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3D Printers for the home shop and User satisfaction.

Former Member

I have searched around a bit and have yet to find a discussion about the cheaper end 3D printer quality vs. user satisfaction.   If this discussion is already out there and I missed it, please feel free to point me in the right direction.

 

I am getting closer to making my first purchase of a 3D printer for my home shop and wanted to see what people have tried and what they like.  I have read Make magazine reviews, I have watched YouTube videos, and I have gotten to use a higher end system where I work, but I would like to see what the makers at element14 are using and how you like it.  With systems like the Printbot simple beta and the Makibox comming in at $200-$400, the RepRap types and larger Printbots in the $500-$800, and higher end Up and Replicator printers running from around $1100 to just under $2000, there are a lot of options for the home user.    With this in mind for those of you that have used one of the home 3D printers I would like to know the following:

 

Which printer did you use?

 

What material did you print with? (PLA, ABS, Something else)

 

Did the print match the STL file?

 

Were you happy with the results?

 

How easy was the printer to use and how well did it hold up?

 

If you were going to purchase a 3D printer or get a new one, what would it be?

 

Thank you in advance to all who take a few minutes to share your experience with me and those that read this on element14.  image

 

Chaos1ao

  • 0

    I have been doing a lot of research for this. I think that you also need to ask one more question. Final print resolution you require. i have 3  in mind in all 3 ranges.

  • 0
    • Well I have used both the Lulzbot Prusa 2.0, AO-100, Makerbot Replicator, I have also built all the Repraps on the market currently.
    • The material I use is primarily PLA just because I have kids and it doesn’t have such a strong smell.  I also have ABS, polycarbonate and Laywoo-D3(wood based).
    • The prints did match the STL file with little visible imperfections
    • All the printers I have used I was happy with.  Now there is some variation in print quality but not that bad.
    • All the printers were easy to use, well at least the ones that I bought since they came with direction.  I remember the first printer I built it was such a learning curve.  The only thing that did not hold up was I had some printers with printed bushing and they would wear out after hours of printing but just swapped them out with Iggus bushings and had no problems.
    • If I were to get another printer I would have to go with the Form 1 by Formlabs since the technology isn’t the extruder type.

     

    Nate

  • 0 in reply to Former Member

    That is a good point Travis, not all 3D printers can get the same level of fine resolution.  From my research it seems that .1 to .15mm is a good working resolution.

     

    which three printers are you looking at?

  • 0 in reply to Nate1616

    Nate, thank you for taking the time to share your experiences, I appreciate it.  I do have a couple of follow up questions if you don’t mind.

     

    How did the Makerbot Replicator compare to the Repraps you built as far as print quality?

     

    Would you mind sharing the rough cost you had in getting the parts to build your Repraps?

     

    I have looked heavily at the Replicators, but they seem a bit pricey when compared to the other 3D printers on the market.  They may well be worth the extra cost, especially when you add in the second extruder, but I am not fully convinced.   I have also been thinking seriously about just building my own and have even begun to gather some of the parts; I’m just not sure that is the right way to go with my first home printer.

     

    Thank you again for sharing your experiences, especially since you have had the chance to work with several different printers.  

     

    image

  • 0 in reply to Former Member

    Hey chaos1ao

    When comparying the print quality i would have to say they were equal when i compared the prints to one of my nicer repraps.  When i mean nicer im talking about higher end parts.  I have seen repraps with dual extruders on them so i wouldnt make your choice based off that.  I would say that the Makerbot looks cleaner if its going to be shown off/visible to people. As far as price for building my own i would say my low end was arond $400 and my high end around $1100.  My first 3d printer was one i built and there was a large learning curve involved but would have to say at least for me is that it made me learn more about 3d printing.  I couldnt just look at a troubleshooting page when something wasnt working or when my print quality wasnt high i had to figure out what was causing this.  Just my opinion.image

     

    Nate

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    well as i am sill a newby to his form of printing i think my plan may benefit me. the first printer group i am looking at is printrbot jr and printrbot lc v2. the reasin for this is because the printer resolution can grt down to .1mm and are very reasonably priced. the 2nd group was solidoodle. The 3rd kind was a sterolithography mavhine whic is much more expensive. my plan now is to get a small printrbot kit. learn how to put it together maintain it and fix if necessary. if idecide totake thenext step i may upgrade to a higher quality reprap that i can begin to build with this machine. i am into sculpture and artistic endeavors and i believe i will move up into the resin printing but i think i should learn how to drive a stick before i jump into the high end supercharged models. Right now I am concentrationg on software. i upgraded my pc and getting ready to learn blender, google sketchup and another program to begin. anybody recommend any other softare for designing?

