I have been watching this thread with interest. I was considering getting a 3D printer but I'm wondering if 3D printing is going to be worth the money, time, and effort you have to put into it. I'm still on the fence.

I have 950 hours of print time on my Replicator 2, here's a couple of things I've learned; The best filament is RepRapper filament. No question! I had a lot of problems when I was using Makerbot filament; air prints, extruder problems. It's way cheaper too. I have found that to get things to stick to the build plate it must be level and it needs to roughened up a bit. The plate gets scraped up over time from prying builds off the plate and that's a good thing. I never use painters tape. Also, make sure the plate is clean before you start a print. I use those handy wipes. My extruder runs at around 227 degrees as well when printing , Most filaments have a temperature range they melt at, so a couple of degrees shouldn't make a difference. Some kinks in the filament can be caused by the user. Make sure you never let the loose end get lost in the spool. I hope some of these comments help.

@bhouston , thankyou for your input. I tried the makerbot filament to have something to go off of. Because of the discounts applied and the additional 200 off they gave me I basically got the 4 rolls of filament free. I do believe I will switch to a alternative filament that I'd avail on ebay and amazon for around 25 dollars per 1 kg / 2.2 pound roll. It is much cheaper than makerbot but I want to have something to compare for quality control.

@Jaultman - is it worth it? That depends more on you than the machine. I have had a couple minor hiccups but overall the new customer experience is stellar over the acclaimed competitors. My last printer was a solidoodle 2 and it required a ton of manual tweeking and had very limited resources if how to do that. Just a forum full of users with the same problems making suggestions but having trouble attaining their goals of great prints.

Buying used may get you a better price , but I wanted to get the new warranty and the support.

It is up to you if you get your monies worth.

1. I would recommend learning to use 123d design or similar program so you can learn to make your own objects.

2. Buy yourself a flatbed scanner and a micrometer caliper to measure stuff. It makes it easier to draw a part with the right size if you enter the correct size in mm to begin with. The flatbed scanner allows you to enter a flat shape into a 3d program then use "extrude" to give that item physical thickness you measured with your calipers. It's a neat cheat I hear people use often.

Once you do that make the 3d printer your first go to for any new or alternate parts in your projects. People use them around the home to make trinkets but that's up to you. I noticed once I bought my printer friends and family came up with all kinds of ideas. Cup holders , custom candle molds , cookie cutters , keychains, Christmas ornaments and other widgets.

Update since last night , the old printer made it all the way through a 5 hour print for a candle holder with no issues. Also the top of the xlr6 body printed fine too. Something I did different here is applied thermal paste arctic silver between the heatsink and the extruder block and that seems to level out the temperature.

@jstarne1 - I'm here to learn what it takes to make one of these things work consistently. It's a fairly large expense and I'm willing to pay to get one that works (mostly) out of the box. I've been checking out MakerBot and that's why I am watching this thread....to see what you experience with it. Learning to design on stuff for it shouldn't be a problem, I have worked in the the CADD field before and did some 3D modeling. I'm sure I can find things to make. I'm learning from you what tinkering is going to be required if I do decide to pull the trigger on one.

If it counts at all , once I bought my first used printer I immediately called up makerbot to buy a new one lol. It took forever to get but I got it for 1800 , because of the promotion codes I mentioned. Used they are 1200 to 1400 so it's not a great deal more for a new one with 1 yr warranty.

Later today I will post my failed prints as well.

If you have a background in 3d design then you already are a step ahead from everyone else. Email me at [email protected] and we can have a better discussion.

$1800 is still a lot of money to drop on a printer when there are print services out there which mean there is no initial outlay on the printer, no servicing costs, no wasted prints, no problems with the printer... I'm still in 2 minds about getting a printer or just continuing to send off for someone else to print for me for a reasonable fee.

How much would it take in order for the printer to pay for itself? That's the biggest question I have always running through my head. I know there would be benefits of having the printed item in 14 hours or however long it takes to print rather than having to wait a day for it to be delivered but that doesn't outweigh the initial costs, maintenance costs, hassles etc. you get with owning a printer.

Recently I've had a fair amount of things printed up and have a lot more to go too so watching this one (and any others about printers) closely.

What I really like about having my own printer is I can design something, print it and then tweek it if I have to. Sometime it my take 2 or 3 prints to get it just right - that could get expensive sending out to a printing service.