Is anyone into 3d printing?

[knave]

I've been looking more and more into 3d printers.

Sure I don't need one but it looks like an interesting hobby and the tech will become mainstream one day.
There are a couple that look pretty good in the $400 to $600 range.

Does anyone have a 3d printer? What is worth while to print?

[Malenko]

Does anyone have a 3d printer? What is worth while to print?

My employer does. Its great for us to rapid prototype; but thats about it.   As a business, I think it was a worthwhile investment. I couldnt justify one for personal use right now.

[yotsuya]

I've been looking more and more into 3d printers.

Sure I don't need one but it looks like an interesting hobby and the tech will become mainstream one day.
There are a couple that look pretty good in the $400 to $600 range.

Does anyone have a 3d printer? What is worth while to print?

Based on what I've seen with people I know who have them, the tech isn't quite there yet for convenient home use. Maybe in a year or so. Too much having to figure out workarounds for my taste.

[TopJimmyCooks]

I have a RepRap type printer - a Makerfarm Prusa I3v. Came in kit form for $550.  If you can BYOAC, you can make useful parts.  I have already made parts that would have cost more than I spent on the printer.  mostly in a pinball context.  I can post a few more pics later.  I got into it eventually because Khalid74 posted pics of a gun holster I designed that he printed on his printers and frankly, I got a little jelly. 

It is fun, reasonably easy and rewarding.  it's not a year out, it's here now.  I wasnt' willing to source a bunch of parts separately off ebay and use linear bearings, but now that v slot extrusions are commonly available in complete kits, no reason for me to keep waiting. 

Also, prices on resin printing, which is in many ways better than filament deposition, are dropping rapidly.  when a resin printer of decent size and quality gets to $1000 I'll buy that too. 

[RoyalScam]

I've recently started with a Printrbot Simple Metal kit.  Truth is, I have no real use for it other than I've been fascinated with the whole 3D printing thing for years and just had to scratch that itch.  The whole thing cost me $622 shipped to my door with a full roll of PLA.  I plan to upgrade the unit to a heated bed so that I can print using ABS.  I'll also add the LCD admin panel for stand alone printing.  I have printed many cubes for checking and adjusting the calibration of the unit as well as novelties such as a few treefrogs, a Mario and also an angel figurine.   The useful prints, thus far,  have been for the printer itself.  The Simple Metal really needs a spool holder. When first running the machine I enlisted the help of Tinkertoys, because Legos are evil and get all the love on the internet.  Tinkertoys and Erector sets are where it's at!  The current spool holder was found on thingiverse and uses printed parts plus PVC pipe much in the same vein as Tinkertoys.  Because the unit is made from mostly powder coated aluminum it seems fairly stable with no discernible slop.  This was the major selling point for me.  The fit of all the parts is excellent and the instructions found online, although brief, are more than enough to successfully assemble the printer.  There are many forums and many resources online that helped me calibrate the unit. 
     There's the review, now on to the question of "What is worthwhile to print?". I heard this explained once in a Computer Documentary.  As I recall the gentleman speaking was at one time the president of the Homebrew Computer Club. This was  in the day when Woz and all the early pioneers were sharing circuits and ideas to realize the dream of owning their own computers.  He said, when asked "What was it for?",  a few people created programs to balance a checkbook or to keep recipes.  He called this 'Function Guilt'. He went on to explain that no one asks why someone erects a train set in his attic stating "I play with it, it makes me happy.".  It's the same thing with my 3D printer.
     Now as for a more practical application, I'll use our own RandyT from GGG as an example.  He owns a 3D printer and I would imagine uses it for some prototype work.  In a recent thread he made some gears for a broken Star Wars Yoke.  You can read about it here, just ignore the haters and look to the content. 

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,136593.msg1413454.html#msg1413454

If you needed to make only a few of something, or a prototype, I would think these little machines are the way to go.  As for me, I play with it, it's fun.  I'll send some pics along in a later post.

Regards,
Scam
Edited to add pics of the Old and New Spool Holders

[yotsuya]

It is fun, reasonably easy and rewarding.  it's not a year out, it's here now.

You could be right... last time I saw the tech in person was about a year ago.... 

[pbj]

  I have already made parts that would have cost more than I spent on the printer.  mostly in a pinball context.  I can post a few more pics later.

 

You can read about it here, just ignore the haters and look to the content. 

Please don't be me... please don't be... whew.  Xiaou2.