  • 0 in reply to Former Member

    I would check out Autodesk 123D design http://www.123dapp.com/design and TinkerCad which is in the process of being bought by Autodesk https://tinkercad.com/ and OpenSCAD http://www.openscad.org/.  All are free. 

     

    Nate

  • 0 in reply to Nate1616

    Nate,

     

    Thanks again for sharing your experiences I appreciate it.  I am leaning more and more towards building my own.  I have a background in maintenance and I really think I would enjoy creating the system from parts and coupled with the information you have shared, it really is looking like building my own is the way to go.  I'm not all that concerned with how it looks as it will be living in my workshop so performance is more the concern.

     

    Travis,

     

    I am there with you on the software side of things.  I have played a little bit with AutoCAD at the college I work for, but have not created a functional 3D object as of yet.  I have found many great STL files on Thingaverse to print and several of the designers on that site use 123D or TinkerCad. 

     

    When it comes to printers, you may want to check out MakiBox http://makibox.com/products as they have a basic 3D printer for $200.  They are just now beginning to ship units so currently I have not seen any reviews other than those on the main site detailing development.

     

    Thanks you both for sharing.

     

    image

  • 0

    For home-level 3D printing, most of the common platforms enjoy relatively similar capabilities in terms of the type of filament that can be used (PLA, ABS, nylon, composite filaments like Daywoo-D3, etc) and the layer thickness is relatively close (.1-.17mm). In general you want to keep your layer thickness at or below 80% of the nozzle width, so the nozzle size will affect your plans. For non-thermoplastic extrusion, you can go with the syringe-based Fab@Home or use the Universal Paste Extruder on a RepRap variation. Hyrel 3D has a higher-cost and more professional looking extruder that can handle up to clay materials (play-doh, skulpey, etc).

     

    For a prosumer model, the MakerBot Replicator 2 has a very solid metal frame making it slightly more robust than the older wood-framed Replicator. RepRaps can also be made from extruded aluminum frames and there are a number of different models depending on the build volume and "cool factor" you want - deltas (Rostock), cartesians (Prusa and Mendel), SCARA (Morgan), inverse-delta (Simson), etc.

     

    For the book "3D Printing for Dummies" I am currently writing with RichRap (http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1118660757.html), I am using RepRap kits with extruded aluminum frames (the cartesian MendelMax 2.0 by Maker's Tool Works and the delta RostockMax by SeeMeCNC) and have really enjoyed the simplicity of assembly compared to self-sourced RepRaps I have built before for K-12 classroom settings. I have been curating topical content for 3D printing using the Scoop.It platform for some time, and you can take a look at a lot of the current technologies there if you want: http://www.scoop.it/t/3d-printing-and-fabbing

     

    You can make a RepRap using little more than threaded rods and stepper motors from old printers if you just want to get started for the lowest possible cost, and then use that to print the pieces for a larger more complex model later. If you can use basic tools and solder together components, I would recommend that so that you can get into 3D printing with full knowledge of how your equipment works and how to fix it when it fails (and yes, this will happen from time to time).

     

    Kalani Kirk Hausman

    @KKHausman

    http://kkhausman.com

  • 0 in reply to Former Member

    Hey Kalani

    When do you and Richrap plan to have the book published?  I have been following RichRap for a while now.  He has a great blog.  I would say he is leading the DIY 3d printing movement.  If you guys need anyone to review your "how to" just let me know as ive been into the 3d printing for a while and maybe could give you guys some feedback that i encountered over the years?  I would love to see what you 2 come up with.  Im sure it will be great.  You had a great point that getting to know your printer(s) is a must as its a matter of time before something breaks and you have to figure out how to fix it.

     

    Nate