3d printers

T

Tatooinetako

Member
Not sure what this topic would fall under but I'm looking for a 3d printer. Can anyone recommend one? What are the pros and cons? Seems all printer reviews require some tweaking, little technical support, and custumer service is lacking.

Thanks


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I would do a search there is a nice sized thread already concerning 3D printers but I forgot what thread it is in. :)
 
i have been watching a ton of youtube tutorials of 123d. couple more months of watching i want to research which printer to get. james from xrobots is the one i follow the most and he really likes the lulzbots and tazbots.

not to highjack your thread but my computer is from 2007.. she can't handle too much stuff anymore. I'm interested in learning what kind of computer hardware is a must for using 123d. thats something else you should look into is your PC powerful enough to use the software
 
Well, I've had a bunch of 3D printers and here's my advice...

Buy the older design models (flashforge, makerbot 1/2, wanhao etc). Newer printers today brag with "improved" extruders that at best can be described as experminetal designs. There is so many things that can (and will, trust me) go wrong when 3D printing, at least having a well-known extruder design will save you some time.

I see a lot of negative reviews on printers were people expect them to print amazing works of art right out the box, but obviously it takes a lot of skill and practice. I've printed thousands of hours and still learning.

Buy a cheap-ish printer and learn the hard way with trail and error, it's worth it in the end. You can make amazing stuff with it, and it's actually not that much of a money cost, it does however cost you a lot of time.
 
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I recently got the printrbot simple metal and I think it's a great introduction to 3d printing. It's pretty reliable and you get some decent prints, especially considering how cheep it is. I bought it as a kit which was about $400 at the time because I knew nothing about printing and I wanted to get a good look at all the parts. Like TFM said, the printers will break down and it's so incredibly helpful knowing every single bolt in your printer because you put it there :).
 
Here are my 5 machines, I'm looking to add a delta style soon to learn the platform and currently debating building a Corexy or Scalar XL printer.




There is no printer on the market that is just print and go, I've used a $30k Objet printer and that still needed some sort of knowledge base on the process albeit different from consumer printers out right now. All of my printers aside from the Wanhao i3 were fixer uppers for less than half the retail price or were completely free (the makerbot and dremel). Find what fits in your budget, what your exact purpose would be for it and how technical you want to go for. Avoid Makerbot like the plague, buy a clone but, an older model like the rep2 but avoid the new machines like a burning car. My favorite machine is my flashforge creator pro (picked up a fixer upper for $500 that required no parts to fix up), but so far, the cleanest prints I'm getting are from my sub $400 Wanhao i3.
 
TFM is right on the money too, while the printers at what I've paid hasn't taken much out of my wallet. They've taken a ton of time, learn about programs too like netfabb, cura, simplify3d, meshmixer, etc. What works for you and what doesn't. I really like using simplify3d but sometimes do a mix depending on my needs for whatever print I'm doing.
 
kalkamel said:
How is that Flashforge Creator Pro working out for you? I'm seriously considering getting one.
Click to expand...


The Creator Pro has been a work horse.
I received mine as a fixer upper and it still only took me a couple of hours to get it up and running. I've added a glass plate, better bed adjustment finger controls, and that's about it. I do need to rework some wiring (known issue with the creator x and creator pro, need heavier gauge wires for the heated bed or you risk burning them out/fire risk) but so far its work wonderfully and I've gotten a good 100+ hours on it so far. Prints PLA wonderfully as well as ABS. I'd completely suggest it to a new user. It does have its quirks, buts worked out wonderfully for me.
 
One more piece of advice that I recently saw and completely agree with. Do not get emotionally attached. Not in a sort of lovey dovey way but in that you are not too invested into your prints. You will get print fails, you will run into frustrating issues 10+ hours into a print, just a part of owning one. I've seen too many folks throw their printers up for sale when not getting THE perfect print that they saw someone else get on youtube. Here's an example of where I started and where I'm at. This was a quickish print of a cooler mod for my i3. The orange was one of the first prints I had ever done, its done out of PLA, somewhat brittle, layers coming apart and had super glue applied to it to adhere it together and fill the gaps that air was escaping from. Just unscrewing it from my printer, I could hear the piece already cracking. That was done this past October. The green piece is in ABS, printed about an hour faster and has been smoothed via cold acetone. The original print was already much cleaner, far more sturdier than my orange PLA one and I decided to "finish" it a bit more by sealing the layers together with a acetone vapor bath. Also gave it a glossy smooth finish.





