Anyone have a 3d printer?

[corona]

I think I'm going to buy one. Anyone have any experience with them or recommendations? I'd be willing to shell out up to a grand. I'm currently looking at the RepRap.

 

[cyphers]

I have one I built from a kit, and one I designed and built myself.

You should probably know that RepRap is a term that encompasses any printer that can print its own parts, it's not a brand or a specific model.

If your'e looking for something in the $1k range, I have a couple recommendations:

- Prusa i3 MK2. This would fall under the RepRap category. Make sure to get the assembled version, unless you have lots of time and patience.

- LulzBot Mini. This might be a bit pricey, but I've heard nothing but good things about the company and their designs.

There are probably more that would work for you, but I would recommend against Printrbot (poor communication) and Makerbot (kinda shady) for now. Look around, read reviews, and remember that 3D printers are tools, not appliances.

 

[corona]

I have one I built from a kit, and one I designed and built myself.

You should probably know that RepRap is a term that encompasses any printer that can print its own parts, it's not a brand or a specific model.

If your'e looking for something in the $1k range, I have a couple recommendations:

- Prusa i3 MK2. This would fall under the RepRap category. Make sure to get the assembled version, unless you have lots of time and patience.

- LulzBot Mini. This might be a bit pricey, but I've heard nothing but good things about the company and their designs.

There are probably more that would work for you, but I would recommend against Printrbot (poor communication) and Makerbot (kinda shady) for now. Look around, read reviews, and remember that 3D printers are tools, not appliances.

What do you use your printers for?

Do you find them more as just nice to have and a neat hobby or as something that saves you time and money?

 

[jellomellow]

What do you use your printers for?

Do you find them more as just nice to have and a neat hobby or as something that saves you time and money?

if you like making things for yourself or cant find anything specific on the market that you want? then you can make it.

 

[cyphers]

What do you use your printers for?

Do you find them more as just nice to have and a neat hobby or as something that saves you time and money?

You will probably never make your money back on a 3D printer. That doesn't matter so much to me, because it offers me the ability to make strong, functional parts. If one of my circuit boards needs an enclosure, I can have it designed and printed in an hour at minimal cost. That, to me, makes a 3D printer worth the cost.

To be honest, I wouldn't buy one unless you know exactly what you plan to do with it. I know people who got one, printed a few things from Thingiverse, and then realized that the novelty wears off pretty quick. It's also a near-requirement that you know 3D design, because 90% of the time, you won't be able to find a predesigned model that fits your needs.

I don't want to take away with how impressive the technology is, but I would strongly disagree with anyone who claims it's consumer-oriented.

 

[corona]

You will probably never make your money back on a 3D printer. That doesn't matter so much to me, because it offers me the ability to make strong, functional parts. If one of my circuit boards needs an enclosure, I can have it designed and printed in an hour at minimal cost. That, to me, makes a 3D printer worth the cost.

To be honest, I wouldn't buy one unless you know exactly what you plan to do with it. I know people who got one, printed a few things from Thingiverse, and then realized that the novelty wears off pretty quick. It's also a near-requirement that you know 3D design, because 90% of the time, you won't be able to find a predesigned model that fits your needs.

I don't want to take away with how impressive the technology is, but I would strongly disagree with anyone who claims it's consumer-oriented.

Yea this is kind of what I'm thinking. I can think of abut half a dozen things I could use it for right now, and we occasionally get jobs where it would be a useful alternative to using the milling machine. Just it would probably end up sitting unused 350 days of the year once the novelty wears off. CAD isn't a problem.

You say strong parts, what type of plastic are you using? I've heard z-axis strength can be lacking. Have you had any issues?

Also do you know how fast the technology is developing? Like if I buy something today would it mostly be obsolete or way outdated in a couple years?

 

[cyphers]

Yea this is kind of what I'm thinking. I can think of abut half a dozen things I could use it for right now, and we occasionally get jobs where it would be a useful alternative to using the milling machine. Just it would probably end up sitting unused 350 days of the year once the novelty wears off. CAD isn't a problem.

You say strong parts, what type of plastic are you using? I've heard z-axis strength can be lacking. Have you had any issues?

Also do you know how fast the technology is developing? Like if I buy something today would it mostly be obsolete or way outdated in a couple years?

I use PLA. It's always been strong enough, but I occasionally run into issues with its low melting temperature.

You are correct about the weak z-strength, but there are several workarounds. Increasing the extrusion temp a bit can help the layers adhere to each other better. Design-wise, I always orient parts so that the layer direction is parallel to, rather than crossing through, thin features. Rarely do I have parts that need that much strength in all three axes, but when it happens, you can split them into connecting subparts.

A few years ago, there was reason to worry about printers becoming outdated, but the ones I recommended are fairly future-proof and easy to upgrade should new parts come out.

 

[corona]

I use PLA. It's always been strong enough, but I occasionally run into issues with its low melting temperature.

You are correct about the weak z-strength, but there are several workarounds. Increasing the extrusion temp a bit can help the layers adhere to each other better. Design-wise, I always orient parts so that the layer direction is parallel to, rather than crossing through, thin features. Rarely do I have parts that need that much strength in all three axes, but when it happens, you can split them into connecting subparts.

A few years ago, there was reason to worry about printers becoming outdated, but the ones I recommended are fairly future-proof and easy to upgrade should new parts come out.

Thanks a lot for the answers. I think I'm going to hold out for a bit and if I start to have enough stuff going on to actually justify the purchase I'll spring for it.