Maker Monday: Nozzle Swapping Printers, All In One Resin Machines, and the Safety Gear I Actually Use
This week the 3D printing world is buzzing about machines that solve old annoyances instead of just getting bigger. Creality teased the K3, a multicolor printer that swaps nozzles in under five seconds instead of hauling around an AMS style unit, and UniFormation is about to launch a resin printer on Kickstarter that washes and dries your prints for you in the same box. Bambu Lab also dropped a new PETG Matte filament that is supposed to print as easily as PLA but hold up like PETG. None of that changes what is actually on my bench this week, so here is the gear I am using and recommending right now.
Phrozen Sonic Mini 8K
My Phrozen Sonic Mini 8K is years old at this point and it is still my go to machine for head sculpts and anything with fine detail. The 22 micron resolution holds up on faces and tiny details that would turn to mush on a cheaper screen, and the thing just keeps running without drama. If you are painting miniatures or sculpting heads and still printing on an older 2K or 4K screen, this is the upgrade that actually matters.
Anycubic Wash & Cure 3 Plus
Resin printing lives or dies on post processing, and the Wash & Cure 3 Plus is the station that makes that part bearable. The dual layer platform saves IPA by only submerging what actually needs washing, and the gooseneck light handles curing on parts that will not fit flat in the main chamber. It is listed at $206 on Anycubic's site right now, down from $252, which is a fair price for something you will use on every single print you make. If your prints are coming out tacky or under cured, this is usually the fix, not your resin.
SUNLU PLA+ Filament
Not every print needs to be resin. For anything structural, functional, or just big, I reach for SUNLU PLA+ on the Bambu X1C. It prints clean at standard PLA temperatures, holds up to a lot more abuse than regular PLA, and rarely strings or clogs. Quick tip while you are at it: orient parts so the layer lines run perpendicular to the direction of stress. A piece that snaps when loaded flat will often survive fine printed standing up instead.
Nitrile Gloves and an Organic Vapor Respirator
If you print resin and you are not wearing a respirator with organic vapor cartridges, stop and fix that today. A regular dust mask does nothing against resin fumes. Pair a respirator that has organic vapor cartridges with a box of nitrile gloves and you have covered the two cheapest, most important pieces of safety gear in this hobby. Good ventilation matters too, but gloves and a real respirator are the baseline, not the upgrade.
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That's Maker Monday
That's the maker world for this week. If any of this got you thinking about a custom print, paint, or engraving, come see what we make on the commission page. See you next Monday.
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