The photos make the orange piece look more whole than it really is. It generally works but almost had to bathe it in super glue for it to hold together. Time will be your biggest investment, various tricks and tips you pick up, what mods you end up doing for the machine and for yourself will be the biggest determining factor. I honestly just enjoy the mechanics of it and really haven't even gotten down to doing too many props on them.
 
Biased me will suggest Ultimaker 2+ if it's in your budget.

I run a bunch of Ultimaker 2's 24/7 basically and they are reliable, produce good parts and surface quality is excellent. It's easy to use and once it's setup they're production worthy machines that churn out parts. Anything that breaks is usually fairly easy to fix yourself with support, and all the options are available for you to tweak. Support and community are excellent.

Cons: Bad for ABS since it's not fully enclosed. Bowden tube makes printing flexible materials more difficult.

IMO, if you know you're going to use the printer a lot, just get a decent one to start. There's less tweaking and frustration than low cost models, and they don't really become obsolete, you just end up adding to your print capacity by getting another one. Support for non-chinese machines are usually a lot better too so if you run into any issues you can call someone or ask on a forum.

Here are some prints:

027-Print-to-Order.jpg


IMG_20140525_124714_edit.jpg


Lightsaber_PTO.jpg
 
Valcrow said:
Biased me will suggest Ultimaker 2+ if it's in your budget.

I run a bunch of Ultimaker 2's 24/7 basically and they are reliable, produce good parts and surface quality is excellent. It's easy to use and once it's setup they're production worthy machines that churn out parts. Anything that breaks is usually fairly easy to fix yourself with support, and all the options are available for you to tweak. Support and community are excellent.

Cons: Bad for ABS since it's not fully enclosed. Bowden tube makes printing flexible materials more difficult.

IMO, if you know you're going to use the printer a lot, just get a decent one to start. There's less tweaking and frustration than low cost models, and they don't really become obsolete, you just end up adding to your print capacity by getting another one. Support for non-chinese machines are usually a lot better too so if you run into any issues you can call someone or ask on a forum.

Here are some prints:

-snip-
Click to expand...

Wow! Those are some clean prints. If you don't mind me asking, how big is that motorcycle? It looks like the small detail parts printed very well.

Also, what layer heights for each of those prints?
 
I teach high school engineering and my boss was able to get me a 3D printer this school year. We have a Makerbot Replicator and I absolutely LOVE that machine. For a desktop printer, the builds come out phenomenally! Here are some actual examples of my prints.



The middle picture was actually on a lower quality print setting but the saber stand and leg were with the high quality and detail settings engaged.
 
I've been researching 3D printers the past few months and the information here includes things I never considers when purchasing one. Thanks for all the great information!
 
Thanks for the reply, shenphong! The FF Creator Pro is indeed very nice... there aren't that many options available to me locally and based on my research, the FF is the way to go. I just need to save up more. :p

For those who don't mind learning assembling your own, the Tevo Tarantula is one of the better Prusa i3 variations I've come across. Its got quite good parts and plenty of upgrade options: http://www.aliexpress.com/store/2010004?spm=2114.12010108.0.51.5AUfIi

You can choose between the basic model, or one with auto leveling function and even a larger bed.

And best of all, there are detailed assembly instructions on Youtube and a great helpful Facebook community.

If I had the time, I'd get a kit and build one.
 
Bogleo said:
Wow! Those are some clean prints. If you don't mind me asking, how big is that motorcycle? It looks like the small detail parts printed very well.

Also, what layer heights for each of those prints?
Click to expand...

The bike is 1.5 banana's wide.
Ducati_Banana-1024x634.jpg


The chain is basically as small as you can print, it basically dabs little bits on the plate it's so small. Surprisingly, it's accurate enough to fit the teeth on the gear though.

The nuke and saber are printed in 60-90 micron layer heights depending on piece. The more slopey pieces are 60 so you don't see the stepping as much.

Also I second the thing about building kits. If you end up building one you will learn how these things work inside and out and no problems will be beyond your repair capability.
 
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