by Makenna M.
Maker Lab 3D Printing
The Ignite Maker Lab at Noblesville is officially open! The Maker Lab houses advanced machinery, and the space is aimed at those who want to take their creative projects to the next level. Today I will introduce you to the Maker Lab’s new 3D printers, so you can get started on your first (or next) 3D printing project!
Printer Information
In the Maker Lab, there are two Bambu Lab X1 Carbon 3D Printers. Both printers have an Automatic Material System, which allows for multicolor printing with up to 4 different colors. Bring on the colorful projects!
The X1 Carbon printers have a nozzle diameter of 0.4mm and a maximum printing speed of 500mm/s. Additionally, these printers have a print volume of 256mm3 (about 10in3). You can find further printer specifications here.
Software
The X1 Carbon printers use the Bambu Lab slicing software, Bambu Studio, to prepare and send projects. Bambu Studio is free to download and available on both MacOS & Windows. There are laptops and iPads with this software available for use at the Maker Lab.
Bambu Studio accepts a variety of file formats including .STL, .OBJ, .3MF, and .STEP. 3MF files are the native file format for all Bambu Studio projects. They contain all project information like material type, filament colors, and print settings.
Filament and Pricing
At the Maker Lab, we provide the filament for printing. We have a variety of filament types and colors available for all your printing needs. These include PLA (in textures like Silk, Matte, and Marble), PLA-CF, and PETG-HF. There is a cost associated with materials, and we price prints in tiers based on the project’s total filament usage (shown below). Additionally, larger projects will be charged by cents per gram depending on the type of filament used (e.g. a PLA print with a total filament usage greater than 210 grams will cost 5¢/gram).
Certification and Reservation
To use the 3D printers, you must be certified and have time reserved on a printer at the Ignite Maker Lab. You can receive certification by completing our 3D printing certification course here. This course covers our printer usage guidelines and the process of slicing a project using Bambu Studio. Certification concludes with a short in-person component. After completing your certification, you can reserve printing time through the Maker Lab Reservations page in 2-hour blocks up to 4 times per week.
Our new X1 Carbon 3D printers are powerful tools for both practical and artistic projects. Their multicolor printing capabilities open up a world of possibilities for creative work. Stop by the Ignite Maker Lab to check them out, ask questions, and take a look at our example projects on display!
