Practical 3D printing, one project at a time
I share the prints, ideas, and experiments that work in real homes. From small gifts to useful everyday tools, this is my workshop log.
What I am printing right now
The desk has shifted focus over the last few weeks. The A2L has settled into proper daily use rather than sitting there as a novelty, and it is currently carrying anything that needs the bigger bed. The dual BMCU setup on the A1 is still an ongoing project, but eight colours in a single job is now reliably reachable rather than a lucky outcome, which was the whole point of the exercise.
The interesting new thread this week is TPU. I have started actually testing the iron-on t-shirt transfer method I wrote up recently: print a design in TPU onto baking paper, iron it onto a shirt, no heat transfer vinyl or screen printing gear required. The write-up is getting more attention than almost anything else on the site this month, so if you missed it, it is worth a read: How to Use Your 3D Printer to Make Custom T-Shirt Designs. First cotton test shirt is through its wash cycle as I write this, results soon.
The plane radar project is also done, and it has turned into one of my favourite things on the desk. The ESP32 Plane Radar combines a tiny microcontroller and a round display with live ADS-B aircraft data, and having it sitting there quietly tracking whatever is flying overhead never gets old. It went together cleanly, the parts cost next to nothing, and I liked it enough to print and build a few more, one for the desk and a couple as gifts.
On the radar this week: The LightMake L4 landed with some big claims about solving the multi-colour waste problem using four independent print heads, and ColorSmith, the HueForge creator’s new colour-reduction tool, is worth a look if you have ever found HueForge’s palette step fiddly.
Head to the Projects section for the full build logs, settings, and honest notes on what worked and what did not.
What’s New & Worth Knowing
Printers, tools, and products worth knowing about. Honest editorial from an experienced hobbyist — covering new releases, considered purchases, and anything on the 3D printing radar worth your attention.
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Mixed-Diameter Nozzle Printing Coming to Bambu Lab H2D, H2C and X2D
Published 10 November 2026. This is a follow-up to my guide to mixed nozzle sizes on the H3C. I own an A1 and an A2L, neither of which is covered by this announcement, so everything here comes from Bambu’s own posts, the community thread and third-party reporting. I say which is which. When the H3C…
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Creality SparkX i7 specs, price and AI features
Published 9 November 2026. I have not used a SparkX i7. I own an A1 and an A2L, so the A1 side of this comparison is familiar territory, and the i7 side is built from Creality’s own pages and the independent reviews and owner reports I could find. I say which is which, and where…
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Bambu Lab TPU 75A and the Return of 2.85 mm Filament: What It Is, Why It Matters and How the H3C Handles It
I have not used the H3C or this filament, and I own an A1 and an A2L, neither of which can run it. This post is built from Bambu’s own pages, its FAQ, its store listings and the independent H3C reviews published since launch, and I mark which is which. Among the H3C’s many launch…
Recent prints from the workshop
A mix of functional home items, small gifts, and experiments. All printed on the A1 unless noted.
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SpoolmanScale: The ESP32 Filament Scale
I have a growing pile of spools, a Spoolman server that knows roughly how much is left on each one, and no good way of keeping the two honest. The numbers in the inventory drift the moment I stop updating them by hand, which is the moment I stop trusting them. SpoolmanScale is the project…
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Building PA1 MAKER’s Illuminated Gingerbread Train (Hunting for the Perfect Gingerbread Colour)
The Christmas print queue has properly started, and this year’s first big one is genuinely one of the best-designed seasonal projects I’ve come across — the Illuminated Christmas Gingerbread Train by PA1_MAKER. Yes, it is only September. Last year I ran out of time entirely and ended up rushing a batch of gifts in mid-December,…
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Dual BCMU on the A1, Part 2: The Honest Verdict
The first part of this series ended on a genuinely promising note: two BCMU units flashed with the AMS A and AMS B firmware, the A1 switched from AMS Lite mode to AMS mode, and the printer’s own interface confirming both units were detected and ready. That was the easy part. This is part two,…
Materials I use every day
I print mostly in PLA and PETG. TPU when needed, and resin only when the job requires very fine detail. These notes come from practical use and real results, not datasheet theory.
PLA
Reliable, versatile, and ideal for most home prints. Easy to dial in and great for gifts.
PETG
Tougher and more temperature resistant. Useful for mechanical parts.
TPU
Flexible and fun. Ideal for bumpers, grips, and soft components.
Guides and workflow notes
Short walkthroughs based on real use. Settings that work, slicer approaches that help, and fixes that save time.
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Why Do Some Enclosed 3D Printers Have Heated Chambers? What They Do, Who Needs One and When They Hurt
Published 6 November 2026. My own printers are open-frame (an A1 and an A2L), and this guide is built from Bambu’s documentation and published tests rather than my own heated-chamber testing. I say where a claim comes from, and where something is my own reasoning. Walk through Bambu’s current range and a pattern appears: the…
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Mixed Nozzle Sizes on the Bambu Lab H3C: How It Works and Why It Matters
I have not used the H3C or this feature, so this guide is built from Bambu’s wiki, its Bambu Studio release notes, its forum and store pages, and the independent reviews published since launch. I mark which is which, and I flag where something is my own reasoning. Among the H3C’s launch features, the one…
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Flow Rate Calibration: The One Setting That Fixes More Than You’d Think
There is a number in your filament profile that quietly shapes half the problems people ask about. Rough top surfaces, gaps in the roof, blobby corners, walls that look fine but come out a fraction too thick, parts that feel weak, an elephant’s foot that no first-layer tweak will cure. People change temperature, swap nozzles,…
About 3DBite
I started 3D printing more than fifteen years ago with a kit that needed constant tuning. Modern printers like the A1 make things far easier, but the engineering mindset still helps. 3DBite is where I share the projects, the materials, and the workflow that have worked for me.