3D printer recommendations?

guerney

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They're getting so cheap, that I'm actually thinking of buying one. Are the cheap ones rubbish? Does anyone have any recommendations for a low cost 3D printer, or can share any opinions or experiences of this, or any made by this brand?


...or share horror stories of terrible 3D printer buying decisions? Pitfalls or limitations to avoid?

Honest review, or paid promotion:




For a start, a fully enclosed bottle cage with adjustable size (for bottles and flasks) would be nice - bottles keep falling out, yet more junk to fill my house and cover my bike with....

Also, does anyone have recommendations for a cheaper 3D scanner?


 
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Point Reyes

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Interesting. Thanks for posting this very positive review. I wonder, though, what can you make besides dust collectors that sit on a shelf? The printer looks like a lot of fun but what can you make that's useful? He made a water bottle carrier but that the only useful thing I saw. I'm afraid I'd get tired of the knick knacks and it would sit unused.
 
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TJS109

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Point Reyes

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I have had an ender 3 for some time and have added a few modifications to improve it.
Apart from useful things like box's , small lino printing press and rc boat I have printed lots of scanned objects.

Useful u tube channel for advice https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsdc_0ZTXikARFEn2dRDJhg

Site for all about 3d printing https://all3dp.com/3d-printing-news/

site for things to print https://www.thingiverse.com

I have found it an interesting hobby and as useful as you want it to be
Thanks, the YouTube video is interesting. I could see it becoming a fun hobby. You don't have to make useful stuff. In the future I bet it'll be the go to way of making just about everything. I think I read SpaceX makes rocket engines with 3D printing.
 
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vfr400

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Interesting. Thanks for posting this very positive review. I wonder, though, what can you make besides dust collectors that sit on a shelf? The printer looks like a lot of fun but what can you make that's useful? He made a water bottle carrier but that the only useful thing I saw. I'm afraid I'd get tired of the knick knacks and it would sit unused.
What you make is only dependent on your imagination. If you can't think what to make, it's probably not going to be much use to you. I have two printed parts on my bikes. I have a robust bracket for my rear light because the brackets on the cheap lights I buy always broke when I tried to replace the batteries. The other is a base for my home made barrery.

Post#10
 

guerney

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What you make is only dependent on your imagination. If you can't think what to make, it's probably not going to be much use to you. I have two printed parts on my bikes. I have a robust bracket for my rear light because the brackets on the cheap lights I buy always broke when I tried to replace the batteries. The other is a base for my home made barrery.

Post#10
What do you use for CAD and what format do these 3D printers use? .DXF?
 

guerney

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Looks like it's .STL files:

 

TJS109

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The input to most printers is gcode. You need a slicer program to translate a SLT or other format file to the gcode that the printer will work with. The slicer program is the main tool for preparing designs for your particular printer. Excellent free programs are available Cura being one example.
 
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guerney

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The input to most printers is gcode. You need a slicer program to translate a SLT or other format file to the gcode that the printer will work with. The slicer program is the main tool for preparing designs for your particular printer. Excellent free programs are available Cura being one example.
Thank you, that's useful to know. Are these capable of printing metals? This Kickstarter appears to have stalled:

 

guerney

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Could these metal filaments be used on the Ender 3?


sold here somewhere:


Brittle, but still interesting:

 

guerney

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The input to most printers is gcode. You need a slicer program to translate a SLT or other format file to the gcode that the printer will work with. The slicer program is the main tool for preparing designs for your particular printer. Excellent free programs are available Cura being one example.

Blender is free, also exports to .STL:

 

guerney

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Blender is a b*tch to use, compared to anything else. But it's free.
 

guerney

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I wonder... if two printing heads are used for ABS and metal filaments alternately, could a very light but strong, durable, appropriately flexible bike frame be 3D printed? And would it worth trying?
 

guerney

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Calculating the stresses would be tricky, but there are apps for that:




I think it's beyond a home project...
 
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guerney

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Creating lithoplanes from photos looks very useful for making beermat/coaster Xmas stocking fillers; 3D lithoplane faces of recipients, or something else:



The developer's blog:


The results look quite good:

 
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soundwave

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guerney

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Watches never do enough, this one is open source and you can download alternative cases to 3D print:



A 3D printer looks like a great way to fill my house with random cr*p.
 
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Woosh

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A 3D printer looks like a great way to fill my house with random cr*p.
there are a few negatives.
There is the smell of melted PLA plastic. It's not very bad because the plastic is made from sugar so it does not smell as bad as plastic made from oil, but I get a bit of a headache from it.
Next, you have to get the temperature of the heated bed right. It varies from one brand/type of filament to another. Get it wrong, you'll get wonky prints.
Last but not least, the time it takes to print anything. It'll take hours to print a golf ball for example. You can't speed up the process because the filament can only be run through the nozzle at a set speed.
 

guerney

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Sep 7, 2021
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there are a few negatives.
There is the smell of melted PLA plastic. It's not very bad because the plastic is made from sugar so it does not smell as bad as plastic made from oil, but I get a bit of a headache from it.
Next, you have to get the temperature of the heated bed right. It varies from one brand/type of filament to another. Get it wrong, you'll get wonky prints.
Last but not least, the time it takes to print anything. It'll take hours to print a golf ball for example. You can't speed up the process because the filament can only be run through the nozzle at a set speed.

Thank you, that's all great info - when I get one, it's going in the loft!
 

sjpt

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Thank you, that's all great info - when I get one, it's going in the loft!
Can somebody please fill me in? I remember the "under the kitchen sink collection"; useless gadgets that came with the plugs ready cut off so they could go straight under the kitchen sink. I assumed it was Monty Python, but can't find it.