3D Printers

[DaveS]

I'm not spending any money just yet, and I still think I'll get the resin printer to start with, but I haven't ruled out a conventional printer later.

[Gina]

I wonder how the running costs of the resin printer works out in comparison with FDM.

[Dr_Ju_ju]

Lot more expensive & very messy handling i.e. you must wear gloves etc....

[Gina]

Hmm...  I don't think I'll bother then, even though I like trying things that are different.  The starting price is more than I would want to spend on a 3D printer anyway.

[PeterW]

A cleaning tank and uv/heat post cure box are recommended. Big prints need more costly machine, though photocentric in the U.K. have some lower cost clever machines. There is lots of resin development as well as filament development. 

Peter

[Dr_Ju_ju]

In time, resin printers & materials, will come down in price, and some of the larger Chinese manufacturers have started producing cheaper machines e.g. the Wanhao D7  (http://www.wanhao3dprinter.com/Unboxin/ShowArticle.asp?ArticleID=89), but still not there yet, especially when you add the ancillary equipment.

One technology, I personally, would like to see drop in price, would be laser sintering, as that would allow the creation of small metal parts, but we can all dream.....   

[PeterW]

Machines exist from several suppliers, desktop metal, HP, digital metal, markforged that are “lower price”. Wait for Shapeways and imaterialise to use them and then you can get them to make them for lower prices. Laser sintering requires post processing almost all the time. The above machines need post sintering.

 

Peter

[PeterW]

Spare monopod quick plate to enable quick swapping of binoculars. Don’t seem to be available online?! Made it a bit thicker for stiffness.

 

Peter

[DaveS]

As a (Retired) chemist with a background in photochemical organic synthesis, these UV SLA printers have a certain attraction. Yes, the resin monomer is a bit expensive and requires careful handling, but I'm OK with that.

[Dr_Ju_ju]

Then have a peruse through this lot https://www.aniwaa.com/the-best-resin-3d-printer-sla-and-dlp/ ….

Some look quite interesting, if it wasn't for the initial machine cost (even the kit Chinese ones), then I may be tempted....

I personally would probably go for the Prusa machine, as I already use a lot of his stuff, including printer & software.

[Stub Mandrel]

The Wanhao D7 looks almost affordable...

[Gina]

I have considerable investment in FDM so that's what I'm sticking with for the moment.

[Chriske]

Resin for these printers is rather expensive ?

1kg(750ml)  :  79€
1kg of PLA 19€

Yep, I'll stick to FDM too...

[DaveS]

6 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

The Wanhao D7 looks almost affordable...

The Anycubic printer is a bit cheaper, with better delivery options as far as I can see.

How much it costs to run depends on how much, or how big you want to print. For my needs both are quite small.

[Gina]

Yes, fine if you're making tiny parts.  I get through a lot of filament with my FDM 3D printing.  But then, I tend to print big things like brackets for astro, giant wall clocks, etc.

[RolandKol]

I am strongly considering to try Anycubic Photon next year....
My Mega-S works fine, - but a bit slow @0.1mm 
Photon @0.1 should be ~ 4 times faster... 
Need to hide all cast iron frying pans before that purchase
 

[Davey-T]

On ‎02‎/‎02‎/‎2019 at 08:35, Dr_Ju_ju said:

One technology, I personally, would like to see drop in price, would be laser sintering, as that would allow the creation of small metal parts, but we can all dream.....   

Apparently water jet cutting machines are slowly dropping in price towards being affordable for the home user.

Dave

[Gina]

I'm finding that my printers (actually just printer ATM as I only have one working) are not accurate enough for the parts I now want to print.  In particular the escape wheel for a pendulum clock.  So I need either to improve my Mini printer or build a new one.  I think the weakest link is the V-Slot rail system.  I should add that I'm looking for an accuracy of 0.1mm or better.

Anyone tried these :- MGN12H Mini Linear Rail Guide, 250/ 300/ 400/ 500/ 550mm Linear Sliding Gide with MGN12H Carriage Block for DIY 3D Printer and CNC Machine  Are they much better than the standard linear rail systems?

I know ball bearings running on polished SS round rods works well but involves a lot of construction work.

Edited May 31, 2019 by Gina

[PeterW]

I checked two commercial units and got 0.1-0.2mm accuracy for a range of dimensions in all axes. Mostly better than 0.15mm. Though the first layer thickness offset, slight “elephants foot” and small holes underside were all present and can be accounted for in the car or fettled away.  Given the size of the material creator (nozzle diameter, layer height, laser spot size etc) is much bigger than this we are not likely to be able to improve much. “The professionals” (think aerospace companies) always add stock and machine dimensions and fittings where they have specified tolerances or care about the roughness affecting fatigue performance. 

Good luck in your quest, but I am not sure how much better it is worth hoping for.

 

Peter

[PeterW]

Phew... you know what I mean!

Peter

[tooth_dr]

I've been getting my friend to print out the occasional part for me on his 3d printer, exclusively for astroimaging applications.  However I'm getting a bit conscious of asking him, and as such I think I would like to take the plunge and buy my own.

I feel like the guy asking 'Whats the best telescope to buy?' on the forum!

 

So any recommendations?  Something for small stuff, £500 or less.

 

TIA

Adam.

 

[upahill]

 

24 minutes ago, tooth_dr said:

I've been getting my friend to print out the occasional part for me on his 3d printer, exclusively for astroimaging applications.  However I'm getting a bit conscious of asking him, and as such I think I would like to take the plunge and buy my own.

I feel like the guy asking 'Whats the best telescope to buy?' on the forum!

 

So any recommendations?  Something for small stuff, £500 or less.

 

TIA

Adam.

 

Ender 3 is the one I recommend to everyone. Bought one for my dad and it just works, very few tweaks required. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Official-Creality-3D-Megnetic-Certified/dp/B07J64F5LY/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=ender&qid=1565702172&s=gateway&sr=8-4

At £199 or "230 with the magnetic heat bed sticker and upgraded power supply its pretty reasonably priced too.

They have a newer version the ender 5 but I have no experience of that directly.

 

These were taken after about 25 minutes of assembly and calibration:

Edited August 13, 2019 by upahill

[tooth_dr]

5 minutes ago, upahill said:

 

Ender 3 is the one I recommend to everyone. Bought one for my dad and it just works, very few tweaks required. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Official-Creality-3D-Megnetic-Certified/dp/B07J64F5LY/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=ender&qid=1565702172&s=gateway&sr=8-4

At £199 or "230 with the magnetic heat bed sticker and upgraded power supply its pretty reasonably priced too.

They have a newer version the ender 5 but I have no experience of that directly.

Thanks for that

My friend, who has several printers, seem to encounter a lot issues and failed prints.  Is this the norm?

[upahill]

Just now, tooth_dr said:

Thanks for that

My friend, who has several printers, seem to encounter a lot issues and failed prints.  Is this the norm?

On my black widow I still get failed prints - its almost always down to the bed level, cheap or old filament or poor model design. As you go you start finding things to improve on the machines which help with all the little problems.

Dont think there are any perfect printers yet

Good thing about printers such as the Enders are the popularity, check out thingiverse.com and type in ender 3 and you will see all the improvement, mods and fixes you can do if you choose / need to.

 

[upahill]

If your budget is flexible, and you want less headaches with features like self-leveling etc, or if you are prepred to go second hand then you cant go wrong with a Prusa either:

https://shop.prusa3d.com/en/3d-printers/180-original-prusa-i3-mk3-kit.html

Cheaper clones of the prusa are also available.