 

[yotsuya]

There's the review, now on to the question of "What is worthwhile to print?". I heard this explained once in a Computer Documentary.  As I recall the gentleman speaking was at one time the president of the Homebrew Computer Club. This was  in the day when Woz and all the early pioneers were sharing circuits and ideas to realize the dream of owning their own computers.  He said, when asked "What was it for?",  a few people created programs to balance a checkbook or to keep recipes.  He called this 'Function Guilt'. He went on to explain that no one asks why someone erects a train set in his attic stating "I play with it, it makes me happy.".  It's the same thing with my 3D printer.

Quoted for MF truth.

[RoyalScam]

So today I decided to do something useful.  I have broken the crank handle on my drill press which raises and lowers the table.  Vice-Grips had been employed for some time, but now it was time for a more elegant solution.  I thought about recreating the crank on the 3D printer but thought that may be a bit too ambitious for my first time trying to design something from scratch. Not to mention that I didn't even have software installed to do such a thing.  I downloaded 123d Design and within 1.5 hrs had something that I was pleased with.  I can't tell you how proud I am of my first attempt.  This print was being considered a prototype.  I was cheap with the infill because, I didn't know if my dimensions would print out correctly and I didn't want to wait all day for it to print.  This print only took 2.5 hours.   As it turns out it's solid enough and when I do manage to break it, I'll just print a version2.

Regards,
Scam

Edit: I thought I should mention that for the two useful prints, the cost was $622.00, I expect now that I can design a part, it won't be too long that I'm  'upside down' on this thing.

[spoot]

There's been one in my shopping carts here and there the past few days.  That's dangerous.   

[knave]

I'm thinking I will have to get one. The more I look around the more useful, fun or just plain cool things I find to be printed.
I am not in a hurry though...I'll probably look around until spring unless I find a screaming deal. I almost found a Da Vinci 1.0 for $250 used.

I like the idea of building a kit however, the instant print-out-of-the-box gratification would be cool.
the Makerfarm Prusa I3v looks like a good kit and it is available with a 10x10x10 build platform.

All in all my budget would be $600 or under.

[Mary_Baker]

Don't have one yet but getting one is definitely on the cards. It'll hopefully be a Christmas/New Year present from hubby dearest to me! 

I've shortlisted these 3, based on our budget as well as the features on offer:

• Makibox: It is said to be an affordable and dependable 3D printer and pretty easy to operate for beginners (like me). One limitation though: It only has a printing dimension of 150mm wide x 110 mm deep x 90mm tall. But the plus point is that it comes partially assembled and can get up and running in no time. Plus, it's a very economical $200-$300.
• Romscraj: This one is from a relatively new company based in Singapore which builds and sells 3D printers. Their Portabee Go printer is pretty good - foldable and very convenient for transport and storage. Price: $375-$500
• RoBo: This one is open-sourced; you can find all its details online. Price: $599-$699

[eds1275]

I am very interested in it, but don't have the $$$ to spare atm. One thing I can never find out online - how long/how much can you print with one "cartridge" of material? Like is it outrageous?

Some things that I would love to build/print

• wall plates for my microphoneheadphone/ethernet ports around the house (half of my house is a recording studio)
• light switch covers
• board game pieces
• replica weapons for the local film group
• microphone clips and adapters
• I want to make a GI Joe of my own design... seriously

[/list/][/list]

[TopJimmyCooks]

Don't have one yet but getting one is definitely on the cards. It'll hopefully be a Christmas/New Year present from hubby dearest to me! 

I've shortlisted these 3, based on our budget as well as the features on offer:

• Makibox: It is said to be an affordable and dependable 3D printer and pretty easy to operate for beginners (like me). One limitation though: It only has a printing dimension of 150mm wide x 110 mm deep x 90mm tall. But the plus point is that it comes partially assembled and can get up and running in no time. Plus, it's a very economical $200-$300.
• Romscraj: This one is from a relatively new company based in Singapore which builds and sells 3D printers. Their Portabee Go printer is pretty good - foldable and very convenient for transport and storage. Price: $375-$500
• RoBo: This one is open-sourced; you can find all its details online. Price: $599-$699

Makibot went out of business.  some were produced and then their shipping company sold a few more to recoup their losses. 

[knave]

I am very interested in it, but don't have the $$$ to spare atm. One thing I can never find out online - how long/how much can you print with one "cartridge" of material? Like is it outrageous?

