3D Printer advice?

Tarchinoko

Tarchinoko

Well-Known Member
Hey everyone, Im heading off to university to start and engineering course and ive recently been thinking of buying a 3D printer to put in my room and tinker around with.

My question to all of you is what should I buy? I dont have loads of money so im aiming to keep retail price at $800 or lower and have found some interesting options at around that price! My top contenders are:

Solidoodle 4/Press
Robo 3D R1
Da Vinci 1.0/2.0
Mini Kossel
Mega Prusa

Anyone have experience with any of these that could chime in? or have any alternatives to suggest? :) my main wants from a 3D printer is for the print resolution to be 100 micron and to have a decent sized print area, most printers I've looked at have around 8x8x8 inch print areas

Thanks for any suggestions!
 
Have a look through this thread: http://www.therpf.com/f9/trials-tribulations-my-da-vinci-1-0-3d-printer-220694/index2.html

That's only for the Da Vinci 1.0 though, and I have no experience with other printers. 100 microns/0.1mm resolution (or smaller with other printers) is achievable according to the packaging (even at 0.1mm, the prints are good, but they don't quite feel that detailed on that resolution - however there are about a million variables to take into account), but you have to consider what you're doing. What will you use it for? Do you genuinely need super high quality? Bear in mind it will cost more (for the filament etc) and take longer to produce high quality prints like that. A lot of people print at lower resolutions and still achieve acceptable outcomes.

What kind of engineering? There is quite an open field...I'm an Electrical/Controls Engineer and I'm 3D printing nothing to do with my engineering degree/workplace etc

I think getting into the fast growing 3D printing bubble would be good for a young and budding engineer as it encourages at the very least an attention to detail and a relatively proper work ethic/studious nature to achieve the results you want. Do not expect a 3D printer to magically solve any issues, and it doesn't design for you either. So keep realistic about what you wish to use it for, especially if that $800 may be better invested in your education (which then leads to better use of printers and other methods at a later stage).

Just my thoughts, to keep an open mind about it all. Other than that, I'm loving printing things. It's a great hobby to be in. The Da Vinci so far is proving to be great value, though the filament is not (comes in a cartridge instead of the industry standard "roll" and has an electronic reader that prevents use of other types. This has been hacked though I haven't tried it myself yet.
 
Fawbish said:
Have a look through this thread: http://www.therpf.com/f9/trials-tribulations-my-da-vinci-1-0-3d-printer-220694/index2.html

That's only for the Da Vinci 1.0 though, and I have no experience with other printers. 100 microns/0.1mm resolution (or smaller with other printers) is achievable according to the packaging (even at 0.1mm, the prints are good, but they don't quite feel that detailed on that resolution - however there are about a million variables to take into account), but you have to consider what you're doing. What will you use it for? Do you genuinely need super high quality? Bear in mind it will cost more (for the filament etc) and take longer to produce high quality prints like that. A lot of people print at lower resolutions and still achieve acceptable outcomes.

What kind of engineering? There is quite an open field...I'm an Electrical/Controls Engineer and I'm 3D printing nothing to do with my engineering degree/workplace etc

I think getting into the fast growing 3D printing bubble would be good for a young and budding engineer as it encourages at the very least an attention to detail and a relatively proper work ethic/studious nature to achieve the results you want. Do not expect a 3D printer to magically solve any issues, and it doesn't design for you either. So keep realistic about what you wish to use it for, especially if that $800 may be better invested in your education (which then leads to better use of printers and other methods at a later stage).

Just my thoughts, to keep an open mind about it all. Other than that, I'm loving printing things. It's a great hobby to be in. The Da Vinci so far is proving to be great value, though the filament is not (comes in a cartridge instead of the industry standard "roll" and has an electronic reader that prevents use of other types. This has been hacked though I haven't tried it myself yet.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I'll leaf through that thread ASAP! :)
Honestly I am unsure as to whether or not I will be using the 3D printer so much for projects within my course (Engineering Design), I suspect It may come in handy for prototyping further down the line though! I just want it to add a new skill to my repertoire and think as an engineer who also has heavy interest in product design etc it would be a very handy skill going forward! Also it would mean a wider range of techniques I can use for replica building as well as a way to encourage myself to get as good as I can with 3D modelling (also very handy for my course im sure).

