I'm well versed with Pla and climbing. Had one normal hold snap from the board once. Sure I landed soft but the snap transfers to your body as a punch to your joints. And PLA may not be as biodegradable as they say but sure it becomes brittle the more time it passes. Be careful and if you don't use wood screws for normal holds don't use them for printed parts. Bolts with washers is what you need in any critical part.

It seems that your support is too far from the object to support it and at the top the filament droops into it more than one layer to seem that it skipped.

Notice how the gap lessens the higher the print is.

I'm more concerned about the lens. You need to have most things in focus so aperture is crucial; any Pic that is not blurry is great.

Doubt that union is your worst concern as most 3d prints are not water tight by concept. And if it is just for rain, I would focus more my effort in guiding the water out instead of sealing it. Think of a lip and groove union. It works for almost anything that doesn't need to be underwater

You could scan it and print it. Just kidding, maybe look for the model in thingiverse and similars

Work with what you are more comfortable with, Ive used only RC and has given me great results that I can work with. I understand and kinda like the work flow, so no need to search anything else for me at least till I can no longer achieve my goals with it

Too bad newspaper now is so rare, but that's an excellent idea

Place some painters tape in the panels and scribble into them to add some features it can recognize

Totally, none of the technologies work for all scenarios or specific use cases. That being said, I think is best to get most of the knowledge possible/ or options available before spending in a +1k device that might not be fit. Photogrammetry is a great start to understand all this without breaking the bank. But I get not everyone has the time to learn it.

I agree it has some curve to make it work, that's why you set markers with some measurements in between them. 5 is usually enough and gives good results.

But scanner has its own limitations like not even getting the resolution it claims, model size usually is limited and not by the machine it is plugged in. And for the price, these cons overshadow the" plug and play" aspect, at least to me.

Sadly, no. Fdm works like that, Z loses detail so is better to orient the details facing x or Y 45 degrees is just to avoid supports

Then it most definitely is a wiring issue of the stepper. I would have that cable replaced to avoid any future issues

2 DIY printers of course you can, maybe not this exact one (and just cuz of Z axis and the size) , but i3 style or a more nimble Z axis design, yeah. Mate you can buy 2 new A1 minis with 500€.

Don't see the issue but if it skips randomly I would say is a wiring issue

Print it in a diagonal, 45 degrees or more, add manual support if needed to make it stick to the bed

Right, these guys wanna pay as new and think all is premium. We are talking about new bambu budget here

Hahaha I am working on my own money pit

Parts when new do cost a pretty penny, but this ain't new and who knows if original or of good quality. You think just your car depreciates? New is a warranty of it working. Imagine you buy it for the parts but once you get to install them they don't work and have you chasing gremlins.

Not a single DIY printer is worth that even if working. You can build 2 of them with that budget

Altough this is a scan community, there's no better bang for buck than photogrammetry. Works at all scales and doesn't require much more hardware than a phone and a pc (with a Nvidia graphics you can use RealityCapture which I can confirm is really precise)

Photogrammetry, if you have Nvidia graphics; RealityCapture. Best bang for buck.

I work in an electronics company and even though we could find both terms used in the same sentence, we sometimes infere by context, and try not to be thaaaaat guy... Yes it is the correct way, but if we got it, it's not worth the time of everyone to correct that small detail.

Use a small nozzle with the screw clipped at bottom and top so they are flat, you just need some of the thread making contact and being opposite sides, doesn't matter. But M4 is way too small for Fdm

Pla does the same in hot water 😂. Jokes aside, it claims it softens while in water? Or softens permanently afterwards?

Your first picture indicates this is ABS (it turns white under stress). So most likely you didn't meet the needs to print with that material