3d Printers....

[Phantom_Mark]

Noticing some sensibly priced 3d printers appearing on Ebay now, £300 mark for the smaller ones.

 

Quite interested in something like that but the setting up and the software side of things scares the living bejeeezus out of me, anyone got an experiences or guides etc they can share, would love to create some custom switches and bezels and stuff ??

[Buzzles]

First of all have a play with some CAD style modelling software.

 

Sketchup is quite popular on the 3d printer scene, the Make version is free!

 

There's plenty of tutorials about for it, Youtube is always helpful on that front.

[Phantom_Mark]

Do you think these more sensibly priced 3d printers are worth a look ? or avoid at all costs for X, Y, Z reasons ?

 

I mean just how hard are these things to setup ?

 

I have a little experience of 3d modeling, last time I touched anything like that was nearly 10 years back on a program called Zmodeler :D (for game objects rather than making things)

[Alterscape]

How hard they are to set up depends entirely on what quality you want and how well-made the machine is. Also, how handy are you? If you've never turned a bolt before, the challenge level probably looks much harder than if you've got some time in an electronics lab or metal/wood shop.

 

I've got personal experience with the Lulzbot AO-101; I also know folks with Makerbots of various stripes and have a friend building a Rigidbot. None of it has been turn-key. I print stuff for prototype purposes at work, and the AO-101 has treated us fine. Suspect we could get somewhat better quality out of things if we put more into calibrating the extruder, leveling the bed/etc, though.

[geneb]

Check out http://www.seemecnc.com - I've got the Rostock MAX v2 (and v1s) and they're a fantastic printer. I love 'em so much I ended up writing their documentation. :D

 

They're great for printing simulator parts.

 

Here's some photos of a Spitfire Mk V grip I printed back in March of '13.

http://www.simpits.org/geneb/?p=336

 

g.

[Phantom_Mark]

Great info fella's thanks :thumbup:

 

I am fairly handy, I can do a little metalwork, weld, solder, very basic circuits and stuff, woodwork to a an ok standard, but lack any experience with this kind of tooling, to be honest the setting up and the software scares me more than anything else :D

 

Small customised enclosures to hold switches, potentiometers , gears etc, the control knobs for the cockpit detailing etc, all the kind of stuff I would love to be able to make I guess.

 

Thanks again :joystick:

[geneb]

For free design software, try DesignSpark Mechanical. It's a tweaked version of SpaceClaim that only outputs STL files - which is fine because that's what the "slicers" take as input. I would avoid Google Sketchup - it's nice for some things, but it's like using a crayon for mechanical design. :)

 

Don't let the software intimidate you - there's a huge community of DIY 3D printer builders that love to help new victims. :D

 

g.

[Phantom_Mark]

So that Rocket is looking like $999 ?

 

Are there other costs I need to consider ?

 

What does the Rostock offer me over comparable priced ones from Ebay for example ?

 

From something like......

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ROBUSTER-3D-Printer-Assembled-ready-to-use-3D-printer-Easy-to-use-Rigid-Design-/121510147288

 

to

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Black-Makerbot-Replicator-2-3D-Printer-2-Extruders-1KG-ABS-or-PLA-filament-/271621405929

 

or

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3D-printer-WANHAO-DUPLICATOR-4X-black-2014-MODEL-MK9-DUAL-EXTRUDER-/221355453787

 

What typically sets those apart from the Rostock for example ? :)

[geneb]

Rocket? Seriously?

 

The Rostock MAX features injection molded plastic parts whereas few (if any others) do. Delta configuration printers are faster than their cartesian brethren.

 

There's also a huge user community behind the Rostock MAX. Check out the forums.

 

g.

[Phantom_Mark]

Sorry my bad lol, for some reason my fingers wanted to type Rocket instead of Rostock :megalol:

 

Can you recommend a good forum maybe, the seemecnc.com communities as good a place as anywhere to get started ?

 

btw that Spitty handle is super, lovely work :)

Edited December 17, 2014 by Phantom_Mark

[geneb]

Mark, check out http://forum.seemecnc.com.

You might also want to look into the #reprap IRC channel on freenode.

 

The grip model wasn't done by me, I just printed it. :)

g.

[Phantom_Mark]

Thanks G :)

[geneb]

You're welcome!

 

g.