Id probably end up using it for replica building and quirky gifts/personal design projects more than anything but it looks really fun and im excited to start :) I've been saving up everything Ive made this year from replica sales and I think I can swing $800 from it
 
For a bit more you can get a printrbot plus. $999, 10x10x10 print volume, heated bed. A friend has their simple metal and is pretty happy with it and the company seems to have its fans.

Or if its not urgent, wait for the craftbot or cobblebot to become available.
 
Tarchinoko said:
Thanks! I'll leaf through that thread ASAP! :)
Honestly I am unsure as to whether or not I will be using the 3D printer so much for projects within my course (Engineering Design), I suspect It may come in handy for prototyping further down the line though! I just want it to add a new skill to my repertoire and think as an engineer who also has heavy interest in product design etc it would be a very handy skill going forward! Also it would mean a wider range of techniques I can use for replica building as well as a way to encourage myself to get as good as I can with 3D modelling (also very handy for my course im sure).

Id probably end up using it for replica building and quirky gifts/personal design projects more than anything but it looks really fun and im excited to start :) I've been saving up everything Ive made this year from replica sales and I think I can swing $800 from it
Click to expand...

Sounds like you've got the right way of thinking about it sorted chief.

For a starter scenario, £500 (I think you guys get it for $500!) the da vinci is perfect for what I want. The thread I pointed towards also has a few things mentioned that widen the Da Vincis capabilities.
 
I know the da vinci uses proprietary filament so you might want to shy away from that. I have several printers my newest being a Rep Gen 5, I do NOT recommend it. It's a $3500 paper-weight more or less...
 
Daniel Nelms said:
I know the da vinci uses proprietary filament so you might want to shy away from that. I have several printers my newest being a Rep Gen 5, I do NOT recommend it. It's a $3500 paper-weight more or less...
Click to expand...

Owch man - how come?

And yes - the filament is an issue - however, when you're talking about two months worth of printing small objects, the £33 versus the £20 isn't generally that big of a difference to be honest. There is a well known workaround, I just haven't tried it yet and I don't like to suggest things I haven't tried myself usually. When you start using it heavily and are going through roll after roll then it would obviously make sense to invest in the work around.
 
Fawbish said:
Owch man - how come?

And yes - the filament is an issue - however, when you're talking about two months worth of printing small objects, the £33 versus the £20 isn't generally that big of a difference to be honest. There is a well known workaround, I just haven't tried it yet and I don't like to suggest things I haven't tried myself usually. When you start using it heavily and are going through roll after roll then it would obviously make sense to invest in the work around.
Click to expand...

If I load the stats I see 61 successful prints vs 48 failed, this on a machine with a "smart extruder" which is supposed to catch when it's no longer feeding. I'm on my 5th "smart extruder" because they keep jamming beyond reason and you aren't allowed to open it up to fix the jam so you get put on a waiting list because they can't manufacture enough of these extruders fast enough. It's falling apart (literally) and now has some kind of issue with the bumper and belt drive. This after only 330 hours of print time which might seem like a lot but you have to understand that I keep these machines busy almost all the time. I was one of the first ones to get their gen5 and it's been down for several months because I get something fixed it breaks again.

The plus side is that makercare is paying for all the parts, they can be a little slow to get back to you sometimes taking days to respond but I think that's because they are pretty busy. I'm not the only one with issues.
The big thing for me is lost time, it went down last week and I got a reply for MBI and it might actually have to ship this back for repairs. Im glad they are fixing it, but it's really just a time thing for me. It's a side business (I couldn't afford to do this otherwise) so it's not like Im going to go hungry or anything but I can't print my own projects or anybody else's when its down for several weeks at a time waiting for new parts to arrive. In addition to my geek hobbies (cosplay) I also design and build custom electronics, a project prototype that is in development right now is stalled because I need to print it on the Gen 5's larger build platform.

