purchase a 3d printer fully assembled and calibrated

Hi!
I need to get a 3D printer for work. I will use it mostly for printing prototypes. I guess the printing volume needed will be about 200*200*150 mm at lest (bigger is always better, right?). I have a budget corresponding to about 4000 USD. I am new to the 3D printing world and dont know what to look for. I could use some pointers on which features that should be included. I would also like to hear your suggestions on which model to get.

There may be a thread like this somewhere, in that case maybe just link me to that one.

Thank you!!

https://www.ultimaker.com/ all the way

And no, im not affiliated with them at all.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/06/2014 04:09AM by Dust.

Allright I have come up with a list of candidates. I would be most greatfull if you could tell me which one is the best. If your favourite is not on the list please tell me so.
1. ultimaker 2 (thank you dust) [www.ultimaker.com]
2. Cube pro [cubify.com]
3. Makerbot Replicator 2x [store.makerbot.com]
4. Cube [cubify.com]
5. Profi3dmaker [www.3dfactories.com]
6. Solidoodle workbench [www.solidoodle.com]

This list is ungraded

Thank you!

I would avoid Makerbot and Solidoodle. Infamous for unreliability, and my personal exerience with Solidoodle says you'll need a fair amount of calibrating.
Ultimaker 2 is the undervalued juggernaught here. I have yet to hear a single bad thing about Ultimakers, but I have heard much praise in the improvements on the new design.

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Realizer- One who realizes dreams by making them a reality either by possibility or by completion. Also creating or renewing hopes of dreams.
"keep in mind, even the best printer can not print with the best filament if the user is the problem." -Ohmarinus

You know that this is the RepRap Forum, right? So a Prusa i3 or a Mendel should at least be in the mix.

You should make sure that the printer you choose has a heated Build platform to avoid warping.

Then if the Build volume is big enough for the stuff you intend to print take a look for the printing speed (mm/sec) and the layer hight. For really smooth prints you want to get 0.1 mm or less layer hight. The higher nozzle movement speed gives shorter printing times. And as for reasonable big things the printing time is in hours you probably want a fast print.

In this forum probably no one will recommend Makerbot anymore. From your list my pick would be the Ultimaker (also not affiliated with them other then owning a Ultimaker myself).

be wary of cubify.com they have filiment cartrages

You have to buy their suppies at their prices.

Can you say consumer lock in? really nasty stuff.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/06/2014 05:24PM by Dust.

Allright thank you guys! i have one more question, is it possible to print nylon with the ultimaker? Is there any machine in my price range (4000 USD) which can do that?

No one is shipping machines pre configured for nylon. that i'm aware of...

Standard hot end in ultimaker says this about their hot ends
[www.ultimaker.com]

They say good up to 285C which temperature wise is good for nylon.

The company I work for just got a CubePro.

I was the one that made the process of selecting the machine. As I'm in Mexico, our main concern was reliability and good customer support (warranty, repairs, spare parts). With that in mind, I choose to buy only from solid companies, so I mainly considered Makerbot and 3DSystems. As I needed ABS, then Makerbot was discarded (Replicator 2X was not an option because of reliability issues), which left me with 3DSystems, which by the way, just acquired Robtec, a Brazilian company with branches in Mexico, that consecuently became 3DSystems Mexico, which means, local support.

Today Is been 3 days with the machine and it has behaved good. Altough for a normal consumer this is an expensive printer, it's not for a company. In fact, for this reason I like that it uses propietary cartridges. Sounds weird, but I rather use same quality every single time instead of trying and trying and trying different manufacturers. For my home, yes, I do have a Reprap and I don't like cartridges.

Something that I'm liking about the machine is the controlled environment. The bed is not a heating bed but after the air inside the box gets hot the bed gets hot too. Part adhesion is excellent using the (again propietary) glue. In fact, one has to be careful because too much and the part is very difficult to get off, but using the right amount that's no problem and you have zero warping.

I also like a lot the calibration pattern. It's a one layer pattern that helps you set the three leveling knobs of the printing bed. It's effective if you understand what you're doing.

One more point in favor is the official support of nylon. I'm hoping they release it soon.

Probably the only con' I've found has been the size. The thing is bigger than it looks in the pictures and videos. When the box arrove someone asked me is it was a clothes washer!

In summary, if you need a printer with good support, get one from a big company. I like a lot repraps, but I need someone to take care of the machine if it fails, as I have no time for that. And as I haveno money for a Stratasys Dimension this is the best I could find. And if you were wondering, I have no ties with 3DSystems, I hope I have the same point of view in a few months from now.

I hope it serves me well, God willing.