3D printer help

I hope this is the right section. I did a brief search and didnt come back with anything.

Im at a point where I want to start my next build and I'm going to go the 3D print route. I have up to $1000 to spend on a printer and would like the largest bed I can get as I plan on starting off with a new Iron Man suit as my foam one is showing its age.

My question is what printers is everyone using and what are the good ones out there right now?

There are several nice printers in that range that are out of the box printers, I'm not aware of any that have a bed larger than 8x8. If you don't mind getting a kit that has to be put together, here is one with 300mm x 300mm bed.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/231958583680


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Reedy26, I have had my printer for 2+ years and I love it; however, there some things you must consider before buying a 3D printer.
Every printed object will warp to some degree.

The larger the 3D model you print, the greater the distortion will be, so the maximum print size should not be ostentatious, think about printing large stuff in parts that will be glued together.

You will need a heated bed if you want to print in ABS (the stronger of the printed plastics).

You will need an enclosed printer, this will cut down on the warping. If the printer you decide to buys does not have an enclosure, you can always add one. I did this with my printer and it works great.

You will need to learn how to build 3D models, this is the biggest learning curve for anyone with a printer. There are tons of free programs for this and some really simple but powerful tools such as tinkercad.

You need to understand that although, 3D printers are awesome, and you must fully understand everything about it to enjoy it. Otherwise you will be selling it to someone else in a year or two.

Before you buy, know that there are several technologies for 3d printing such as DLP, SLA, and FDM. My printer is an FDM but I suggest you YouTube each one of these and learn about the process they use and the quality the produce.

Next, search through Kickstarter, I have seen several really cool printers/ expandable tools there that are being offered with options not widely available on the general market.

Next, if you only wanting a 3D printer, you will need to know about the different types of filiments you can print, PLA, ABS, even wood and clay but some materials require special things like a heated bed. You need to know this before you buys something that will only print one or two types of filament. Having said this, there are a lot of other “tools” to consider before just buying a 3D printer. Here are just a few.
https://www.kickstarter.com/project...al-desktop-cnc-3d-printer-for-e?ref=discovery
https://www.kickstarter.com/project...fablab-mill-laser-engraver-3d-p?ref=discovery

Lastly, I have a plastic scribbler, this is the link to the printer I have:
http://www.plasticscribbler.com/products/item/109-asterid-2100

This is a post I did after researching printers before I purchased:
https://www.3dhubs.com/talk/thread/my-first-printer-plastic-scribbler

Also I would suggest you check out the millions of videos on you tube with phrases such as 3D printer troubleshooting etc… so that you understand the common problems with 3D printing and how to address them. I hope some of this helps and good luck on your purchase.

Thanks for the great info, I will do some research and reading through those links.
I am familiar with the different plastic types and a heated bed, but was unaware of the importance of enclosed vs open.

I have a CNC programming background so the controls and codes should be a breeze.

As for modeling, I plan to purchase the files for my Iron Man build. After that I may start to dabble in modeling myself, but for right now I plan to go with a pre made program.

The printers Ive been considering are the Flash Forge Pro, i3 and Black Widow. The Black widow boasts a massive 370x250x300 work area with heated bed, with a very attractive price under $600.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Tevo-Bl...817013?hash=item41b920ecf5:g:RzAAAOSwnHZYZV6M

Ready26, that’s an impressive looking machine. Very robust with all the aluminum parts, most of my parts are 3D printed parts. It looks like you will need to fabricate a filament spool mount above or behind the printer but it looks like a solid machine and the reviews seem good as well.

Keep in mind that you may still have to modify the 3D model for Iron man so that it will fit your body but that should be a quick process if you have a CNC background.

I've got 7 functioning printers at the moment and have owned 15 different ones, I'd recommend a good community for the printer as well and if you're looking for size and good reputation, might I suggest the CR-10? Large build size and very economical price. Great community for mods and support (though the manufacturer support is really lame) and at the price point for its size, its pretty much my go to recommended printer at around $400-500. I've had 3 flashforge machines and still own a flashforge creator pro. The wanhao i3 is what I started with and I still have as its a great workhorse. I've helped a few folks fix their Tevos and while the widow has a good size, I've seen their build quality first hand and am not impressed for the cost of it at all. The Cr-10 can be bought from places like gearbest or banggood (your customer service their will vary) or you can buy it from a state supplier if you're in the US. Hictop now rebadges and sells them on amazon as well, though for a hire price. If you aren't against building, I'd suggest the Folgertech FT-5 but for a printer that is mostly ready and can be had for less than $500, the CR-10 is hard to beat. Add in an enclosure and some mods and you'd have a good workhorse for less than $1000 easy.

Sounds like you are pretty mechanical either way. Don't let the higher costs of other printers like Ultimaker or Lulzbot fool you, you're paying for features and some reliability but ALL printers break down and need maintenance eventually. I just spent 2 weeks waiting on parts and fixing up my lulzbot taz 6 ($2700 with tax here in California) and I'm currently helping my friend fix his Ultimaker 2+ that was easily over $2k as well. I would recommend the wanhao/monoprice i3 anyday for a starter 3d printer and the flashforge has been a workhorse, with only one major breakdown that happened after about 80 days worth of print time, but all of these have smaller build platforms. Check out the CR-10, I have one on order, have helped friends out with modifying theirs within our 501st garrison and just had another person order one recently.

I've been itching for a 3D printer for a long time. After a bit of research, I decided on the CR -10 too. I have a HICTOP CR-10 arriving today![emoji106]

I ordered one myself, just to play around with. I have my lulzbot taz6, my ft-5 and my corexy build for larger format stuff...didn't really need another but wanted to see what the fuss was all about. So far, from playing with my friends printers, I'm impressed with what you get for the price. Almost regret getting my ft-5 now after seeing this. I will say, my experience with gearbest is not going great. But your sellers will vary a bit. Buddy of mine ordered his 2 days after me and got it in yesterday (this was June 7th when I ordered). Join up on the facebook group, great resources on there.

I've ordered a cr-10. it seems like its finally happened.
A cheap, big, good quality 3d printer.
Like when Bender orders "Your biggest, strongest, cheapest drink" from iZac.

Might even be able to print a whole helmet or maybe even thigh piece of armour

spacebob said:

I've ordered a cr-10. it seems like its finally happened.
A cheap, big, good quality 3d printer.
Like when Bender orders "Your biggest, strongest, cheapest drink" from iZac.

Might even be able to print a whole helmet or maybe even thigh piece of armour

Click to expand...

This is pretty much what Im looking for! I was not aware of the CR10. From my brief search it looks like there are 3 models. The CR10, the Plus, and the Max with the difference being the size of your print area correct?

Ill take a closer look at these as well. Thanks for the suggestion.

All it is, is difference in size. Or they go by the CR-10, CR-10 s4, and s5. Same components just larger frame. I've heard people having quality issues with the S5 though, mostly due to stability. The format of the printer does not lend well to the size of it in that manner, stability becomes a factor and flaws become more apparent.