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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

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  • 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 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.  

     

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  • 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

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  • 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

  • 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.

     

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