I think it's probably about time I tried printing some of the 3D parts I've been creating for the last couple of years (there are a fair few of them, I just hit a big milestone with the number of "things" I've created) so it's time to look at 3D printer options.
There's no way in hell I'm about to be able to afford a Makerbot Replicator 5th Gen since over here they are a minimum of 2,000 + VAT (20%) + Shipping so we are looking at around 2,500 ($3,800) if not more - now you know why I'm hesitant about 3D printing!
Makerbot "clones" on the other hand are a great deal less expensive. I appreciate that the components and construction will be lesser quality than the official Makerbots however we are looking at a 2,000 difference so the clones are extremely tempting (although only from a source which comes with great feedback and support, so probably more like 1,500 difference)
But I'm not naive enough to believe a clone is as good as the real thing so am reaching out to anyone who has experience in using the clones for any advice.
Yes, a makerbot would be the wiser choice but not for one who cannot drop 2,500 on concepts which may never have any return on them at all.
Alternatively, I have the option of the following 3D printers which do fall close to my price bracket...
Cube (2nd Generation) - 140x140x140 print area, 200 micron finest print. XYZprinting da Vinci 1.0 - 200x200x200 print area but stuck using their filament (unless "the people" did find a hack). 100 micron is finest print.
The da Vinci is the one which is tempting me most, especially if that hack is available (I'll search soon). But at 20% of the price of a MB Rep 5th Gen it's screaming out that either MB are darn expensive or it's not going to be much more than a paperweight.
Help... stress (Ideally by saying "I have a da Vinci 1.0 and it's awesome once you do this and that and tweak this")
I have the Arduino Materia 101 and print using ABS Very happy with it.
Use OpenScad and Cura slicer, there both open source.
One year later, how are people doing with their CTC/3D Printer/Makerbot clones?
I saw one on eBay with dual extruders for a lowly $400 including touchpad, supposedly stand-alone printing, supposedly heated base. That seems like a lot of features and functionality for just $400, but I suppose that's the power of large scale production in a low-cost country: stuff gets affordable.
Anyway my apologies for "re-opening" an old thread, however, I think it's still a valid topic. Also, I'm curious to hear what people are printing with 1 year on, was going cheap a bad idea? Did your models crumble away? Etc.
I'm a year out from buying a DaVinci 1.0. It would be nice to buy filament from anywhere, but on the plus side my filament is consistent in quality. I've printed many parts, learned a lot. I think it's great! I've really only had one jam in the year and 2 misprints where filament did not want to stick to the surface (my fault).
Just this month I bought Simplify3D software and it really opened up my world...it makes printing sooo much easier to print under it's software. I highly recommend that software.
I also just bought an XYZ 3D handheld scanner (it has the intel 3d camera in it), and I do like it. 3D scanning is not as straight forward as one would hope, it takes tweaking and like with 3D printing the more I do with it the more I'll learn.
In the future I want to get a printer that I can swap heads outs so I can print in any filament: like flexable, pla, wood, etc and a dual head extruder. I like the idea of swapping the heads out with ones for specific purposes because I don't like the idea clogged print heads. :-)
I think opening the discussion on finding a good printer is always good, if not just to check what happened over time....things tend to evolve I guess!
I started my first little project and had it printed by Shapeways, just to check if I can get all the measurements right and to get a feel for the material that they are using...it was not really expensive and the quality is really good!
Of course for bigger projects this is not an option, so lets see how long it will take until I will start looking for a printer....for now Shapeways seems to be a good option!
Yeah i struggled with 3d scanning a few times. ARC a few years ago had a 3d scanner for kinect built in - but it was so unreliable that i couldn't promote it and it was therefore removed.
It's so easy to use CAD design software that 3d scanning doesn't make sense for the effort.
Mickey, how expensive is "not really expensive"? I had submitted some samples a few years ago and was blown away with the price of $200 - $300! I can buy a makerbot replicator 2 used for $500...
I really like the replicator 2 - however, maintenance is a little frustrating if you're not familiar with the problem symptoms.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R3IX2PUIBDGM2E/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00I8NM6JO
This is my review of the FlashForge Creator Pro. It works but it too has some maintenance concerns and some faulty design due to the wires that are used. I have printed a lot with it (about 50 spools) and it works well if you get to know it and are willing to replace some wiring that wears out. Also, using the $25.00 filament tends to cause clogs in the nozzles after about 15 to 25 KG of printing. It is much easier just to replace the print head assembly than to try to replace the nozzles.
I also suggest Simplify3D with it. It will make things go a lot better with slicing and printing.
Yeah the 3D scanning thing using a Kinect was a fun thing, but for modeling or even printing it is just too messy...any CAD software will do a way better job, the scanning could give you a good approximation but will need a lot of tedious cleanup anyways, so it is better to just stay in your CAD environment and build it there!
I printed a model that was 8cm by 8cm which was 0.8cm deep plus a small inlet to check if I can fit it in...the printing was done in white polished nylon and had no flaws, all the measures were fitting perfect!
At Shapeways I payed 20 in the end, I could have even got it cheaper if I would have had the patience to wait longer for it to be printed!
So I guess for any small object this is quiet a good deal, or you could use this for an option to get stuff printed in different materials that your printer cannot handle!
I will check the FlashForge Creator Pro link too, I might at a point also want to have the option to print at home!
Seems like having a 3D printer is not really a plug&play thing....and you would have to do a lot of research finding the right one!
I was thinking of a step by step solution where I would first just deal with the construction of the robot and get the parts printed elsewhere, so I dont have too many loose ends to worry about....my robot will not be an InMoov it will probably be way smaller than the JD if I can get if done, so I hope printing cost will not skyrocket!