996Outpost.com

5chn3ll wrote: ↑Tue Aug 21, 2018 11:02 am Craigslist and others are full of people trying to offload bad decisions...I suspect there are a shit-ton of printers out there with no more than 20 hours on 'em.

Do you want to print ABS and PLA, or just one or the other?

I had thought to do ABS, but then someone pointed out the need for good ventalation. As it will be in a 6x10 room and the door will likely be closed while printing, ABS will be a rarity. I do want a printer that gives me the flexibility of media types though (I'll print my next IMSB!* ).

I've seen mixed reviews on multi-extruded printers. From what I can tell, unless you are spending $$$$, they aren't that reliable and/or tend to have thicker layers (basically the cheaper options are based off older tech and kinda hacked into the firmware).

There are some options out there to allow a single extruded model print multiple types, but there are mixed reviews on that as well.

As far as the used market, my biggest concern would be more how it was cared for than how many hours it had on it. If I had a bunch of experience and felt comfortable tearing into and debugging them, the discount would be worth it. As my first printer, however, I'd like to keep the WTFs to a minimum




* actually I'm thinking about trying my hand at a replica dual row complete with the spindle. Printed with a brass filament and polished up it might even look close to my real one

KoB wrote: ↑Tue Aug 21, 2018 12:59 pm

5chn3ll wrote: ↑Tue Aug 21, 2018 11:02 am Craigslist and others are full of people trying to offload bad decisions...I suspect there are a shit-ton of printers out there with no more than 20 hours on 'em.

Do you want to print ABS and PLA, or just one or the other?

The printer I wish I had held off for was the Replicator 2X. The dual print nozzles make it possible to print in two different colors - or to create composite prints with multiple filament types without filament changes. Being able to print rafts and supports with dissolvable filament would have saved a ton of time with cleanups over the years.

Serious question, as I haven’t paid much attention to 3D printers ... what’s your take on the rate of price/performance change, year over year? Is it a Moore’s Law kind of deal where next year’s model has substantially greater functionality at the same cost, or is the market shaking out and the curve is a little flatter?

To expand on Schnelly's response, sorta.

From what I can tell the current focus of change is on reliability (e.g. less warping, mixing media types, recovering from faults, etc..) and speed.

So if you bought a printer last year (and it's not one that can be upgraded), as long as it meets your needs, then it will still be good. Maybe you cut 30 minutes or an hour from a 40 hour print, but for hobbiests I don't think year to year changes matter that much. Especially if you aren't using it constantly.

Similar to CPUs, if you don't feel compelled to be at the bleeding edge, then buying the best printer you can should last you a long time.

That is one of the selling points of the open source models though. The ones with commercial backing (like Prusa) or large communities are likely to see hardware and software upgrades that keep them relevant longer or at the least keeps upgrading from being a total trash and replace.

My next “maker” project:

Well, to answer the question in your caption:

I've worked with everything from Stratasys printers to Ultimakers. I used 3d printers in college to help bring prosthetics to Syrian refugees, and in my professional career used them for functional prototyping. Pursa's are great entry level printers, but I only recommend them if you're looking for something that isn't 100% plug and play like an Ultimaker. Let me know if you have any more specific questions! If you need a print that looks more like a professional piece, shapeways is a great online service. You'll also get way more material selection.

https://www.shapeways.com/

I busted out a larger set of braille D&D dice for my nephew on my Replicator II. The printer is stock; instead of upgrading the feed assembly, I built a bearing-supported spindle for the filament spool. I have not had a single feed-related print failure since...I bought the bearings from Amazon for $7 for the pair and printed my own spool adapters to keep the spool in place on the spindle.

The big one is about the size of a baseball - bigger than a tennis ball, anyway. Printed with chunky thick (270 micron) layers because I didn't want to spend three days at it.

5chn3ll wrote: ↑Mon Oct 22, 2018 8:28 am The big one is about the size of a baseball - bigger than a tennis ball, anyway.

Perfect for dealing with those pesky GMs when they pull that "guess you should have rolled to look behind you" BS!

Wow, first 3-D printable cars, and now THIS. It's incredible the kind of stuff that technology can produce in 2018.

On one hand, it seems stupidly low-tech; on the other hand, being able to make a digital thing into a physical thing using just plastic thread and electricity is pretty fucking Star Trek.

Here is some nearly useless stuff I've printed for around the house.

Little Crapsman torx driver stand.



Bonus nachos for magnets.




Modified some G-code to pause at a certain layer height. This allowed me to pop in some magnets.