It seems that when you spend around $3500 on something you expect a certain level of uptime performance?

I'm still hopeful that they'll get the problems worked out with a redesigned extruder and firmware upgrades. *knock on wood* :D

Meanwhile I'm giving serious thought to buying a Taz 4 from lulzbot just to see how it is.
 
Daniel Nelms said:
If I load the stats I see 61 successful prints vs 48 failed, this on a machine with a "smart extruder" which is supposed to catch when it's no longer feeding. I'm on my 5th "smart extruder" because they keep jamming beyond reason and you aren't allowed to open it up to fix the jam so you get put on a waiting list because they can't manufacture enough of these extruders fast enough. It's falling apart (literally) and now has some kind of issue with the bumper and belt drive. This after only 330 hours of print time which might seem like a lot but you have to understand that I keep these machines busy almost all the time. I was one of the first ones to get their gen5 and it's been down for several months because I get something fixed it breaks again.

The plus side is that makercare is paying for all the parts, they can be a little slow to get back to you sometimes taking days to respond but I think that's because they are pretty busy. I'm not the only one with issues.
The big thing for me is lost time, it went down last week and I got a reply for MBI and it might actually have to ship this back for repairs. Im glad they are fixing it, but it's really just a time thing for me. It's a side business (I couldn't afford to do this otherwise) so it's not like Im going to go hungry or anything but I can't print my own projects or anybody else's when its down for several weeks at a time waiting for new parts to arrive. In addition to my geek hobbies (cosplay) I also design and build custom electronics, a project prototype that is in development right now is stalled because I need to print it on the Gen 5's larger build platform.

It seems that when you spend around $3500 on something you expect a certain level of uptime performance?

I'm still hopeful that they'll get the problems worked out with a redesigned extruder and firmware upgrades. *knock on wood* :D

Meanwhile I'm giving serious thought to buying a Taz 4 from lulzbot just to see how it is.
Click to expand...

Fully agree. I expected a few issues on my $800ish (£500) worth of Da Vinci, as it is nowhere near top of the range, and isn't fully customisable easily like the kits - so far, not many issues out of the box, or I've prepared myself well.

$3500? I'd be absolutely seething! Doesn't matter that it is a hobby, that is a lot of moolah for a single item of hardware, I would expect at least a quick and efficient customer service. Good that they are sorting things, but bad that it keeps happening.

If you ever have any UK customers I'd be happy to help out in anyway I can in terms of printing out/sending on etc if you end up in a pinch.
 
I had someone contact me from Singapore the other day but the quote on the shipping (they wanted it fast) was going to be over $250, just for the postage! So yeah send me a PM and if someone contacts me from the UK I'll send them your way. International shipping is a pain :(
 
Yeah I've been reading up on them for quite a while and thus far was waiting to see if they would stay in business which they seem to have no trouble doing. I like how the entire thing is open source and that you can buy replacement parts from them, or others on the cheap! That could keep the total cost of ownership down because one thing you'll find out real fast is that 3D printing is that the machine WILL break, parts will go bad, and evil will happen. ;)

It's a lot of fun however and the longer you work with a machine the more you get to know it on a very deep, and disturbingly personal level. You'll learn to recognize it's quarks and squeaks and know instantly what's going wrong over time as you work with it. Sometimes I feel like its R2D2 beeping at me, each little knock and squeak means something.

Or maybe I'm just going crazy.... :wacko
 
Man that whole replicator gen 5 debacle is just nuts. The "smart" extruder was the death of that whole product line, if they had just kept to the thing simpler. People having issues with firmware, autoleveling, extruder jams. Not to mention you can't use other materials in it anymore. Glad I got my rep2 and that thing, despite a warn out cable and some general maintenance to tighten belts and align the gantry its been printing like a champ for close to 800 hours. Granted the rep2s had teething issues early on but no where near as bad as these new replicator.

