Hello,

I am currently working on a project for which I am seeking any assistance you guys may be able to offer.

I am currently building a 28' trailer which I intend to fill with as many types and models of 3D Printers as possible. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 22 Printers. We are wiring the entire trailer with cameras, powering it with solar and a small generator. Once completed we will be traveling the united states and visiting schools from elementary to college level as well as many other events and gatherings.

We will be performing demonstrations, holding build events and educating as many people as possible about 3D Printing as well as reviewing printers and loading content to YouTube.

First I would like to receive as many printer recommendations as possible. This being a mobile operation printers must be stable and able to reasonably handle the rigors of regular transport. So with that in mind I ask everyone to make recommendations. I do ask that those recommendations not exceed the sale price of $500.

Thanks in advance guys!

$500 kit price?

Or build 22 printers with $11,000?

There is a bit of a difference there.

What do you currently print with? This might be one instance where parting it yourself could get you more bang for the buck? But if you get 22 of the same shitty kit from China, then atleast when you figure out the major shortcomings of one, you'll have a headstart on the other 21

Also, where does the number 22 come from?

Part of the point here is having printer's people can experience and then go buy what they like and have used. I currently have 4 scratch built printer's and could certainly build the printer's. But that defeats the purpose to a large degree.

And the number 22 is an estimation based on space and layout.

I don't think you have thought this idea through. I think you will find most schools / collages have access to at least one 3d printer. Driving around with a trailer of cheap junk will only further increase the idea that 3d printing was developed on the kitchen counter and is only good for printing trinkets.

Why dont you get in touch with some of the big hitters in the industry and see if you can show off their machines or organise tours for the kids to go see 3d printing in industry? Then show them that they can buy a kit and build a basic one at home.

Lol, I have thought it through quiet well thank you. I don't consider a $500 necessarily cheap junk. I realize that not everyone can afford more expensive equipment $500 however is within reach for many. My first printer was less than $300 and yet over time I turned that cheap junk into a damn good printer. Even if snobs think it's junk.

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with the $500 printers as long as you understand their limitations and not expecting micron accuracy (Sadly most people do).

What im getting at is that with $16K ($11K for the printers and say $5K for the trailer) you could do something really impressive and inspire the kids to get into STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). I think you will find that most kids know about desktop printers and think thats it. Showing them how the technology is used in industry would be more impressive and a better use of that capital.

But if you really want to go with your idea the wiki has a list of builds link: [reprap.org]

Are you going to sell the printers? (traveling salesman)

Do you have grant funding?

Are you rich?

Sorry, but we raise these questions because you asked 'what's your favorite printer' where all you have to do is locate the largest sub-forum.

"$500 however is within reach for many." If you are asking market research, just say so. Sounds like you wants to maek da sails $$$, and drive around in a bus

Otherwise economies of scale would dictate quite a quality difference between what you could part for $500 versus buy for $500. Not like there are a whole lot of 'super spechul parts' in the sub 500 category. It's all the same, just different names.

Either way, good luck, we just don't quite see your vision fully.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/2017 12:56AM by VonRansak.

No, I have no desire to sell printer's. I have an income and am doing this because of my love of making and would like to share that as much as possible. I have already visited several schools with just one of my printer's. And it may sound cheesy but it's been amazing.

Warm fuzzies are addicting. Good luck. I'd just focus your scope, gas is expensive. If you wanted to 'rep-rap' you could always fund/micro-lend some teachers who could in turn organize their army of unionized workers to print sets and build even moar printers. Then with the money saved, you could visit the schools with your dirtbikes in the trailer In 'getting to yes', we are thinking of all best alternatives to a negotiated agreement.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/2017 01:01AM by VonRansak.

Well pardon me, but the trailer full of junk turning off people to 3d printing kind of through me off.


But this has become my passion and I enjoy it a great deal. And It's okay, I can deal with others thinking it's not what I should be doing. That's never stopped me before and it won't slow me down now.

Well I am going to be traveling anyway. Sort of retirement for me.

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Bama3d
Well pardon me, but the trailer full of junk turning off people to 3d printing kind of through me off.

Really? I had no inclination of that /s

It's cool, I probably would have taken some offense too. We don't always get criticism in a way we like though, so take the value you can from it. He was rooted in good perspective. Basically swap the printers for bongs and schools for venues, and it sounded like a tale from a Phishhead.

If you are self funded I would say start small, don't build all 22 at once. (In fact i dont think you need that meany unless you wanted one per student in a class)

I would start with a cartesian (like an i3), Delta (kossel) and a coryXY. then add some of the odd design concepts like the Morgan, Simpson and a Tantillus (I really like this one as its so close to the original rep-rap concept)

Then look at SLS / SLA and powdered bed fission printers

If you already have the foot in the door with the schools and getting good feedback then keep going, but I think you should add a section about industry printers like the way Boeing repairs their jet turbines now thats cool

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/2017 01:29AM by scottybfg.

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Bama3d
Well pardon me, but the trailer full of junk turning off people to 3d printing kind of through me off.

I would also like to clarify my response. When someone says they are going to educate as meany people as possible about 3D printers by using cheap desktop printers it makes me think they dont know as much about the technology to teach it. As fun as desktop printer are, people seam to be under the impression that this is it, or that 3D printing was created with the Rep-rap project, when infarct its been around from the 70's. To me showing people $500 printers only continues this stereotype.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/2017 01:26AM by scottybfg.

Wow, the backhanded insults just keep coming. But just to be real clear. I truly couldn't care less what you think about me or whatever I am doing. That's the beauty of it all. You don't have to agree with me and I don't have to care. I hope to develop friendship and connections with like minded folks that aren't to quick to turn their noses up. That's obviously not going to be you. So be it. ....

