3D Printers - Manufacturers and Models - Recommendations & Suggestions

[FryingSaucer]

I can recommend getting a cheap kit from China and then upgrading parts of it as and when you're ready, but be prepared to solve problems.

I've just been looking at a video on assembling/fixing a cheap kit which ships from China to the UK for £120. But some of the fixes look beyond my capabilities. I like the way many people appear to buy it, do enough workarounds to get it doing some minimal printing, then print extra parts to fix it properly.

 

[ninj]

It still blows my mind that my printer uses parts that it printed for itself (some of which I designed), which in turn help print improved parts and so on. In fact, the point of the RepRap project is to have printers that can replicate/reproduce themselves (well, the specialist plastic parts).

 

[Nifty]

but be prepared to solve problems.

... and that's where I fold. I've been having a ton of problems recently just getting the prints to stick to the bed, and troubleshooting that has been a pain. I can't imagine increasing the # and complexity of problems exponentially.

(disclaimer: I'm also not the kind of guy that enjoys working on his own car)

 

[The Hat]

When you know nothing about 3D printers and start with a few basic instructions you can print off something simple and then you start to experiment with your printer and suddenly everything goes pear shaped.

The only thing you can do is to start at the beginning again and this time do what you know works, the more I got into printing the more mistakes I made and I too had to start all over again...

Now things are working properly once more and I'm hoping to try using glass as my platform tomorrow, just one step at a time..

I am still all ears and will accept any good advice that's going..
P.S. I wont be using any oil that's for sure..

 

[Emulator]

"Now things are working properly once more and I'm hoping to try using glass as my platform tomorrow,"

Glass of what?

 

[The Hat]

Glass of what?

OK @Emulator, a movable platform is what the objects are placed upon when printing in 3D, this platform can be covered in many different materials, I was using self-adhesive clear film on mine and then a Pritt stick to apply some adhesion to the surface.

But after every successful print job you must give the platform surface a bit of a clean before you can start the next print run, and its easy to damage the surface material if you’re not careful.

but if glass is used instead of other materials, it’s easier and quicker to clean and you only need, 3M spray mount or hair spray to hold your object to the glass, I’ve got my glass cut and clipped onto the platform and recalibrated, so I'll be doing my first print in the morning on it...

I hope this explanation satisfy your curiosity, because its well worth getting into 3D printing, wow the excitement of it all...

 

[FryingSaucer]

Well I've ordered a very cheap kit from China. I got it for £115 on promotion.
http://www.gearbest.com/3d-printers-3d-printer-kits/pp_337314.html?wid=3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa_bDokM48Q.

I'm well aware I'll have a lot of work just to get it printing. I know for instance that the on board power MOSFET is liable to fry the motherboard and needs to be moved off. The acrylic parts sometimes are broken when the kit arrives (but glue and/or customer services hopefully fixes this), the Z axis may not be properly aligned... So it may be a while before I can print anything. There are videos following on from the above one about what needs to be done just to get it running, then how to improve it. One thing I like is that it has a reasonable sized build area 220x200x240mm³.

Anyway, even if it doesn't work out, I'll still have enjoyed putting it together, and at this price it won't be the end of the world if I can't use it.

 

[Nifty]

Well I've ordered a very cheap kit from China

SUPER congrats! Make sure to start a new thread once you get it and post lots of pics along the way during build, etc!!!

I'm well aware I'll have a lot of work just to get it printing

As long as you know that going in, I think you'll be fine. I'm not the most patient / attention-to-detail person, but I know many people are and would be good fits for something like this!

One thing I like is that it has a reasonable sized build area 220x200x240mm³.

Wow! That's definitely a big selling point! While I love how tiny my printer is on my desk, and most stuff I've printed has been small, I am foreseeing a time soon where the print volume will be a limiting factor.

 

[stratman]

One thing I like is that it has a reasonable sized build area 220x200x240mm

Monoprice Select Mini build area = 120 x 120 x 120 mm, a significant difference.

FYI - the build area is in "mm" not "mm cubed" (mm³). mm cubed is the volume and is equal to the length times height times depth.

 

[FryingSaucer]

FYI - the build area is in "mm" not "mm cubed" (mm³). mm cubed is the volume and is equal to the length times height times depth.

I should have said build size, not area - area is m² in SI units, so I was definitely wrong (and being rather picky anyway). But it's not just the build surface that's relevant but how high you can build. So volume is of some relevance. For example http://www.gearbest.com/3d-printers-3d-printer-kits/pp_640021.html?lkid=10994568 has a build size of 180x180x320mm (omitting dimensions).