Some printers take proprietary cartages of filament ...but for most you buy bulk rolls. I think they come in metric kilograms...on Makerfarm its $30 for 2.2 lbs of the material in a spool.

[Mary_Baker]

Don't have one yet but getting one is definitely on the cards. It'll hopefully be a Christmas/New Year present from hubby dearest to me! 

I've shortlisted these 3, based on our budget as well as the features on offer:

• Makibox: It is said to be an affordable and dependable 3D printer and pretty easy to operate for beginners (like me). One limitation though: It only has a printing dimension of 150mm wide x 110 mm deep x 90mm tall. But the plus point is that it comes partially assembled and can get up and running in no time. Plus, it's a very economical $200-$300.
• Romscraj: This one is from a relatively new company based in Singapore which builds and sells 3D printers. Their Portabee Go printer is pretty good - foldable and very convenient for transport and storage. Price: $375-$500
• RoBo: This one is open-sourced; you can find all its details online. Price: $599-$699

Makibot went out of business.  some were produced and then their shipping company sold a few more to recoup their losses.

Did it? Well, thanks for letting me know.. Will check on it once again.

[Deadpool]

How precise can you get with these printers? like what is the tolerance?  I could think of multiple things I could design, a great tool for entrepreneurs if you ask me!  Also is there just one composite for use? 

[eds1275]

I think they come in metric kilograms...on Makerfarm its $30 for 2.2 lbs of the material in a spool.

I have looked up prices on the stuff, of course. My question is does the printer just burn through it really fast? Does a spool of material give you much to work with?

[TopJimmyCooks]

resolution:
my $600 printer can efficiently do 0.1mm layers.  XY resolution is similar especially printing slowly. There are some limitations on fine details and textures with plastic deposition printers.   If you go to a resin printer like Formlabs Form1 or an industrial plastic printer like stratasys the sky's the limit.  Much more cost involved there, obviously.

Filament:
A 1 Kg roll of PLA or ABS can print a lot of stuff.  I've probably been through the equivalent of 1.5 Kg since august but I'm not printing stuff all day every day.  Most small items are only a few grams and cost pennies in feedstock.

[knave]

From what I've seen you can print quite a lot. picture a 2 pounds of plastic...not much you print is thick nor are large items printed solid. There is some waste in rafts and supporting material not to mention if a print doesn't turn out for whatever reason.

[bigster]

So I am not sure if this is the right place to post but i have always thought about the idea of 3d printing a console box.  I have a NES PC which has ports for NES on front and a USB gamecube adaptor i hooked up (the cartridge slot is a blu ray)

I was thinking of a whole console box.  but then to have all systems might be much, so could do sega/sony and nintendo.  Idea would be something like this :

Front
4nes ports
4snes ports
4n64
4gc

back (motherboard plate)

side 1 usb
side 3.5 bay

I would like to have it in the old nes looking box or a game cube looking box.  would this be cost efficient to 3d print?  I don't have a printer so i would have to sub out the printing to one of you fine gentleman or ups store.  these were just my thoughts... let me know if i need to wait a few years.

[knave]

I've seen cases printed for all types of electronics. What you suggest sounds pretty big unless you are going for an ITX or other really small form factor.
It is not impossible to 3D print a Nintendo shaped case but you would have to have it printed in sections and glue them together.

The rest is easy. Create a design in some 3D modeling software, import it into a slicing software (creates the layers and sections), and then export a 3D printer compatible file.

I say go for it. Some libraries and collages now have 3d Printers available and there are services popping up all over. Even average Joes on Craigslist (buyer beware)

[Vigo]

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1035878

Very doable. My printer personally is 12x12x12, and an NES is 10x8x3.5, so I think depending on the printer, a fullsize NES case is very much feasible.


Also, sorry, I don't currently print things to sell at the time, though.

[Howard_Casto]

My two cents.... instead of trying to put every connector in creation inside a single case, 4 usb ports and adaptors that can be stored away when not in use is more practical.  Mind you it isn't as fun, but there you go. 

[bigster]

thanks for the links.  I am going to look into if there is a library or university nearby that has one.

I smell ya howard but the USB option you mentioned is (1) not as fun and (2) requires a bunch of configuring and reconfiguring.  having the dedicated controllers would be easier to plug and play. 

i like that NES case design, maybe ill just add 4 gamecube for the wavebirds.