3D scanning and printing¶
Here is a comparison table of the four 3D printers we used this week. Each of us worked with a different printer.
| Printer | Build Volume (XYZ in mm) | Speed (max.) | Supported Materials |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bambu Lab A1 Mini | 180 × 180 × 180 | 500 mm/s | PLA, PETG, TPU, ABS, ASA, PA, PC, CF/GF-filled materials (limited) |
| Bambu Lab Engineering | 256 × 256 × 256 | 500 mm/s | PLA, ABS, ASA, PETG, TPU, PA, PC, CF/GF-filled materials |
| Prusa MK4 | 250 × 210 × 220 | 200 mm/s (recommended), max. ~400 mm/s | PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA, TPU, PC, PA, CF/GF-filled materials (limited) |
| Bambu Lab X1 Carbon | 256 × 256 × 256 | 500 mm/s | PLA, ABS, ASA, PETG, TPU, PA, PC, CF/GF-filled materials |
All Bambu printers are optimized for high-speed printing and feature active vibration compensation. The Prusa MK4 is focused on precision and reliability but is not as fast as the Bambu models. Supported materials are similar across all printers, with some limitations for fiber-reinforced materials on the Prusa MK4 and A1 Mini.
We printed this all in one stress test by @Gabbox3D to get a baseline of the printer’s performance.
To test the clearance we used this clearance tolerance test by @3DMakerNoob.
Testing the Prusa Mk4¶
To start off here are some key features of the Prusa Mk4:
- 250 x 210 x 220mm open build volume (optional enclosure available)
- cartesian style motion system (click here for more info)
- compatible with 1.75mm filament
- maximum temperatures: 290°C (nozzle), 120°C (printbed)
- built in touchscreen, WiFi, filament runout sensor and loadcell sensor
- automatic mesh bed leveling limited to the print area
- magnetic heatbed with removable PEI coated spring steel sheet
- file transfer via USB stick or Prusa Connect (USB stick still has to be connected)
- 1099€ for the assembled printer, 819€ for the DIY kit
There actually is an upgraded version of this printer, the Prusa Mk4S, which features an improved cooling system and a high flow nozzle resulting in better print speeds and even better quality. You can read more about it here.
We printed this all in one stress test by @Gabbox3D to get a baseline of the printer’s performance.
For all our test prints we used all the standards, the Prusa Mk4 Input Shaper profile, a 0.4mm nozzle, PLA filament and PrusaSlicer’s default 0.2mm SPEED preset for the settings. The all in one stress test print took about 2 hours on this machine and the results were kind of a mixed bag.
Overhangs looked clean up until 60°, after that some of the printed lines started to sag.
Bridging was flawless up until a length of 15mm, the lengths afterwards were still more than usable.
Throughout the whole print there was little to no stringing, the pillars showed a lot of layer inconsistencies though.
Despite prior cleaning two of the four corners lifted off the build plate. While sharp corners tend to warp easier, this may also be due to the weird underextrusions in the corners that you can see from above.
Outer diameters came out about 0,15mm larger than intended, while the inner ones came out barely undersized with a difference of 0,05mm.
To check the dimensional accuracy a little further, we printed a 20mm test cube that came out as a 19,94 x 19,95 x 20mm rectangular prism.
To test the clearance we used this clearance tolerance test by @3DMakerNoob.
The four segments with the largest clearances were immediately movable upon taking the print off of the build plate. The 0,15mm clearance piece needed a little bit of persuasion but came loose eventually while the 0,1mm clearance piece stayed stuck.
To finish the testing on the Prusa Mk4 we printed this quick support test by @FaultyData_82683.
A little poking and pulling with some side cutters took care of the supports really quickly, which left a surprisingly good surface finish.
Over all the Prusa Mk4 performed well, but still left room for improvement. As mentioned, all of our measurements were taken from prints with the absolute default settings which can definitely be tweaked to produce better results.
