Gettin Started

Thinking about putting a fabber together for giggles...the big thing Im curious about is, how good are they detail wise? I do a fair amount of stuff with minatures(28mm-32mm scale for infantry), and was curious as to if a reprap can be expected to put out good detail on 'em. Also, how much does it typically cost to operate one, in parts and material?

Thanks. =)

Hi Travis,

The RepRap is stated to have 0.1 mm resolution (0.004 inch).

For the costs, there's an calculator. It may seem rather high, but if you consider each kg that you fab that expensive, you should understand that the cost of the machine AND replacement parts are already in it, also the proportion of the rent that comes from the room it takes up. Also, the 'wage' you want to earn for your time should be set to low when it's a hobby of yours.

[members.axion.net]

When you upgrade the RepRap in about a year, expect the design to need less maintenance and perhaps being able to recycle parts by then.

Upon looking at the calculator, the two costs Im interested in(replacement parts and materials) are reasonable. Im not bothering with stuff like rent, labor hours, etc, since this is really more of a hobby than a business.

.1mm is great plenty. How does it deal with overhangs? Fill of some other material?

I figure, at a minimum, some of the more expensive parts, like the arduino, and the stepper motors will be reusable in future designs, so Im not terribly worried about that, and Im certainly willing to do a fair bit of tinkering with it.

"How does it deal with overhangs? Fill of some other material? "

It doesn't ... yet.

Quote
ErikDeBruijn
The RepRap is stated to have 0.1 mm resolution

That number is a bit deceiving. While the RepRap may have positional accuracy to 0.1mm, the filament it extrudes is on the order of 0.5mm, which means you won't be able to create any features smaller than that. Nophead has also measured noticeable warping on test blocks at the same scale you're talking about - see his blog for details. [hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

0.5mm is still really tiny in my book, but I'm not planning on printing out small highly detailed figurines.

"0.5mm is still really tiny in my book, but I'm not planning on printing out small highly detailed figurines"

Hell! Make 'em bigger!

I think that at this stage the reprap is more of a function design printer. It basically will print something that can perform a function, albeit the piece might look like a blob. I would suggest printing the negative for you models, because then the warping can be better controlled and the overhangs can instead become valleys.

---

Jay

Well, Im constrained by size to a certain scale, but .5mm is still sufficient detail, in my book. Im ok with minor excess material, so long as it isn't irrepairable...you get flash with anything, be it injection molding or casting with resin.

I could do a negative, certainly, but that leaves me with actually producing the models by hand/some other machine. An improvement over sculpting them individually, but still not great. Alternatively, I can do them in chunks and put them together with plastic glue, and experiment with adding a second head to add fill material or something. Any resources out there for adding a second head to one of these?

I believe Im going with arduino electronics, not certain on the material yet...any other big decisions before I start ordering bits?

Remember that this is in the experimental stage.

Well, better experimental than paying 2k+ for a fabber...Several hundred is reasonable for a machine I only intend to use as a hobby, but I've been unable to find any better option at anywhere close to the price.

Travis Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well, better experimental than paying 2k+ for a
> fabber...Several hundred is reasonable for a
> machine I only intend to use as a hobby, but I've
> been unable to find any better option at anywhere
> close to the price.


"Experimental" means that you need to be willing to spend several hundred dollars (I'm budgeting $1000 for mine, to stay on the safe side) on a machine that you may or may not actually be able to get working.

Of course, things are looking up right now, and if you're willing to put some time into this project, go for it! Many people in the last month or two have begun to put these kits together and are reporting successes.

I spent less than a $1000 on my first machine and the schools machine will cost less than mine. I'd say your grand will do you very well Kyle.

Demented

Hi Travis,

Indeed the reprap economics calculator:
[members.axion.net]

is aimed at business use. I wasn't thinking of hobby use when I wrote it, but after your comment I realized it'd be a good idea to add options for hobby use, so I added the explanation:

"For home use, when labor and rent are effectively zero, choose Hobby (0$ / hour) in the Labor Rate pop up menu, and Unused Space (0$ / square meter / month) in the Rent pop up menu."

and the corresponding pop up menus.

Cheers,
Enrique