3D printers, anyone got one?
- Thread starter bobs409
- Start date
3D printing has been mentioned on here and now I find myself looking into them again.Still not sold that I want one. I think the filament is a bit expensive too which is a bummer.
Just wondering if anyone here had one and how it's working out. Don't be afraid to post details like brand, model, cost, what you like/dislike and maybe some of the things you made. Any you would recommend?
Prices seem to range from $79 dollars to 3K! (ok, they go a LOT higher but let's not get crazy!)
MOST IMPORTANT PART of buying such a tool is to know what you are most likely to use it for before you buy anything. There is so many different kinds that do so many different things. Price means nothing because I still have the $1 screw driver in my tool box I've had for 35 years and use it daily. If you have any idea what it is you are going to do with such a machine, that is where you start. Different machines will "Print" different materials and more importantly some print finer than others do. Would it be ok that a machine creates a part that is rough which you have to sand anyway or do you need one that can print a part so fine that it needs no after print cleaning.
Anyway, I have my eye on a company that has a 3D printer which will print 3'x4' pieces. Yes its HUGE but I don't plan on printing tiny pieces with it and I can always buy another small one with greater detail in printing to make small stuff. Price for materials means little too because you will spend way more to create a mold to make a part then you would with 3D printing. Waste is minimal and in some cases you can actually recycle your material to print with. Also keep in mind that you can either design something, use someone elses design, or scan something you want to recreate. I am in the process of turning my XBox 360 Kinect into a 3D scanner. There are a million people out there using them to scan a part you want to either change and alter or quickly print it as it is. Keep in mind that some plastics work better in the automotive world than others for the purpose of ware and ability to chrome should you want to. SKY IS THE LIMIT!
First figure out what you want to make, what it needs to be made out of and how detailed you need to get. Once you answer those questions then you can hunt for the right machine. If you are looking for a play toy to learn with I would recommend Makerbot or some other well known brand. Jump on Youtube and see what other people think of their machines and as a last resort I can hook you up with a buddy of mine who has 3 machines. He is an extreme hobby guy with a huge train set, drones, RC planes/cars and other stuff besides being a pilot with me.
Better yet he could buy a CNC water jet table, to much clean up on intricate parts with plasma.
A good friend of mine ran a huge sheet metal shop up until he recently retired. They have a large water jet up there and I had him cut out almost everything for my Nova build. I would do the cad drawing and put it on a thumb drive and he would cut it out for me. Every time I was up there I would watch that thing in amazement, The part was dead nuts perfect and all the edges were sharp and clean, I think its accuracy was within a half of thousands or so something ridicules. He made all my header flanges and collector flanges, rear axle brackets, ladder bar end plates and many more parts. The parts or as perfect as you can measure and draw them on CAD.
A review on youtube got me sold on the Ender 3 Pro so I just pulled the trigger on one.
It's only $239.99 (on sale) with free shipping and NO TAX!!! (love that part!!!)
It's not a higher end machine of course but gets good reviews and seems to perform well. I think it will be a good way to test the waters.
For now, it will be just a big toy to play with. I don't even know what I'll print with it yet!
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Looks like you made a good choice from what I saw. Now, get to work and make some magic. Keep in mind there are millions of parts already designed out there. Find some pages online where the premade 3D designs are free and print some stuff right away like tool adapters and such that other people have perfected. That will get you printing right away. Worry about the design process later. Also, make small parts first. It can take hours/days for some large complex parts to print. Also, don't put the printer where cats, dogs, kids or anything else can get to it. The noise it makes will be minimal but don't put it anywhere you can here it run forever because the sound will get annoying. Those are a few tips my 3D printer buddy passed on. LOL!
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You might want to whip up a nice plexi-glass enclosure for it, just to keep the dust off of it?
My sister just shared this on Facebook.
What is the process for plastic chrome plating?
Hard to come by over here
Was wondering if you can do it at home?
There was some sort of paint that seemed very close to chrome one part of it
Steve
Bob, when you find your material how’s about making the bell to change a 62 std., auto column into a 4 spd. column. I need a BLUE one.
By the way. NOW is not a great time to buy such materials because everyone is still going hog crazy making masks and sheilds.I'm looking for a good deal on PLA filament and finding that many suppliers (ebay and amazon) seem to be out of stock! Just learning that there is a shortage of PLA!
The sellers on ebay that actually HAVE some also have terrible feedback!
Yeah, I picked a great time to get into this didn't I? I managed to find a roll so I can at least try this out. It appears that this "shortage" was going on longer than this virus. It's the new "green" plastic so the tree huggers want it. 
I want to start with PLA because it's the easiest. I can get ABS fairly easy but don't think that's a good starting point.
Next problem I see is WHAT DO I PRINT that I can actually use? I spent quite some time online looking at files and it's all crazy junk. Most looks like it should be sold in a bubble gum machine at the dollar store.
I want to start with PLA because it's the easiest. I can get ABS fairly easy but don't think that's a good starting point.
Next problem I see is WHAT DO I PRINT that I can actually use? I spent quite some time online looking at files and it's all crazy junk. Most looks like it should be sold in a bubble gum machine at the dollar store.
Do they make Delrin plastic for those 3D printers?Yeah, I picked a great time to get into this didn't I? I managed to find a roll so I can at least try this out. It appears that this "shortage" was going on longer than this virus. It's the new "green" plastic so the tree huggers want it.
I want to start with PLA because it's the easiest. I can get ABS fairly easy but don't think that's a good starting point.
Next problem I see is WHAT DO I PRINT that I can actually use? I spent quite some time online looking at files and it's all crazy junk. Most looks like it should be sold in a bubble gum machine at the dollar store.
I don't believe so. That's some tough stuff! I have some for machining, it cuts beautifully in mill and lathe.