I really like the craftbot for $500, looks like a very simple design that's easy to service. The airwolf 3D HDX is also pretty interesting if a bit pricey. And if they can make it happen the cobblebot for $300 could be huge.
 
thanks guys! im really hoping a robo 3d r1 owner will chime in as its the one I think thats highest on my list of 3D printers to buy! $800 and the print quality ive seen from it looks really good with a pretty big print area of 10x9x8 inches, ill take a look at the taz4 thanks!

After looking at the thread for the da vinci 1.0 im a little underwhelmed at the print quality and print resolution shown in the images on there :( or am i just being too anal about it

*Edit
OH WOW the Taz 4 is wayyyy out of my price range at over 2 grand :O
 
Expect to sink hours into maintenance, tinkering, mods, upgrades and all that. You'll want to base your decision on how good the community and support is. I've been working with a Solidoodle 3 for a while, and it's worked pretty well. I got it for the community, and it came pre-assembled.
 
The craftbot is $699 on their site. The indiegogo backers got a pretty hefty discount. I've backed it and have an September slot so hopefully it won't be late and I'll be able to give some first impressions soon.

They've recently decided to upgrade their cable chain to allow space for extra wiring should they go ahead with a dual extruder further down the line. That'll probably delay delivery a bit.
 
Last edited:
KevlarGorilla said:
Expect to sink hours into maintenance, tinkering, mods, upgrades and all that. You'll want to base your decision on how good the community and support is. I've been working with a Solidoodle 3 for a while, and it's worked pretty well. I got it for the community, and it came pre-assembled.
Click to expand...

can you give me a bit of a review of the community for solidoodle? because the solidoodle press is something Im considering getting too! just a little put off as its so cheap with supposedly really decent specs so im unsure of build quality and whether or not it really prints to the specs it claims it can
 
Yeah I've got I don't even know how many hours on my Rep2x. The cables go out but aren't too hard to replace and I've taken the thing apart so many times I could probably do it blindfolded by now. The dual extruders were a BAD idea, in fact I removed the left extruder and it's worked much better since then. I keep it around for a spare.

I did ask MBI if I could swap this gen5 for a rep 2 and they told me that they aren't making them anymore, period. They will allow me to swap it out for another rep2x which is very tempting but then I'll have a bunch of filament for the gen5 that I can't use. I'm thinking about just having them fix this then sell it in a bundle with all the filament (around $500 worth) and using those funds to buy a TAZ.

I'm also really interested in some of the stereolithography printers that are coming out. It seems like those would be able to print a lot faster and at higher res than fused filament.
 
Tarchinoko said:
After looking at the thread for the da vinci 1.0 im a little underwhelmed at the print quality and print resolution shown in the images on there :( or am i just being too anal about it
Click to expand...

Owch. :behave

I never claimed it to be extremely fine prints - and a lot to do with how well the printer prints is set up and the file itself. I am happy with the quality it produces at the price I received it (at the time, it was the correct purchase for me). You may find better. I believe I mentioned that you cannot expect the printer (any printer) at your price range to magically produce perfection. Very few of the prints I have completed have been at 0.1mm resolution, which I also mentioned.
 
Fawbish said:
Owch. :behave

I never claimed it to be extremely fine prints - and a lot to do with how well the printer prints is set up and the file itself. I am happy with the quality it produces at the price I received it (at the time, it was the correct purchase for me). You may find better. I believe I mentioned that you cannot expect the printer (any printer) at your price range to magically produce perfection. Very few of the prints I have completed have been at 0.1mm resolution, which I also mentioned.
Click to expand...

please dont take that the wrong way! D: i did not mean for it to be taken as the prints were bad, just that i thought the da vinci printed at high resolution and the prints didnt really look like 0.1mm resolution. i mustve missed the part where you mentioned most of those prints werent at the 0.1mm setting :p so that explains why the prints arent as smooth as i expected from the machine, i thought that was the machine attempting to print at high resolution and the machine just wasnt up to snuff, wasnt trying to say that you are at fault >.<

The print in the first post on the second page looks really good and a lot more like what I would expect from a high resolution print, but still doesnt quite look like 0.1mm although thats hard to judge without knowing the dimensions of the object printed! was that object 0.1mm?
 
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