I'm looking at purchasing one and know jack squat. I have a need to make small plastic parts and for the price I am getting quoted to outsource I can buy my own printer. I was looking at this model: https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=21711 What would you guys recommend? Thank you in advanced! Erik
my buddy has one at work made some "carbon" 3d printed intake tubes for a ducati flat track... they de laminated...wrapped in pre preg and vacuum bagged...collapsed under vacuum despite being rated at a higher temp than the mere 200 f baking temp... for what its worth....the 3d printed fire arm amazed me a few years ago i must say
I wouldn't be making anything that intricate. I found reviews on the one I linked, apparently it is good for starting a campfire in your home. The search continues.
I have a lulzbot mini. A lot more than that one but they are very user friendly compared to most. Good quality and great support. The ups: s/w has predefined profiles for a lot of filaments you can print some of your own spare parts as they are true open source great support US made Must be tethered (for now) The downs: They use 3mm filament which is not hard to find but the less common size Price The TAZ6 is larger and can support dual filament printing (print head extra) and does not need to be tethered. Just was printing a cup holder for the RV. Have printed some dog training items. Printed a grip for the CBR (still testing, it works but is not quite what I want) in addition to a bunch of stuff for amusement (have an army of Rocktupusses on my shelf in front of me in a handful of filament types)
I have not. I found a guy by chance that has made the part I am looking for (plastic brake bias dial), and the quote he gave me to make 25, I could buy my own machine. I make and sell button boxes for PC simulators, it's a hobby more than a business. I use off the shelf parts for my builds. Kenny has been a great teacher on showing me how to use Fusion 360. Instead of buying pre-made enclosures, I could custom design them Fusion 360 and 3D print them. So I could use it for things other than making a brake bias knob. From the little research I have been able to do, I am guessing resolution is and speed are my two biggest things to look at?
I have a Tronxy. I paid about $350 Canadian off Amazon for it. It is an a eight clone. It has been a decent printer so far once I learned how to dial it all in and adjust for some minor issues. I haven’t tried it , But I have some carbon filament at home. I hear it is hard on nozzles so I’m going to order a few replacements first.
I have thought about throwing some money at Kenny. My concern is, since the encoder is not "race car grade", an aluminum knob may cause some stress with the weight that will cause fatigue. Also, I would have to pay Kenny for time and material, plus shipping down to me. If I go 3D printer, not only can I create the knobs, I can create different enclosure styles, and what I am assuming is going to be cheaper than me paying bulk retail. Not only could I create different designs, I could have the core holes already cut out on the lid design, which will save me time as well.
Do you know how much "print area" you get out of a spool? As an example, a 1KG, 1.75 MMPLA spool runs roughly $23.00 If I make a box that is 6"X4"X2" at 1/8" thick on the sides, how many could I print (roughly)?
Buy the best 3-D printer you can. Re-print your own 3-D printer. Return the original 3-D printer. Save money.
For what you describe speed is not a big issue. I would say also consider print area vs what you want to print. Certainly you can segment you case then bond it with glue or acetone but that is time and a potential fail point. Keep in mind you can not really get 100% of print area sized items. Also consider quality. My friend has a cheap clone and had issues with the bed not heating up. So while I could do ABS just fine he was struggling (we verified this with my IR camera). So he needed mod his costing money for parts and time. A good power supply, extruder and motors are good to get at the start. So consider features like the coated bed on the Lulzbot (and others), how serviceable it is to replace the coating. Also check if you can do flexible filament if you have that desire. Oh self leveling beds are more common and IMO a must. They call that stealing not saving money
No clue. I have printed quite a bit of stuff, and still am only about half way through a 2kg roll. It would also depend on the layer height and infill amount.
Mine has the self leveling bed upgrade. It is so awesome. I did level the table it is on, then leveled the bed to the table, then let the printer level itself. Super easy. Then before I print I home it, then run the self level and print.
I have been thinking about this alot, I would love to be able to make some little parts for the bike (Dash bracket, brackets for bodywork and shock reservoir) with the eventual goal of building a custom ram air system / airbox for the FZ / R7. I spent all day in the garage cutting and bending aluminum for a dash bracket and it still looks like shit. Read through this and the other thread, seems you guys that are doing it sound a little engineer-y. I have no experience with CAD or any other type of fabrication other than beating aluminum bar in the garage to make fairing brackets. Probably better to learn to design the parts I want and then send them out to be printed? How hard is it to learn that? Best software to get started?
If you're willing to tinker and do upgrades yourself, Ender 5 is decent. If you want an out of the box experience, raise3d or ultimaker are good choices. Try 3D hubs in addition to the others. Minimum $90 orders. I'm running molds on my ender right now.