Hey what’s up?
Sami here.
This is the Atomstack Cambrian 3D printer, it’s not just any normal 3D printer, it’s
the world’s first 3D printer for TPR, thermal plastic rubber, it’s a material which maintains
both the characteristics of rubber and plastic.
Check this out…
ouch, wrong direction...
With it, you can print something like these…
which is not possible by those ordinary printers before.
So why not have a cup of coffee and watch while I tell you a thing or two about it?
But before that, please show some support for my channel by hitting that subscribe button,
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Now back to the Cambrian 3D printer.
To be honest this is the first time getting my hands on this kind of 3D printer and I
kind of feel intimidated because you know the other day I visited my friend Naomi Wu’s
studio and I was quite taken aback by all the different kinds of 3D printers she has.
Luckily, for the Cambrian printer, it is fairly easy to assemble and use.
Since Atomstack gave a pre-assembled machine to me I will just disassemble it first and
re-assemble it just to show you how easy it is.
So that’s all the parts that come within the box.
First fix the Z-axis assembly on the base assembly, then the print head, and tighten
3 screws that’s on it.
After that, we install the LCD module on the base and the material rack and the handle
on the top.
The rest is all about the cable connections: Nozzle cable connection, LCD Module cable
connection, Z-axis cable connection, Z-axis left motor, right motor, and limit switch
connection.
That’s it!
As far as kits go, the Cambrian printer is fairly straightforward to put together, assembly
does not require any tools beyond the included wrenches.
All in all it took me about 15 minutes to assemble though I’m totally new to it.
Of course, it’s always a good idea to read the manual carefully before starting (or just
watch my video, lol.)
Speaking of the manual, I have got to praise Atomstack for that.
It is beautiful, professionally printed, and basically anybody can understand it.
After that, you are almost ready to print!
But before you do, check the status of the parts, just like checking your boss is not
beside you when you are going to be lazy.
There are four aspects you have to check which are listed very clearly in the handbook, such
as whether the structure is loose, the belt is slack, the nozzle is clean, and equipment is leveled correctly.
The former two are too simple I don’t want to illustrate here, the third one normally
needs to be done after printing so I will introduce that a bit later.
What I want to show is the last one, the level calibration, which is also called the first-layer calibration.
Turn on the printer, click “Move” page, and then tap the “Leveling” button to
enter the leveling page.
Click the number “1” button to level.
Wait until the print head moves to the lower left corner of the hot bed.
At this time, you can place an index card or a business card or as the manual suggests,
3 layers of A4 paper, between the build plate and extruder, then, here is the fancy part,
adjust the leveling hand wheel below, until you feel some resistance when moving the paper
back and forth, then the first point is leveled.
Then repeat the above step for the second, third, and fourth points to level.
Finally is the fifth point, if the fifth point is also well leveled, then end the leveling.
If not, then level the four points 1, 2, 3, and 4 again.
Sounds a bit complicated but it’s a straightforward routine and can be done in a minute or less.
Of course, before you finally start printing, you have to configure the Ultimaker Cura slicing
software and prepare the print files, which is really well illustrated in Atomstack’s
manual, just follow them step by step.
You will get there, or if you are too lazy, then just use the TF card delivered with the
Cambrian printer, it has some interesting models here and you can try those first.
Insert the SD card to the slot that’s on the base, then insert the wire into the nozzle,
normally I suggest you trim the wire to a pointed tip first for easier inserting.
If you have difficulty inserting it, try rotating the direction of the wire.
And then select the file you want to print and click “Start”.
Then we need to wait.
The hot bed will be heated first and then the nozzle starts heating.
You will notice the indicator on the print head shows a different status as heating is
processing, after they have heated to the target temperature, the printer will start printing!
Guys I got to tell you it’s so fulfilling to see my first print after all this waiting!
As for my first golf print, it took me about 3 hours.
After the printing finished, then just remove the support, yes, it takes some effort.
BTW, don’t forget to clean the nozzle after each printing, just insert the needle through
from above, and push it back and forth several times until the nozzle has no residue to squeeze
out and the cleaning is complete.
All told, I completed several prints with the Cambrian.
The print quality was uniformly above average.
As you can see, it did well in rendering fine detail on different objects.
None of the finished prints had any significant problems, and many showed no visible flaws.
And you know, the objects are bouncy and flexible.
Unlike those hard 3D prints which have limited usage, with this one you can print a really
wide range of objects, from insoles to even whole shoes, face masks, wallet, golf balls,
anything you can think of.
But wait what if you want to print hard materials?
The Cambrian has got you covered too, it has another print head supporting 1.75mm hard materials.
How cool is that?!
And now finally to my conclusion.
To be honest when Atomstack reached out to me with its Cambrian 3D printer, my first
impression was feeling kind of worried that I couldn't learn to use it very well.
But it’s really not.
With a couple of hours learning I can assemble and print without any issues.
If I can do it you can do it too.
So that’s the first reason I recommend it, which is its ease of use.
The second one is the build quality.
Normally manufacturers of under $500 3D printers have to make some compromises to performance
or quality to keep their prices low.
But that’s not the case for the Cambrian, just check out the solid design, it’s all
made of aluminum alloy, which looks elegant and premium.
The intuitive touchable LCD screen, no complicate setups here and there.
And with their modular print heads, you can print with a variety of filament types, whether
soft or hard materials!
It performs like a boss, printing out a variety of objects with no misprints and good handling
of detail.
I can’t even find any obvious disadvantages of it!
If you have to name one then I would say it’s time consuming, it takes a lot of time to
print some complicated objects but that’s the issue for any 3D printer on the market.
Maybe we shouldn’t call it a big issue since you basically tap Start and you can do something
else while waiting, it doesn’t need on-site monitoring.
Considering all of those, I would say the Atomstack Cambrian is for everyone, whether
you are newbies or experts that are looking for a versatile 3D printer to pass time during
social distancing regulations or churn out professional prints or even start a small business.
This one is for you.
It has a modest price tag but is big on both performance and reliability.
It's an easy pick as my winner for low-cost 3D printers.
And of course, I highly recommend it.
If you are interested to get one of these, please check out the link in the description,
currently it’s in a crowdfunding campaign and the price is the best you can get.
Alright, that’s the video, I hope this video has helped in some way, if you have any questions
you can leave a comment below.
Stay subscribed!
I’m Sami, see you in the next one.
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