Kwando checking in

Hi All,

Thought I'd pop in and say hi.

I haven't been able to stop reading about the wonderful world of 3D printing since I came across the printers currently seeking funding on kickstarter a few days ago. Truly believe this technology will revolutionize the world!

I'm personally a fan of crowd funding and what it allows budding entrepreneurs to achieve and bring to market.

Right now I'm doing research into which printer would be best for me. I've got a list of specs I'd like the printer to posses, but since I'm completely new to this, it'd be great if anyone could tell me if the features I want are worth having.

- 0.1mm layer thickness or better
- decent speed
- expandable
- can print with ABS and PLA

Cheers guys.

I'm glad to have found this community.

- kwando

Hi Kwando,
Welcome to the world of 3D printing. It's a lot of fun. There's a lot of printers on the market these days, but they all have varying degrees of complexity to build and run. If you want to build a printer yourself, then a Reprap Prusa Mendel is the best way to go on most fronts. It has the best support and availability by a long way. If you want to buy a pre-built printer, then a Makerbot Cupcake is arguably the best way to go.

In answer to your questions:

1. 0.1mm layer thickness or better. - Nearly all well-tuned printers are capable of doing such fine layers, but what's the point? What are you trying to achieve? 0.1mm is very slow printing. Most repraps print in the 0.3 to 0.4mm layer range, which is adequate for most uses.

2. Decent speed - You might have to qualify what you mean by 'decent speed'. But, unless you're running a commercial operation, all 3D printers have an acceptably fast printing speed. Have a look at youtube, there's lots of videos there showing the printing speed. What you can also do is set up a skeining program on your computer, and put in some models into it. The skeining program will usually give you a time estimation for the print, and given speed settings.

3. Expandable. - It depends what you mean by 'expandable'. If you're talking print volume, then no printers that I can think of can expand their printing volume without major rebuilding.

4. ABS and PLA - All repraps can print both. ABS printing is a little bit trickier, and requires a heated print bed, which adds a little bit more cost and complexity to the printer.

I hope this helps you. Let us know if you have more questions!

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systematictechnology.net

Hi Shibboleth,

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions! Your answers are very helpful.

1. As a noob, my reading so far has led me to believe that a finer resolution = better finish on prints. I've seen some high rez photos of 3d prints, and I'm guessing the ones where each 'line' is visible are the ones with a higher layer thickness, and the smoother ones are achieved with a smaller thickness. Is this correct?
I guess I would just really like the option of being able to achieve finer prints, even if I don't use it that often. Another reason is that my SO dabbles in homemade jewellery... and if I tell her this significant investment is a tool she could use to create some pieces, it would help my argument significantly haha.

2. Gotcha. So are most models and variants in the sub $2000 range similar in speeds? I'm also guessing the higher the resolution the slower it's going to be.

3. What I mean by expandable is, say, currently I have a printer which has a build area of 20x20x20cm, I would be able to extend the rods one day and increase that building area. Having said that, I'm pretty sure there are other limitations to simply increasing Y and X axis rod lengths to be able to achieve bigger builds.

4. That's good to hear. I'll keep in mind that the models I look at need have heated beds if I want to use ABS filament. Is it expensive for us to get PLA and ABS filament in Australia? What do you personally use and why?

I'm currently pretty interested in a Bukobot.

Here is the kickstarter link if you're interested - [www.kickstarter.com]

It is a little over my price range ($1125) for the model I want + international shipping, but it seems to have all the features I want too. The creator, Diego, has also been very helpful in answering my questions. It looks very different from all the repraps I've seen so far, and he does mention that it would be fairly easy to 'extend' in the future.

A close second is the Maxifab. It too sports a modular type design and is cheaper too. Although my concern is that it does not look as robust and I'm not sure how it performs.

Thanks for the info!

suggest you look at solidoodle which seems pretty good at an extremely affordable price.
I have built a mendel prusa sourced thru mendel-parts in Netherlands and I have built also an orca v0.2 which I haven't settled in yet

I need to find time to get to the members group sessions so I can learn alot more about setup of these machines.

Have looked at the soolidoodle. The pricing is indeed very attractive.

Other than the build envelope being just a tad too small for me, I also don't particularly want a completed printer. I think the challenge of putting a kit together would be the best way to teach myself about the tech behind these printers. I also like all the scalability options the reprap and other similar variants offer.

I've just been reading about the Mendelmax. It looks awesome, but nearly double the price of a solidoodle.

If you're looking for jewellery-quality prints, then a fused-filament printer is not the way to go. They have nowhere near the surface finish you require. You're better off going for a CNC machine to cut the parts from metal, or a stereolithography machine if you want plastic.

If you want to do a 'partial build', then I suggest having a look at the Hadron Ord Bot. In my opinion, it's the hands-down winner in looks and design. It uses MakerSlide aluminium extrusions, so the structural surface is the same as the sliding surface.

I'm not a fan of the MendelMax. They've just taken a rod design, and replicated it in Aluminium extrusions. It is massive overkill in the use of the extrusions, very wasteful. I'm currently building a 'Aluminum Mendel' myself. I really like it, as every part, including the power supply and the electronics, is inside the frame.

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systematictechnology.net

The Aluminium Mendel looks very nice and clean.

I don't think I'm at a level where I would be able to source all the electronics myself to be honest, I'd want a kit that included everything. I do know this will most likely push up the price for convenience though.

Did you get a chance to take a look at the Bukobot Shibboleth? Keen to see what you think of it. I like the look of the frame, and it comes with everything needed to assemble and get it printing.

Cheers,

Kwando

Thanks to my conversations with Shibboleth I've decided that my first printer will be an ORD Bot Hadron.

It's currently taking pre-orders on inventables but it needs another 84 sold (as of typing) in order to start production.

Help a brother out and get one so I can get mine haha.

It looks and performance amazingly.

[www.inventables.com]

That is an interesting design choice... I don't like the way is sits on the Z-steppers tho...

HI..

You will only get a 0.1mm layer if you use a small nozzle, I have done this by using a .15 nozzle I had made, You will also have to make sure your extruder doesn't slip and run your temp up high so it melts quicker. Your print will also take a heap longer to print, I use this setup to print small gears for my model trains.

Auzze