Does anyone own a 3D printer?

[Ian_425]

I have an idea for a project, but it involves a 3D printer. So before I can go any further, I need to get some input from people who own one. After I explain the project, if you would like to get involved, it would be great to have community members involved. If not I will find someone near me with one.

Thanks,

Ian

[sisk]

I have one, but I've not yet successfully printed anything with it. It's old and sat for a while before I bought it and has a few issues I'm still fixing. I'm getting close to having it working though. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to get a set of plug followers and maybe a new pinning tray printed tonight.

It's also one of the smallest ones I've ever seen. The above mentioned pinning tray is going to be right at it's maximum length and width, and I had to dink with the model I got off thingaverse to get it down to that size. It's plenty big for what I plan on doing with it, but if your project is big that's something to keep in mind.

[CarWashGuy]

I've got a robo R1+ it's a very capable printer. The operator is just not very capable of designing things I have printed a ton of useful things from files already created by someone else and only 3 or 4 things created by me. Feel free to let me know what you have in mind.

[Ralph_Goodman]

I have printed a ton of useful things from files already created by someone else and only 3 or 4 things created by me.

Are they useful things you could not have gotten if you did not print them? And is making them cheaper than buying them?

I have heard it was too expensive to print things because of the cost of the material, but that was a while ago. Technology gets better so fast these days, so I don't know if it is still the case.

[gumptrick]

I don't own a 3D printer, but I have done a lot of work with them. I also did a factory demo of a very high end Stratasys model a couple years ago when I was considering buying one for my business. Fire off any questions you might have and I can probably help. If it's information you need I have that covered. If you need parts made then I'm sorry I can't make them for you.

I have printed a ton of useful things from files already created by someone else and only 3 or 4 things created by me.

Are they useful things you could not have gotten if you did not print them? And is making them cheaper than buying them?

I have heard it was too expensive to print things because of the cost of the material, but that was a while ago. Technology gets better so fast these days, so I don't know if it is still the case.

3D printers have been around for a very long time. I remember seeing one during an internship at Johnson Space Center back in 1996 and they had it for a few years before I saw it. Back then they were so crazy expensive (and so were the materials) that few people knew about them. About the only thing they were used for is prototyping and even that was limited because the parts they made had a poor finish and were fragile.

Like you said, tech gets better very fast and into the 2000's they started becoming a lot more reasonably priced. My university had several in my department alone. Many businesses had them too. The quality still wasn't great, but it was much improved. And you could print parts that were actually quite durable. That kicked off a fad of relatively inexpensive "personal" 3D printers. I have used some of those and in my opinion they are a pure novelty. The precision and quality of the printed parts simply isn't good enough for business use. You have to design very sloppy tolerances into your parts otherwise they won't fit together. Sure, you can use them to make knick-nacks and "toys" but that's why I consider those to be a novelty. The stuff you make doesn't look very good, isn't very strong, and you can probably just buy whatever it is much cheaper than printing it yourself. These days you can get high end models that produce an excellent surface finish, good tolerances, and precise parts. But those are 5 figures if not 6.

[demux]

The precision and quality of the printed parts simply isn't good enough for business use. You have to design very sloppy tolerances into your parts otherwise they won't fit together. Sure, you can use them to make knick-nacks and "toys" but that's why I consider those to be a novelty. The stuff you make doesn't look very good, isn't very strong, and you can probably just buy whatever it is much cheaper than printing it yourself. These days you can get high end models that produce an excellent surface finish, good tolerances, and precise parts. But those are 5 figures if not 6.

This has been more or less my impression as well. I've always been of the opinion that if I ever did get into the whole maker movement, it would probably be more worthwhile to purchase a small desktop CNC mill as opposed to a 3D printer. If anyone has experience with both and would like to compare/contrast, that'd be an interesting read.

Realizing that the mills are still a bit pricey, but not prohibitively so anymore.

[gumptrick]

This has been more or less my impression as well. I've always been of the opinion that if I ever did get into the whole maker movement, it would probably be more worthwhile to purchase a small desktop CNC mill as opposed to a 3D printer. If anyone has experience with both and would like to compare/contrast, that'd be an interesting read.

Realizing that the mills are still a bit pricey, but not prohibitively so anymore.

In my opinion anything "Desktop" is synonymous with "novelty" or "hobby", especially in the machining/manufacturing field. I would much rather own an old but proper manual milling machine than a desktop CNC.

As far as compare/contrast:

The 3D printer is much easier to use. For the most part you just load up the material in the printer and click the "print" button. It can make shapes that are difficult if not impossible to make with a milling machine. It has no ongoing costs other than buying more printing material as you use it up.