Testing the Bambu Lab A1 Mini¶
Here are the key features:¶
- 180 × 180 × 180 mm open build volume
- ** Cantilever design click here for more info
- Compatible with 1.75 mm filament
- Maximum temperatures: 300°C (nozzle), 80°C (print bed)
- Built-in touchscreen, WiFi, filament runout sensor, and you can buy a automatic material system (AMS) compatibility
- Automatic bed leveling with a magnetic removable print surface
- File transfer via Bambu Handy app, WiFi, or microSD card
- Starting at 299€ for the base model, additional cost for AMS bundle click here for the Bambu Lab Website
The Bambu Lab A1 Mini Combo includes the Automatic Material System (AMS), allowing seamless multi-color and multi-material printing by automatically switching between up to four filaments.
So the Bambu Lab A1 Mini had a nozzel of 0,4mm and a PLA from Bambu Lab for the testing. We started with the all in one printer test. For the printer there is a silcer from Bambu Lab.
You can see a warning message from the slicer. Due to the stress test and thorough analysis, the slicer indicates the presence of floating elements. This is caused by the overhang we tested. Normally, We wouldn’t ignore this warning, but for the purpose of this test, we decided to proceed.
Here you can see the result of the stress test:¶
(You can find the link on the top of the page)
Okay, it looks really good. However, when looking at the details, there are some minor flaws. The 80° overhang didn’t perform well. We think if the print remains in this position for a longer time, it will likely fail. The printed column was unfortunately uneven at one point but then corrected itself. Upon closer inspection, it looks as if a temperature change occurred there, but we can’t determine it with certainty.
Also the font was not always clear.
In the final measurement, a tolerance of 0.1mm was observed on a 3mm column.
Here you can see the result of the Clearance Tolerance Test:¶
(You can find the link on the top of the page)
We tried moving the objects to test which tolerance works best. The 0,10mm tolerance doesn’t work, as it’s not enough to move the object. We found that the 0,15mm and 0,20mm tolerances are perfect for moving the object to the right or left. The 0.15mm tolerance isn’t as smooth as the 20, but it doesn’t offer rotation options. The 0,25mm tolerance allows rotation in every direction, while the 0,30mm and 0,35mm tolerances have too much movement and are overly loose.
The printer delivers overall good results, but struggles with the 80° overhang and clarity of the font. The best results in the clearance tolerance test were achieved with the 0,15mm and 0,20mm tolerances, while the 10 tolerance provides too little play and the 0,30mm and 0,35mm tolerances are too loose. Overall, the printer shows potential but needs improvements in handling overhangs and fine details.
Compared to other printers like the MK4 Prusa, Bambu X1 Carbon, and Bambu Engineering, this printer is better suited for everyday use at home for smaller projects due to its ease of use and minimal setup requirements. It requires less prior experience and fewer adjustments compared to the MK4. However, a downside is that it lacks an enclosure, which limits the types of materials that can be used.
Infill Testing¶
So for the A1 Mini, we also tested some infill structures. Every slicer we used offers the same options, so we demonstrate them using only one printer for a sustainable FabLab. Here, you can see six options, but there are quite a few more available for infill structures. We tested them with 15% infill and printed without bottom and top layers to make the structure visible.
We used: Grid, Honeycomnb, Ocatgram Spiral, Lightning, Concentric, Archimedean Chords
We also conducted an experiment inspired by something we saw at the Dutch Design Week Click here for the dutch design week. They printed with different infill structures and placed them in boiling water. After 20 minutes, the infill structure became visible.
Testing the Bambu Lab X1 Carbon¶
For this week’s group assignment, we explored 3D printing design rules by testing clearance, overhangs, and bridging on different printers in our lab.
Each printer performed well in different ways, but we were especially excited to test the Bambu Lab X1 Carbon, a high-speed Core XY printer with AI-powered features.
The Bambu Lab X1 Carbon has several advanced features that make it stand out:
- Core XY Motion System – Prints fast and accurately with 20,000 mm/s² acceleration.
- Multi-Color Printing – Can print in up to 16 colors with the Automatic Material System (AMS).
- Dual Auto Bed Leveling (ABL) – Ensures the print bed is always perfectly leveled.
