I have been toying around with buying a 3D printer for my own personal use. I would like to start a small side business with printing parts or whatever people want. I have been researching all that I can and I know I want the ability to print in PLA and ABS. My main problem is that it seems every company claims to be the best. I like the markerbot 2 but it at $2200 I want to make sure that it is worth that price. I also like the cube and the xyzprinting 1.0 as Either can be bought at around $600. So my question is there anyone that might be able to guide me on what to get or have personal experience with a machine. Also I know how to use autocad so I'm not worried about drafting parts.
3D Printers questions
- Thread starter kook911
- Start date
What experience do you have with these "low budget" printers? Do you realize they make incredibly crude and cheap products very slowly? I would be highly surprised if anyone would purchase any products that you made from a cheap in home DIY 3D printer that would really justify your investment and time.
^^ What he said. Only 3D printers worth a shit are going to run you much more than that. I've used some of the cheaper units but only to build models for display purposes. Most of them are barely even suitable for prototyping, let alone mass scale production of anything.
Would you need CAD training to be able to use a 3D printer? I would assume so.
I've not personally used a 3D printer, but I'd assume you're correct in him needing some CAD knowledge. I'm guessing Pro/E & Solidworks at least since that's probably most common software for 3D.
I know in my CAD classes, we learned how to incorporate drawings into CNC machines, required saving as/exporting to certain file format, making sure coordinates matched, etc. Essentially, my assumption is that you can't just click print!
I know many CAD programs have free "viewing" software so that people can at least print or view models on their screen, but I'd be curious to know if 3D printing would require a full version of some sort of modelling software too - that alone would be pricey.
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Only if you want to design something, can also use Google Sketchup. There's a website call thingaverse with many predesigned objects to print.
You'll actually want the makerbot 2X to do both PLA and ABS not the makerbot 2.
If you talk to Jake @ http://www.fargo3dprinting.com/collections/3d-printers he's a friend of mine and if you mention you talked with Tom, he may hook you up.
I do not have any experience in the 3D printers as this is why I was asking if other people had and experience. Also the technology has come a long way and they do not print out crude and cheap products as you think. They print 100 micron but I guess that is crude to you.
Can you tell what units that you have used? Kinda of like saying I bought a Ford and there all cheaply built, so don't buy a Ford. Just trying to get a ideal on if you used a home built unit or if it was that was bought from a store.
Thanks will do.
okey... I guess let me put it another way. Unless you're spending 10k or more don't bother. 25k or more to get quality pieces. Then again we circle back to how are you going to recoup your investment?
I'm not just talking out my ass. I've been following this technology for 7 years and have multiple friends that work with units that are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars on a daily basis.
The little 1000-2500$ in-home (even self assembled) units are SLOW, material LIMITED, and VERY crude. Search the youtube videos of what people are ACTUALLY creating with the products you're looking at. They're shit. They love to show a few things that looking amazing but when you look into the actual practical purposes you realize the massive short comings of the home units.
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That's is good info, Digital. Just for kickers I'm going to look at Google Sketchup and that Thingiverse site. Also thanks for answer about CAD training to Ellscott and Dynasty for responding. I had a feeling at least some CAD training is necessary.
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I pre-ordered my 3D printer about a month ago and just received my shipping notification. Gets here on Friday! If it works out decently I'll be sure to let you guys know.
I dunno, they had one setup at the Microsoft store that was printing this 3D Sphere with gears and each gear was a different color. The gear teeth alone were very clean in terms of their lines/angles.
Though at this point, those makerbots seem more for hobby use than business. I thought of getting one for cosplay purposes, as one of these combined with pepakura (prints out flat 2d shapes from 3d images/files that build 3d objects when you glue tabs together) and worbla, will make you an IronMan suit in no time. Now if only we could get Jarvis to throw it all on a CNC machine......
We have a fortus 250. It costs 60k. It's garbage. It makes cool stuff and we use it 24/7 but it breaks constantly.
It makes my job tons easier though. We can rapid prototype ideas and revise our concept in hours to days instead of weeks going through a machine shop.
It makes my job tons easier though. We can rapid prototype ideas and revise our concept in hours to days instead of weeks going through a machine shop.
Which one did you end up getting?
Also i am not trying to make a full time business out of 3d printing more of a hobby or just helping people. If someone wants a part printed out from Thingiverse then I would print it out for them so they wouldn't have to spend a bunch of money to get it printed. It is also beneficial to many people when they break a plastic part that I would be able to print said part and the piece is fixed again.
I got the Da Vinci 1.0
We use an Objet at work! Very handy to have in the plastics world for mockups before building actual molds, but even being a 100k+ printer it doesn't really produce what I would consider to be high caliber products.
Also as others have suggested it integrates through pro e / inventor....
Also as others have suggested it integrates through pro e / inventor....
I got the Da Vinci 1.0
I have narrowed it down to the xyz or the creator x. My only problem with the xyz is the build plate is really not that big compared to the creator x. Don't know if you had a chance to use it yet, but is it worth the buy? I read the amazon reviews but you have to take that for what it is worth.
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