OV9

Any had/having a dabble at this?

Looking to get a Bambu A1 and AMS kit for the boy for one of his Christmas presents, looks like lots to play with, has anyone got one, advice welcome if so!

Yep, got an A1 mini in the summer to try and picked up an A1 with AMS in the recent sale. They’re really capable machines and do enough self-testing and calibration that they’ll print nicely (almost) all the time. The mini has over 1000 print hours on it, I’ve just lubed rails when it’s asked me to and cleaned the build plate, that’s it.

Mates had messed about with Enders and the like before and these are so much better it’s unreal. Very glad I put off jumping in until these were out.

That's good to hear as I've just bought the A1 with AMS, was 389 in the sale which seems great value.

Where do you get your filament from

https://sunlu.co.uk/ for bulk white/black/grey for functional stuff like bins to organise things. Buying 5 spools it usually works out under £9/kilo. Just need to print a small adaptor for the reels to sit nicely on the AMS Lite.

For colours and aesthetic stuff (matt, silk, etc) usually eSun or Elegoo off amazon, they're usually on some offer. I do buy some Bambu Lab stuff when they've got a sale on, although remember their "refill" ones need a spool (either one you finished, or you can print your own). Theirs have the benefit of the AMS and printer knowing exactly what it is when you load it.

Cheers I'll get some bought, I saw that the AMS knows if you use theirs, is the chip in the spool?

Yes, there’s a little rfid chip on the cardboard core. It just saves you going into the menu to set what material and colour it is.

Can I have an update on this? How are you finding it? Are the prints actually strong enough for practical applications?
Kind of one of those things I've wanted forever but unsure if I'd ever have a proper use for it.
How hard is it to learn the software? Say I want to make a cupholder insert to hold my phone in my car. Will this be a simple thing or take 100 hours?

This popped up on fb, I don't know if it'll be of any use; https://www.facebook.com/groups/575732029944050

Mito Man wrote: Fri Jul 25, 2025 12:47 pm Can I have an update on this? How are you finding it? Are the prints actually strong enough for practical applications?
Kind of one of those things I've wanted forever but unsure if I'd ever have a proper use for it.
How hard is it to learn the software? Say I want to make a cupholder insert to hold my phone in my car. Will this be a simple thing or take 100 hours?

I do quite a bit of 3d printing, i've prototyped a lot of parts with it and even have some finished parts on my car in 3d printed abs and carbon. I even prototyped an entire engine mount kit and had and engine and gearbox fitted in my car on 3d printed plastic mounts.

I use Fusion360 for designing stuff but I was a cad monkey in a former life so I didn't find it hard to pick up, its quite simple software to learn though so you'd pick it up even if you had no prior experience.

My printer is a Prusa XL, I previously had a mk3. The included software to convert a 3d model into print data is super easy to use and they're simple to set up.

That's good to hear. My budget is much smaller so I'm looking at a Bambu Labs P1S which seems to be one of the more beginner friendly ones from my research. And it's enclosed so better at doing ABS. My primary purpose for it will be for improving hydroponics designs and I want to experiment with increasing bee hive resistance to wasps.

I've got an Ender 3 that I've had for a few years and get decent results from. It's very much a basic machine and requires constant tinkering - but I enjoy that.

I ordered the P1S then went to Wales so can't comment on it. Downloaded the software for it and Fusion360 which I'm watching tutorials on and messing about in the evenings. I am finding it enjoyable though.

This thing is the absolute bollocks


Takes me back to my youth, when I’d stare at the washing machine doing its thing

Finally proficient enough in Fusion360 to do some basic modelling. First thing I did was make a replacement Ring bracket.

Needs some refining but it works.

Next made a bunch of prototypes for Caterham mirror adapters and some cup holder inserts for the F150


Final versions for everything will be out of black ASA.

Also made a bunch of models for various sawmilling templates.

Need to learn how to make threads next

I follow a 3D printed car parts group on Facebook. Printing suspension bushes from tpu seems pretty common.

Given what powerflex charge for a set these days it probably wouldn’t take all that long to make it pay for itself

I’ve seen 3D printed engine/gearbox mounts but not sure on how long they last. Might try it on an easlly accessible part if the opportunity arises.

Easiest part to make in terms of money saving so far is this https://caterhamparts.co.uk/dry-sump/5 ... nylon.html - they don’t last very long in general and can be taken out by a single cats eye on the crest of a road if you’re unlucky. £120 a pop for an overtake. I’m thinking of making a version with a titanium/stainless steel insert too

Also almost every cold air intake system I’ve seen looks like there’s lots of room for improvement. They never seem to seal very well so I may try to tackle that on my own car in the future.

People seem to say they last well if the printer is nicely set up. I like that it would allow you to make them progressive or have give in certain directions by leaving voids in them which you can’t do with poured polyurethane.

Or you can print your own moulds and use a two part poly to pour your own.

There are loads of things I think one would be handy for, it’s just a pretty large time / money / space investment. Honestly, finding somewhere to put a decent sized one would be my biggest challenge at the moment

Wouldn’t voids lead to excess play and give more failure points? You can also buy TPU in different Shore hardnesses and I think even print temperature affects the final hardness so that may be a better way to go about it.

I was thinking it would mean you could make them more like oem bushes which have holes of slots to allow more movement in one direction than the other.

I just remember reading that someone printed them solid and they were a lot stiffer than they expected.

I just think it’s cool that people are able to play around with these things at home now.

I was reading in Autocar about Donkervoort’s new P24 and especially about the new intercoolers created by 3DP - by adjusting manufacturing method, including reducing fins thickness due expected temp through the intercoolers, surface contours etc. they have reduced the total weight from 18kg to 1.4kg! (Yes, decimal placing is correct!) Insane!!

https://www.donkervoort.com/en/news/don ... flux-wcac/

Dan, Harry and Mito - 500kg Bowler look-a-like with 500bhp please!