Breathe: [www.youtube.com]

EDIT: We're all crazy, lol.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/2017 01:53AM by VonRansak.

Speeking as an older bloke (50ish) I think your doing a good thing. Any intrest you can give the kids of today other than a games consol is all good by me.
But im so old I payed £399.00 for 4 meg of ram in the old days.

Interesting project. I was chatting with a member of my local hackspace tonight and he has a "maker mobile" - a converted cargo truck which they traveled throughout much of British Columbia, Canada last summer showing off "making". They had 3x 3D printers which they used to show off that technology. Apparently people loved it.

What I wouldn't show people are the kits coming out of China - the ones I have seen in person (and via you tube) and from the numerous threads on this forum about all the "upgrades" people have to do to them to get decent prints they are Junk. Personally I am a fan of a scratch built Prusa i3, but I have heard good things about the Wanhao Duplicator i3, a pre-built solid frame printer based on the Prusa i3.
I would also have at what I call a "consumer grade" printer. Our Hackspace has a Tinkerine ditto Pro, made by a local Vancouver company. Retail is $2,000, so it's 3 to 4x the cost of the Prusa i3 that I built for the Hackspace, however it's the kind of printer that a parent/school could buy that's easy to use and would print right out of the box with a minimal learning curve.
When I show new member through our Hackpace I can show them what $2,000 can buy them and also what $500 and some time will enable them to build. Some members like the Tinkerine, others like the Prusa i3

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Bee69
Speeking as an older bloke (50ish) I think your doing a good thing. Any intrest you can give the kids of today other than a games consol is all good by me.
But im so old I payed £399.00 for 4 meg of ram in the old days.

I thank you sir, we have already seen some positive results. For instance, we visited a local high school a couple of years ago. A 14 year old student took a particular interest and has been coming around ever since. I gave him a printer kit for his 15th birthday and he is now one of the best designers and modelers I have ever seen. So much so that he has a job waiting for whenever he is ready with a firm in Florida.

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SteveRoy
Interesting project. I was chatting with a member of my local hackspace tonight and he has a "maker mobile" - a converted cargo truck which they traveled throughout much of British Columbia, Canada last summer showing off "making". They had 3x 3D printers which they used to show off that technology. Apparently people loved it.

What I wouldn't show people are the kits coming out of China - the ones I have seen in person (and via you tube) and from the numerous threads on this forum about all the "upgrades" people have to do to them to get decent prints they are Junk. Personally I am a fan of a scratch built Prusa i3, but I have heard good things about the Wanhao Duplicator i3, a pre-built solid frame printer based on the Prusa i3.
I would also have at what I call a "consumer grade" printer. Our Hackspace has a Tinkerine ditto Pro, made by a local Vancouver company. Retail is $2,000, so it's 3 to 4x the cost of the Prusa i3 that I built for the Hackspace, however it's the kind of printer that a parent/school could buy that's easy to use and would print right out of the box with a minimal learning curve.
When I show new member through our Hackpace I can show them what $2,000 can buy them and also what $500 and some time will enable them to build. Some members like the Tinkerine, others like the Prusa i3

Well I have ordered one cheap $160 china printer. We will build it and upgrade as much as needed. Then put the parts we replaced on a display next to it. The point being that you can make most anything work with enough time, tinkering and money.

With the exception of the one A-hole Snob I appreciate all the comments and information guys, please do keep it coming......

I guess I was surprised to see the posts trying to discourage you. What you are doing is a good thing. My only concern is that you will need to do a lot of connecting well in advance. Schools often have their events scheduled many months in advance.

Have you tried to get sponsorship? That could not only help with funding but also add credibility and help open doors.

I have considered taking on some sponsorship but I want my autonomy. I want to be able to make recommendations and to do reviews without a sponsor taking issue. So it would really depend on the fine details. I don't want to be beholden to anyone to the point of not being able to tell it like it is.

And the fact is that every time we go out and do a demo we know of 15 - 20 people who went home and ordered printer's. We know because we get calls with questions on which printer they should order and so on.


Oh, yes, advanced planning is everything. But we are working other venues as well. For instance we will be setting up at a couple of fairs next year as well as an air show. There we will be selling trinkets at cost to pay for filament. But that's the only charging we do...

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/2017 06:49PM by Bama3d.

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seattle_phil
I guess I was surprised to see the posts trying to discourage you.

.

I would say the posts were less discouraging and more analytical in nature. We are all old enough that we can let a little tone slide now and again, if we wish to view it from another's perspective. And when weighing options, it is helpful to release the constrictions of conventions. [en.wikipedia.org]

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/2017 10:14PM by VonRansak.

Well I posted for that reason and I wanted opposing points of view. I did not care for the insults however. That's something I don't tolerate well. I see it as counter productive and I admit when insults are thrown I tend to dismiss the throwers points.

I'm making some changes to the plan. I will be adding a custom vacuum former to the trailer. I will also be building a robot suite with some animatronics. I figure it may inspire others with just what's possible. Will be printing bucks for vacuum forming parts from ABS sheets. But I have not settled on a design completely and would be open to recommendations.

Hello all, thought I would offer up and update to anyone interested.

All has been going well and we have visited and we have visited 6 low income schools, a fair and a few other events with a good bit of success. I have a fellow who reached out and is accompanying me when possible and giving some very basic tutorials on 3d modeling. I have tons of video footage I am going through trying to edit and get ready for youtube. But have not had much time for that with many other things going on.

Have had some great success with several kits and am working on a BIQU Kossel Pro Delta at the moment but with some minor issues.