Printrbot Metal has been good for me, I even got all in for less than
$500, as I bought during a sale. Do NOT go the build it yourself route
to save a few $$. I am using it quite a bit. I build mounts for
circuit boards for custom UPS/24V power supplies we use with full
reporting. I've built custom mounts for small radios and adapters for
mounting routerboards. I build a lot of parts for G scale trains. I
like being able to iterate a design without having any delays. I have
learned about rotating parts to get better finishes on the sides that
are important ( the vertical side on the print stage tends to be finer
). I am probably going to go for a more expensive printer in the next
few months to increase my build size to 10". So far I am just using
tinkerbot.com as my design software as my designs are fairly basic. The
learning curve is just about vertical... It can be frustrating.
Getting things set up and keeping them set up is sometimes art as much
as science. But there is a ton of help out there. But it is not a dip
a toe in thing, you have to put 20-50 hours of learning in.
On 04/04/2016 08:49 AM, Jeremy wrote:
I think Monoprice has a cheap one also. I have no experience with them.
On Mon, Apr 4, 2016 at 9:37 AM, Chuck McCown <ch...@wbmfg.com
<mailto:ch...@wbmfg.com>> wrote:
I sold mine. It was a very large Stratsys system.
They are slow. Normally the whole thing is heated.
ABS is very common. But no matter what, it will not be as strong as
a molded piece.
They are good for a proof of concept thing. A few times I used them
as a pattern for cast metal parts.
Or as a physical somewhat working protytpe to check a design before
I had a hard mold made for injection molding.
I think I would spend as little as possible if I was going to get
one to just play around with. Makerbot is pretty cheap I think. I
believe Walmart sells one.
*From:* Matt <mailto:matt.mailingli...@gmail.com>
*Sent:* Monday, April 04, 2016 9:33 AM
*To:* af@afmug.com <mailto:af@afmug.com>
*Subject:* [AFMUG] OT: 3D Printer
Anyone here using a 3D printer? Looking to get one to play with.
Any recommendations? Would like to get a stand alone one so the PC
does not have to run for whole print. Heard ABS plastic requires a
heated platter? Heard ABS prints are more durable and heat resistant?
