3d printers? what do you have and what would you get?

parkplace06

parkplace06

Well-Known Member
RPF PREMIUM MEMBER
Hey guys,

I am contemplating buying a 3d printer in the future as soon as I can and am wondering which everyone is using and how do you like it. Also, would you get a different 3d printer if you could have?

I've looked at some, but I'd much rather get feedback from people who are actually using them.

Your feedback and information is greatly appreciated.
 
I have a solidoodle 3 and love it. It came already assembled so the was just taking it out of the box, hooking it up and start printing. The people I asked loved theirs. The online community and support is great.
 
I recently posted up a review of using a Cube 3D printer for the past 7 months. Short version: Don't buy one.

I also have started using a Lulzbot Taz recently and they are amazing. I have been holding off on purchasing my own, but if I were to buy one tomorrow, I'd get a Lulzbot without question.
 
Also interested in the results
I was in Florida a couple of weeks ago and the Microsoft shop had one running.
I've been looking at these for a while so maybe nows the time to invest
 
I have a Type A Machines Series 1. I think the best options in size of the print bed and quality are:Type a Machines and Luz bot.

Good Luck!

mmfox
 
I don't have a lot of experience with 3D printing or digital modeling, so I wanted something that would be inexpensive (comparatively) and more like a starter model kind of thing. So I picked up the Buccaneer from their Kickstarter campaign since it was only $350. I won't have it until February though, so I can't say anything about quality though.

I saw the Cube printer in action at SDCC this year and just based on what I saw happening as it printed and some of the final printed models they had on the tables, I knew that even if I were to invest a larger sum of money in a 3D printer at some point in the future, it wouldn't be a Cube.

I've got friends that have access to a couple of MakerBot models and they put out some pretty amazing pieces with minimal errors. One of my digital artist friends is totally sold on Form One, but I've never personally seen any output from one of them.
 
I'm waiting my RigidBot BIG 30x40x25.4 cm, they will ship it on December, it's one of the largest build volume and the priece is very nice ($365 for the 25,4x25,4x25,4 cm kit and $575 for the 30x40x25,4 cm)... also it is expandable, if you want a bigger height just buy the hight kit

Personal 3D Printer | RigidBot 3D Printer
 
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I just got my Form One from their Kickstarter campaign which ended about a year ago. I've used a powder printer, an abs printer, and now this stereolithography printer, and from the first print I made earlier this week, I'm thrilled. I think they are just about wrapping up fulfilling their Kickstarter, so you should be able to get one soon. Its a little pricey and the resin is extremely expensive, but it's pretty much HD 3D printing. They are still tweaking the settings, but this things got a lot of potential.

Form Labs

Hex pattern shotglass:
923405_10100991339105888_412071286_n.jpg
 

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I own a solidoodle 2. It was a Christmas gift from my wife last year. I had no input in the purchase, but she made a really good call. Its a great offering especially for the price. Its been almost a year now, I use the hell out of it and have had great results.

My latest project is being created on my solidoodle 2. It's 40k Space Marine Powerfist. Printing like a champ.
U8XqTV20JWeARIpw93YOJ0QNzCZHDEJ_KFaZZAkR3f8=w311-h207-p-no
 
Sylgian said:
I own a solidoodle 2. It was a Christmas gift from my wife last year. I had no input in the purchase, but she made a really good call. Its a great offering especially for the price. Its been almost a year now, I use the hell out of it and have had great results.

My latest project is being created on my solidoodle 2. It's 40k Space Marine Powerfist. Printing like a champ.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/U8XqTV20JWeARIpw93YOJ0QNzCZHDEJ_KFaZZAkR3f8=w311-h207-p-no
Click to expand...

Thinking about a Solidoodle 3. I read a review that said the setup was a pain and took several hours. But once it was up and running it was solid. What's your experience?

Your project is looking great BTW!
 
I am in the calibration phase of building my own reprap prusa, hopefully i will be able to get some ok prints out of that when it's done.

i would love a solidoodle or a makerbot replicator 2 though.
 
I've got 3 CubeX trios at work and msleeper is right; stay away from them. We also have a Makerbot 2, which seems to be OKish.

C
 
jeffreygullett said:
Thinking about a Solidoodle 3. I read a review that said the setup was a pain and took several hours. But once it was up and running it was solid. What's your experience?

Your project is looking great BTW!
Click to expand...

I went into my setup completely unprepared, having never done any 3D printing or research on the topic. I was blindsided by the gift (in a good way). So yes, it took some time for me to familiarize myself with the software and calibration. All of the trouble I experienced early on was born of my own inexperience. Ever since I had the bed well leveled and the software calibrated, it has been running like a champ.

Minor lifting on large pieces is the only problem that has persisted, but this is a common issue.

This site was invaluable :Solidoodle Tips | 3D Printing with the Solidoodle 2
 
At the end of this month I'm buying a MakerGear M2.
I've done extensive research, and all of the experts I've talked to personally recommend it as the best extrusion 3D printer on the market for the price.
Its frame is a single piece of steel, and all the moving parts are cast aluminum. I've seen prints done with layer heights of less than .05 MM, which equates to about 4x the z-resolution of most printers out there. Plus, it's cheaper and easier to use/maintain than a Makerbot Replicator, which is way more expensive and nowhere near as reliable.

..I'm a little excited :)
 
RustBelt PGH said:
I just got my Form One from their Kickstarter campaign which ended about a year ago. I've used a powder printer, an abs printer, and now this stereolithography printer, and from the first print I made earlier this week, I'm thrilled. I think they are just about wrapping up fulfilling their Kickstarter, so you should be able to get one soon. Its a little pricey and the resin is extremely expensive, but it's pretty much HD 3D printing. They are still tweaking the settings, but this things got a lot of potential.

Form Labs

Hex pattern shotglass:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/923405_10100991339105888_412071286_n.jpg
Click to expand...

My dad is thinking of buying one, mainly for surgical instruments prototyping, so I'm researching right now what would be the easiest, less high maintenance printer available ATM. That form one looks very promising, could you tell a bit a more about it ? How easy is it to operate, quality of the printed object, reliability, etc ? Thanks.
I had in mind a CubeX or a replicator 2, but from what I read, they're either unreliable or not that easy to operate. But they do have rather big print volume...
 
I have the MakerGear M2 and think its great. Out of the box (bought mine assembled), I was printing immediately.
I've been doing PLA at the default .25 and that looks really good
I've only played a bit with some higher settings, and that requires more skill and patience than I want to spend at the moment

They provide Goode for a "Sasquatch" head which is very high res and it prints amazingly nice

It is also a good looking and well built machine as said above.
I think you will love it when it arrives




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
So I've narrowed it down to lulzbot or solidoodle...What are prices like?...pc hardware requirements? Etc..where did you buy yours?
 
Well yesterday I attempted my second print, which failed. Mostly because I tweeked the settings on the supports to be as small as possible, and over-shot it. I'm still very much recommending the Form One in terms of what they are trying to do, and from what I think they are going to be able to do. However, it's almost an open source situation where the community is helping steer the process. The Form One got it's start as a group of chemist at MIT who created the resin. The rest of it has been built around that, and from what I can tell it's a lot of trial, error, and report in the forums. I think it has the most promise in terms of print resolution vs. cost, but for basic prototyping you might want to stick with the Replicator2.
 
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