the older motor and trying to mount it to the fan shaft with a coupler. Two motors inline…

@@3Beehivesto300 interesting idea. Makes one wonder how that will impact performance and if the changes are positive are they worth the cost of the modification. I'll be interested to hear update on this.

That is a good idea. With the fan still on and just the port cover adapter covering it the air flow is pretty strong. I have yet to overheat the unit, but I wonder if some additional breather holes would improve things. Thanks for the idea. Would love to see a picture of your modification.