This could help DJ or anyone who wants to reduce the costs of the plastic spool reloads.

oh that's a neat idea!

I'm actually surprised at the affordability of PLA. There are a few places that sell spools for $50+, which is really expensive.

Most places sell a spool for $30 to $35. Out of that cost, I can print sooooooooo many parts (long as the printer is working :)). I don't know the exact count, but most of our parts are quite large and thick. In a single spool of PLA, I can print 50-70 of them. That's not bad for $35!

Have you tried printing with ABS yet? I know PLA is probably the cheapest stuff out there. I want to get into 3d printing. I was looking at a solidoodle 2 or 3 which follows the standard reprap format.

The replicator 2 can't use ABS because it does not have a heated bed.

The CubeX Trio will print ABS, but we only use ABS for supports on the PLA.

The PLA is a more consistent print. PLA is pretty strong also. Plus, it is biodegradable so I don't feel bad wasting all the prints. I just keep filling boxes full of old prints and they recycle them locally