- 7μm Lidar Sensor – Helps with first-layer calibration for better print adhesion.
- AI-Powered Monitoring – Detects spaghetti failures and pauses the print if needed.
- First-Layer Inspection – Uses AI to analyze the first layer before continuing.
With these features, the X1 Carbon is a great option for fast, high-quality, and multi-material 3D printing.
Testing Design Rules¶
To understand how well the Bambu Lab X1 Carbon handles different challenges, we ran two important tests:
- Clearance Test – How small can the gap between two moving parts be before they fuse?
- Overhang Test – How steep can an unsupported section be before it starts failing?
Clearance Test¶
When designing moving parts, clearance is important. If the gap is too small, the parts stick together and won’t move.
How We Tested It:¶
- We printed a clearance test model with different gap sizes.
- Our goal was to find the smallest possible clearance that still allowed movement.
Results:¶
- Gaps of 0.1mm were printable, but the parts needed a small push to move at first.
- Larger gaps worked smoothly from the start.
Overhang Test¶
Overhangs are unsupported parts of a print. If the angle is too steep, gravity will cause sagging or failure.
How We Tested It:¶
- We printed an overhang test model with angles increasing in 10° steps.
- The goal was to see when the printer needed support structures to avoid print defects.
Results:¶
- The X1 Carbon managed to print overhangs up to 80° without supports.
- Surface quality was perfect up to 70°.
- At 80°, there were minor layer shifts, but the print remained strong.
- One issue we noticed was that the labeling of the individual elements on the top surface of the test print was not very readable. This was the only weakness we found during our tests, as all other aspects of the print quality were excellent.
Tolerance Test – Measuring the Holes¶
When measuring the printed test holes, I found that the 4mm hole came out as 3.85mm, the 6mm hole as 5.9mm, and the 8mm hole was perfectly 8.0mm. It seems that smaller holes tend to print slightly undersized, while larger holes are more accurate, probably because of filament shrinkage and over-extrusion in tight spaces.
Measurement of the 4mm hole:
Measurement of the 6mm hole:
Measurement of the 8mm hole:
Testing the Bambu Lab X1E¶
The Bambu Lab X1E is an advanced desktop 3D printer specifically designed for professional and engineering applications, featuring high printing speed, support for high-temperature materials, and a robust CoreXY structure.
We wanted to include it in the comparison, even though it is not part of the FabLab Bottrop inventory, in order to be able to draw a comparison with the Bambu Lab X1.
Here are some key facts about the Bambu Lab X1E:
As previously described, we also printed the all in one stress test and the tolerance test with the Bambu Lab X1E.
We used the standard settings of the BambuSlicer with a 0.4 mm nozzle.
Overhangs can in principle be printed up to 80 °, provided the underside does not have to be perfectly clean. We would recommend overhangs of up to 60 °, perhaps 70 °.
The bridging test showed no restrictions, the longest bridge here was and is 25 mm. As you can see, the slicer took the font here. This is because the Bambu Slicer does not print thin walls by default, but you can change this in the settings.
The outer diameters of the printed pipe elements are actually about 0.1 to 0.15 mm smaller than in the design. We also have similar tolerances for the inner diameter.
For the base plate, which has dimensions of 10 x 10 cm in the design, we have deviations of less than 0.1 mm.
We had no problems with warping or anything like that during printing, but you can clearly see in this image that we were dealing with stringing. We could get the problem under control if we made changes to the retraction settings compared to the standard settings.
Looking at the clearance test, we can see that both 0.35 and 0.3 mm are very freely movable, so that they move under their own weight. Between 0.25 and 0.15 mm, a small amount of force was required from the outside, but we have free play. The test piece with a 0.1 mm tolerance had to be loosened once with a little pressure, but it is also freely movable with slightly greater friction.
Overall, it is also noticeable here that it is worth getting to know your printer through such tests. I included the tolerance of 0.3 mm in my print-in-place design based on my experience in this group assignment. Depending on what you are printing, different error patterns can be expected, such as stringing between the two printed towers on the test surface. You should react to this in the settings in order to achieve the best possible print result.