Best 3D Printer?

Huang

Huang

Jr Member
I'm looking to get into 3D printing for props, mainly wearable armor and possibly weapon props. Is there any 3D printer out there that can be considered the "best?"

Assume I have unlimited money to purchase a printer and its accessories, I'm looking for a printer that can print fairly large pieces in one go so I can eliminate the process of connecting or splitting stl files. For example, printing large armor parts (Iron Man bicep, chests, etc) in as few pieces as possible while still having a strong structure. Are there any printers out there like this?

Thanks. Sorry if this is in the wrong section.
 
I believe it is the wrong section, but anyway, Pegasus Touch is promising, or you can look up for the 3d printers "legendary" uses...
Legendary is the company behind the props used in movies such as Iron Man, pacific Rim etc etc...
But i don't think you can have a 3d printer that actually prints more than 25x25 cm or so...

again, I might and probably be, wrong
 
Last edited by a moderator:
unlimited? get a Formiga 1, EOS selective laser sintering machine. It's a powder based machine. You're looking at $250k

The Ditto Pro from Tinkerine is super reliable, 8x6x9 inch build volume, and is $1900
 
nickjm007 said:
The only printer I know of that is large enough for your stated purposes is the Cube Pro: http://cubify.com/en/CubePro/Order

BTW, I recommend putting threads like this in the General Discussion section. :)
Click to expand...

DO NOT buy a printer from 3D Systems without doing your research!

While I have not used the Cube Pro, I have used the Cube 2, and from what I know about the Cube Pro it operates on the same principals (and the same problems) as the Cube 2. I wrote an in-depth article on my time using the Cube 2 here for those who are interested: http://overworlddesigns.blogspot.com/2013/09/review-3d-systems-cube-3d-printer.html

So, that being said.

There isn't a "best" 3D printer. There are dozens of them and there are plenty of reasons to choose some over the others. So you want a printer with a large build area. Most hobby grade printers have a print area that is generally around 10" cubed. Some are smaller, a few are bigger. The reason they don't get much bigger than 12" in one dimension is stability. The carriage on a 3D printer can move really fast, which introduces all kinds of warp/drift/other artifacts into your print.

If you are willing to learn more about the technology and design and build a RepRap kit yourself, then the limit to how big it will be is up to you and how much money you want to throw at it. If you want to buy one and "just press print" then well I think you're in for a bit of a surprise.

Question: Have you ever seen a 3D printer do some printing? Have you ever held a 3D printed part in your hands? If not then I strongly recommend you do one or both of those before you drop a few grand on a printer. The truth is that 3D printing is not a magic bullet, and even with printers you can buy ready built that you don't have to do any manual work on, you still won't get 100% perfect prints 100% of the time, and you almost certainly will have to mess with your printer in some way. Even something as simple as re-leveling your print bed.

While I generally dislike Make, I also recommend reading their yearly/quarterly roundup of printers to choose from. There are also other sites that do something similar (Wired, Tested.com, a few others) if you want other opinions on what printers are good and bad (spoiler: you do).
 
msleeper said:
DO NOT buy a printer from 3D Systems without doing your research!
Click to expand...

Agreed, do the research. I have friends who use the Cube Pro with excellent results, but it takes knowledge of its limitations and nuances. This goes for absolutely every printer out there.

I personally own the form labs Form1+, primarily because it produces excellent detail for small objects once its limitations and nuances are mastered.
 
zenix said:
unlimited? get a Formiga 1, EOS selective laser sintering machine. It's a powder based machine. You're looking at $250k

The Ditto Pro from Tinkerine is super reliable, 8x6x9 inch build volume, and is $1900
Click to expand...

That EOS machine looks really badass. First time I've heard of a machine like this that uses powder for printing.

I was a bit exaggerating the cost, I mainly wanted something <$10,000 but I would rather not get a budget printer when I could get a "better" one for a higher price.
 
after ~$2000 you're just paying more and not really getting more, until you get up to like $40k+

The make 2015 review just came out!
 
msleeper said:
DO NOT buy a printer from 3D Systems without doing your research!

While I have not used the Cube Pro, I have used the Cube 2, and from what I know about the Cube Pro it operates on the same principals (and the same problems) as the Cube 2. I wrote an in-depth article on my time using the Cube 2 here for those who are interested: http://overworlddesigns.blogspot.com/2013/09/review-3d-systems-cube-3d-printer.html

So, that being said.

There isn't a "best" 3D printer. There are dozens of them and there are plenty of reasons to choose some over the others. So you want a printer with a large build area. Most hobby grade printers have a print area that is generally around 10" cubed. Some are smaller, a few are bigger. The reason they don't get much bigger than 12" in one dimension is stability. The carriage on a 3D printer can move really fast, which introduces all kinds of warp/drift/other artifacts into your print.

If you are willing to learn more about the technology and design and build a RepRap kit yourself, then the limit to how big it will be is up to you and how much money you want to throw at it. If you want to buy one and "just press print" then well I think you're in for a bit of a surprise.

Question: Have you ever seen a 3D printer do some printing? Have you ever held a 3D printed part in your hands? If not then I strongly recommend you do one or both of those before you drop a few grand on a printer. The truth is that 3D printing is not a magic bullet, and even with printers you can buy ready built that you don't have to do any manual work on, you still won't get 100% perfect prints 100% of the time, and you almost certainly will have to mess with your printer in some way. Even something as simple as re-leveling your print bed.

While I generally dislike Make, I also recommend reading their yearly/quarterly roundup of printers to choose from. There are also other sites that do something similar (Wired, Tested.com, a few others) if you want other opinions on what printers are good and bad (spoiler: you do).
Click to expand...

I have seen and felt 3D printed objects as there was one available (not for my use) in my high school, but I never had a chance to use it as I believe it was strictly for the robotics team. And I do realize that 3D printing isn't some click and go procedure, but for what it's worth it seems way easier than going the pep-resin-filler path. For example, I recently built a blade (scissor blade from anime Kill La Kill) which took a few days of work to get the results I wanted. With a 3D printer (and some practice/experience) I probably would've finished the build in a day of work (not counting the hours it takes to print a piece). Same would probably for my Iron Man armor; I've been working on the chest and I just can't get the results I want.

I'll be sure to do research as to what printer will suit my needs, but I figured what better a place than this community because everyone has a lot of experience :D Thanks!
 
zenix said:
after ~$2000 you're just paying more and not really getting more, until you get up to like $40k+

The make 2015 review just came out!
Click to expand...

I see, maybe if I have larger capital I'll think about buying fridge-sized printers :D The process is really cool though, but I don't think cosplay props would need that type of hardcore printing to get good results.
 
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