New to 3D Printers
Posted by Scubasteve23
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Re: New to 3D Printers February 05, 2013 07:56AM |
Scubasteve23
Your questions about "best" printer is a can of worms. It would be like me posting to a car forums, and asking what is the best muscle car.
That being said, I am partial to the Prusa because it is what I build (made 7 so far) They have a lot of support in the community, many people have made variations, and or modifications to them. But this is my personal opinion. Much of what I said could also apply to the Sells Mendle, or many other printers/kits out there.
I find the Prusa has a nice mix of reduced parts count, with just enough stuff to get a nice middle of the road printer. Once you make (and tune) your first printer, you can go forward, and print parts for any other printer you want to try.
As to printing in ABS vs PLA, Both materials have pro's and cons. I print 99% in ABS. I get consistent filament from my supplier, and I have the printers tuned to that material. Other people choose PLA for its positive qualities. My advice pick one and then stick with it while you tune your printer. Then once you have a printer that meets your expectations, you can experiment with other plastics; knowing any issues you have are probably not printer related.
Regards
Your questions about "best" printer is a can of worms. It would be like me posting to a car forums, and asking what is the best muscle car.
That being said, I am partial to the Prusa because it is what I build (made 7 so far) They have a lot of support in the community, many people have made variations, and or modifications to them. But this is my personal opinion. Much of what I said could also apply to the Sells Mendle, or many other printers/kits out there.
I find the Prusa has a nice mix of reduced parts count, with just enough stuff to get a nice middle of the road printer. Once you make (and tune) your first printer, you can go forward, and print parts for any other printer you want to try.
As to printing in ABS vs PLA, Both materials have pro's and cons. I print 99% in ABS. I get consistent filament from my supplier, and I have the printers tuned to that material. Other people choose PLA for its positive qualities. My advice pick one and then stick with it while you tune your printer. Then once you have a printer that meets your expectations, you can experiment with other plastics; knowing any issues you have are probably not printer related.
Regards
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Re: New to 3D Printers February 05, 2013 10:08PM |
The "unofficial standard" is a Prusa. As Fredlatesta said, "best" is subject to discussion. 
My first printer was a Prusa v1. I learned so much building and tuning it.
There is probably far more info on assembling and tuning your basic Prusa than most other printers out there.
As for parts, I sell both Prusa and Wallace parts. You can get equally good Prusa parts from EckerTech.
They also sell there own variant.
For the "vitamins"(the metal bits) MixShop is good.
I would spring for a .5 J-head hotend from Hotends.com. It's solid and reliable. At .5 it doesn't clog easily letting you get the rest of the printer working. You can always get a finer nozzle later.
PLA vs ABS. I do most of my printing in ABS, but I'm doing production printing. I started with PLA as it works at lower temperatures and has a sweet smell while working. With PLA though, you need a fan more to cool the upper layers for quality looking prints, but you don't need to have a heated bed.
I would recommend getting a heated bed anyway for the flexibility.
Where to buy plastic? I've used 3DprinterStuff, MakerBot and EckerTech plastics and they are all good quality plastic.
MixShop has changed it's supplier from when I first ordered from there and I haven't really given the new stuff a try yet.
I hope this has been helpful,
Komb'
Glankonian Protoforms
My first printer was a Prusa v1. I learned so much building and tuning it.
There is probably far more info on assembling and tuning your basic Prusa than most other printers out there.
As for parts, I sell both Prusa and Wallace parts. You can get equally good Prusa parts from EckerTech.
They also sell there own variant.
For the "vitamins"(the metal bits) MixShop is good.
I would spring for a .5 J-head hotend from Hotends.com. It's solid and reliable. At .5 it doesn't clog easily letting you get the rest of the printer working. You can always get a finer nozzle later.
PLA vs ABS. I do most of my printing in ABS, but I'm doing production printing. I started with PLA as it works at lower temperatures and has a sweet smell while working. With PLA though, you need a fan more to cool the upper layers for quality looking prints, but you don't need to have a heated bed.
I would recommend getting a heated bed anyway for the flexibility.
Where to buy plastic? I've used 3DprinterStuff, MakerBot and EckerTech plastics and they are all good quality plastic.
MixShop has changed it's supplier from when I first ordered from there and I haven't really given the new stuff a try yet.
I hope this has been helpful,
Komb'
Glankonian Protoforms
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Re: New to 3D Printers February 07, 2013 01:24PM |
nophead Wrote:
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> It is every part the machine cant make itself. It
> is analogous to biology were vitamins are
> essential nutrients that an organism needs but
> can't synthesise itself.
I like the way that is put.
Thanks for the quick responses guys.
-------------------------------------------------------
> It is every part the machine cant make itself. It
> is analogous to biology were vitamins are
> essential nutrients that an organism needs but
> can't synthesise itself.
I like the way that is put
. Thanks for the quick responses guys.
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Re: New to 3D Printers February 09, 2013 02:22PM |
I have one!
It's great. There were some teething problems, which they worked out for me, but it's mostly been slice & print since I got it.
I would recommend my spool hook for though.
Komb'
Glankonian Protoforms
It's great. There were some teething problems, which they worked out for me, but it's mostly been slice & print since I got it.
I would recommend my spool hook for though.
Komb'
Glankonian Protoforms
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Re: New to 3D Printers February 10, 2013 03:48PM |
Well I have made up my mind and I am going to go with the Eckertech Printer the Ecksbot. I really like that they have created a soild version of the Prusa Mendel and incorporated the best parts of the Mendel. Also the support that I will receive will be better than any other dealer I have spoken with. Anyone have any suggestions as to what are the first few things I should try printing as test pieces? I wont have for a couple-few weeks but I will start looking at programs and settings soon. I look forward to starting my new journey into 3D printing. 
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Re: New to 3D Printers February 28, 2013 02:12PM |
Scubasteve23 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well I have made up my mind and I am going to go
> with the Eckertech Printer the Ecksbot. I really
> like that they have created a soild version of the
> Prusa Mendel and incorporated the best parts of
> the Mendel. Also the support that I will receive
> will be better than any other dealer I have spoken
> with. Anyone have any suggestions as to what are
> the first few things I should try printing as test
> pieces? I wont have for a couple-few weeks but I
> will start looking at programs and settings soon.
> I look forward to starting my new journey into 3D
> printing.
Good choice. While I have not made an Ecksbot, I'm in the same town as Bruce, and have seen the design evolve. It works well, with their custom hot end. I am using their heated bed design for my mendel and it works great, heats up fast, etc.
(My mendel plastic and elctronics all came from Eckertech)
-Rob A>
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well I have made up my mind and I am going to go
> with the Eckertech Printer the Ecksbot. I really
> like that they have created a soild version of the
> Prusa Mendel and incorporated the best parts of
> the Mendel. Also the support that I will receive
> will be better than any other dealer I have spoken
> with. Anyone have any suggestions as to what are
> the first few things I should try printing as test
> pieces? I wont have for a couple-few weeks but I
> will start looking at programs and settings soon.
> I look forward to starting my new journey into 3D
> printing.
Good choice. While I have not made an Ecksbot, I'm in the same town as Bruce, and have seen the design evolve. It works well, with their custom hot end. I am using their heated bed design for my mendel and it works great, heats up fast, etc.
(My mendel plastic and elctronics all came from Eckertech)
-Rob A>
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