How Much?

Hey all,

I had a funny one, so funny that I nearly fell of my chair laughing.

I was emailing the local plastics distributors about supply of 3mm ABS welding rod.

After a couple of no replies and don't stocks one came back to me and said.

Sure .... But the minimum order is.....

3000 m !

in 10 300 m rolls.

I could build a couple of repraps with that.

Let's see... The RP parts use about 150m of 3mm plastic, so about 20 of them?

How much were they quoting?

I was quoted $1800 Australian dollars delivered.

that's about 1200 $US

If I've crunched the numbers right, that works out to $120US for a 5lb roll. That's more than double what RRRF sells it for here.

I can get it for NZ$40 for a 100m roll. That's just under a kilo. Postage is about NZ$20 offhand. It's twice the price of PLA for some unknown reason.

Vik :v)

I just got a quote from New Image Plastics for $7.94/lb for ABS. Minimum order 5 lbs. There is roughly 320 meters of filament in 5 lbs or 8 meters/$.

3000 meters would come out at about $375 then.

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Hell, there are no rules here - we're trying to accomplish something.

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

Thomas A. Edison

That would make the quote outrageous then.....

Stuff is more expensive here in Perth but that is insane.

Will search for other local suppliers.

On another note I should get my extruder nozzles (pfte+brass+acorn) back tomorrow ( 3 for 12 beers ).

Now that price is more like it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/15/2008 02:03AM by Simon Kirkby.

I don't think that you should be too awfully hard on the suppliers' pricing structures. Mind, I'm not saying that you ought to actually pay insane prices. You should definitely shop.

What you should understand, however, is that plastic filament that is being manufactured now is being sold into a VERY limited market, viz, for use in plastic welding machines used primarily for repair work. Plastics welding machines are a very limited market device and cost several thousand dollars, typically, in spite of the fact they for practical purposes they consist of a hot air paint stripper mated with a tube that acts as a guide for the filament and a feed mechanism, an assemblage that would cost only a hundred dollars or so if there were a mass market for it.

Once Reprap-style 3D printing takes off, plan on the prices of 3 mm filament asymptotically approaching the cost of the plastic resin in it.

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Hell, there are no rules here - we're trying to accomplish something.

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

Thomas A. Edison

indeed Forrest,

I find the whole reprap thing a fascinating mental exercise.

Now yourself and everyone reading this ( yes; that means you too, dear reader ) must have dreamed of huge warehouses filled with repraps churning out and endless supply of cool little plastic bits.

I now have consumed vast amounts of time thinking and plotting my reprap project. As a concept it has huge power. A device that can print itself and all manner of cool plastic (..for now) bits.

I have some thoughts in no particular order

- Never design a robot that can build repraps ( full self replication BAD )

- If you make a reprap you SHOULD make at least 2 full sets of extra parts and exchange them for a Multi Pack of Tasty Beverage (nice work Wade)

- If someone asks about your reprap get them involved and be friendly

- Thank the people who work on it now.

I'm making a reprap for purely selfish reasons; I want a cool robot that makes plastic bits.

But.

Thanks Forrest , Vik and Adrian and all the people involved in the project, i'm having heaps of fun.



Simon

Forrest Higgs Wrote:
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> Plastics welding machines are a very
> limited market device and cost several thousand
> dollars, typically, in spite of the fact they for
> practical purposes they consist of a hot air paint
> stripper mated with a tube that acts as a guide
> for the filament and a feed mechanism, an
> assemblage that would cost only a hundred dollars
> or so if there were a mass market for it.
>

They aren't all that expensive:

This one's $33

Poked at McMaster-Carr's website (mcmaster.com), and tickled some numbers... Virgin Electrical Grade PTFE in cord spool form (which apparently is now FDA approved, unlike my old catalog,) at .125in (3.2mm) comes out at 9765.625ft (3000m) for 17453.13$US.

And that's 44.68$US per 25ft spool. Ouch.

In the future, I'm thinking about using .1in cord--I figure that it may be easier to obtain extruder parts at this size here in the US.

I wouldn't put PTFE through the extruder if I were you.

Vik :v)

hehe...bad idea...

Demented

> - Never design a robot that can build repraps (
> full self replication BAD )

Oh come on. It's not like we haven't been using fully self-replicating machines for a lot longer than we've had any other technology to speak of. It's just that this one is all-synthetic, and requires feed that requires a huge amount more work to get.

I would be tremendously amazed if any "grey goo" that we ever produce can beat 20 minutes to double (which the grey goo we have growing in our gut already does).

The grey goo scenario already happened, and then became pinkish and fleshy. This is just an extension of that which is less restricted in bulk form and more restricted in everything else.