The milling machine requires a lot of skill to operate. Yes, there are programs which can help convert 3D computer drawings into the code which runs the machine, but this software still requires a lot of skill to use. The better software requires less skill on the part of the operator but it still requires some, and it's crazy expensive. The software I use in my business costs nearly $10,000 per license and it is certainly nowhere close to "click go and you're done". The milling machine has a major advantage in that it can work in a wide variety of materials, not just whatever your 3D printer uses (usually one very specific type of plastic). So you can work with plastics, wood, composite, all kinds of metals, etc. The milling machine has a disadvantage in that it's more labor intensive to set up each time you change your workpiece and/or tools. You also have the ongoing expense of buying tooling (drill bits, end mills, others) as they wear out, break, or you make programming mistakes and "crash" the machine. The mill is also messy. It will rain a cloud of chips/swarf, coolant, and oil all over the place.

[CarWashGuy]

Grump is right on target. The hobby level printers are more for fun and a novelty. I never intended on using mine for commercial purposes. Can you buy things that are cheaper than making them? I guess it depends on what you are making. One spool of filament is pretty cheap and lasts a long time. Also you can make things that are not available in stores. For my drone, I wanted a small box that has slots for micro SD cards and can also hold spare propeller parts that can sometimes break. I've never seen one before so I decided to print it. For stuff like that it suits my needs. The novelty for me wore off fairly fast however. I haven't used it in about a year.

[femurat]

I haven't used it in about a year.

That's why one spool lasts long lol

[CarWashGuy]

I haven't used it in about a year.

That's why one spool lasts long lol

Hahaha yeah that might possibly have something to do with it.

[CarWashGuy]

After this thread I was inspired to dust off my printer and have a go at making some things. I started with kik holders...out of necessity kind of. I found it near impossible to pick kik cylinders by hand. And my second issue is when I have them in the vise the end cap gets ‘pinched’ and makes the core very hard to turn. If I would loosen up the vise, the lock slides all over the place. These solutions works great. The vise holder has a small gap where the end cap sits allowing it to spin freely. The hand held version allows you to hold the lock very much like a padlock. There is a set screw which holds the lock in place Incase you want to rake or zip, etc.

[Jack002]

Very cool, Carwashguy. I like it. I have made a couple holders from wood that work about the same way

[Ralph_Goodman]

After this thread I was inspired to dust off my printer and have a go at making some things. I started with kik holders...out of necessity kind of. I found it near impossible to pick kik cylinders by hand. And my second issue is when I have them in the vise the end cap gets ‘pinched’ and makes the core very hard to turn. If I would loosen up the vise, the lock slides all over the place. These solutions works great. The vise holder has a small gap where the end cap sits allowing it to spin freely. The hand held version allows you to hold the lock very much like a padlock. There is a set screw which holds the lock in place Incase you want to rake or zip, etc.

What type of work are you doing after they are printed? I know that for a while there was a lot of sanding that people had to do. Is that still a step?

Are they rough? Do you need to make some modifications once you take them out of the printer?

And is it better than using some wood and cutting it with a dremmel? Is the plastic a better feel?

[gumptrick]

I know that for a while there was a lot of sanding that people had to do. Is that still a step?

Are they rough? Do you need to make some modifications once you take them out of the printer?

That was, and still is, a function of what printer you have. The cheap ones aimed at home hobbyists tend to be fairly sloppy and require some sanding/trimming. The professional printers, even from a decade ago, did not require any post-finishing; but then again you're comparing a Sub-$5k printer with one that could cost $50k or more.

[Ralph_Goodman]

I know that for a while there was a lot of sanding that people had to do. Is that still a step?

Are they rough? Do you need to make some modifications once you take them out of the printer?

That was, and still is, a function of what printer you have. The cheap ones aimed at home hobbyists tend to be fairly sloppy and require some sanding/trimming. The professional printers, even from a decade ago, did not require any post-finishing; but then again you're comparing a Sub-$5k printer with one that could cost $50k or more.

Of course. I was referring to the hobby ones, as that was what was being used.

I was mainly wondering how far behind the household tech is from the industrial level machines. If it was catching up yet, or if it was still far away (in terms of the product it puts out).

It seems as though the 3d printing hobbyist movement has kind of gone away. CarWashGuy even joked about dusting off his printer.

I was mainly wondering if the hobby had lost steam because of a stall in the technological advancement of the household units, or if things were still going strong and I was maybe just out of the loop.

Not going to be an early adopter myself, but I would love to get in when it is ready for prime time.

Like to stay informed mainly to see if I can start living in the future already!