3D printer anyone?

[HoosierBuddy]

I've been toying with the idea of buying a 3d printer for 3 or 4 years. In the meantime, the price keeps inching down and the capabilities keep going up and I STILL couldn't think of a single thing I NEEDED a 3d printer to accomplish.

Then I saw this:

And for whatever reason, I think that's really cool.

So...does anyone have any experience with these? Any kind you'd recommend? Anything a perspective (or is that prospective?) buyer should know?

Thanks in advance!

Phil

p.s. Here's the link to the Road and Track article on the EJ20 shown above:

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/news/a30018/subaru-ej20-3d-printed/

 

[zendriver]

Thanks for opening this thread, I am interested also, looking to make little plastic insulators. Wondering what type of plastic these 3-D printers use in this durability


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[Burgerkong]

I have a printer on loan to me for the next few months, and yes, that EJ20 is on the top of my list. Right now, I'm in the middle of printing out a Voltron model and an anatomic Lego minifigure.

Loads of fun, but at the same time it takes a while and draws a bit of electricity and produces heat (in part due to the heated bed and the ghetto cardboard enclosure on mine).

Oh and be ready to waste a bit of filament getting used to the printer's settings. I primarily use ABS since it's cheaper but produces that plastic 'smell', so ventilation is probably a good idea.

Also, this is pretty much a CAD training tool, Thingiverse and MyMiniFactory only has so many models, same with GrabCAD. I ended up having to draw the Lego minifigure in SolidWorks and spent a bunch of time ensuring the dimensions were correct.

 

[jallyn]

3D printed objects using ABS or PLA plastic are not very strong so there are limited applications for it, but it is still cool. I have used a handful of 3D printers including the well known MakerBot Replicator 2 and the SeeMeCNC Rostock Max V2 Delta 3D printer. They are fine printers but cheaper ones can be found.

If I were to buy one I would budget about $400 to $500 and get one with good reviews off Amazon or eBay.

 

[HoosierBuddy]

Thanks for the information guys...

Just as a point of reference on new school vs old school or, more technically, subtractive vs additive processes:

I'm currently building one of the PM model steam engines, which I plan to run on air.

Casting Kit = $150
Specialized Tools (model size pipe taps and dies, numbered drill bits, and various other tools that are likely only useful to build model engine kits) = $160
Misc. = $50

Total about $360 for the project

I have about $5000 in my milling machine and lathe that will be required as well.

So....using $500 worth of equipment and maybe $50 worth of PLA and fasteners to build the EJ20 engine would be much less expensive.

Now the steam engine will actually run off steam and the EJ20 is just a model...but let's be realistic. What useful work could the steam engine actually accomplish? In reality, they are both just models that demonstrate fabrication skills.

On the solidworks issue, I have 2 kids at Purdue (ME's) that both do solidworks. I'm thinking I could farm that part out.

Phil

 

[Burgerkong]

You didn't factor in time as well, the printing process is much, much more lengthy compared to traditional machining. That engine took him a very long time just to print, and even after printing it's not a completed part - post processing is pretty much required for all 3D prints.

I'm using a Lulzbot Taz5, but my recommendation is to get something with an enclosed (and possibly heated ala Stratasys) build chamber.

And I'm pretty sure it's not just a mere $50 in PLA as well, that's at least a spool just for the block, then a spool for the heads and another three (if you're doing colours) for the headers and valve covers. Plus the machine of course, going back to time - the smaller the machine, the smaller the build plate = more prints needed. On the other hand, the XY needs to move less distance, catch 22.

It's not just a clearcut answer I'm afraid, but additive machining is a hell of a lot easier to learn and approach though, you're up and running in a fraction of a time. Oh, and no coolant required either!

 

[HoosierBuddy]

You didn't factor in time as well, the printing process is much, much more lengthy compared to traditional machining. That engine took him a very long time just to print, and even after printing it's not a completed part - post processing is pretty much required for all 3D prints.

I'm using a Lulzbot Taz5, but my recommendation is to get something with an enclosed (and possibly heated ala Stratasys) build chamber.

And I'm pretty sure it's not just a mere $50 in PLA as well, that's at least a spool just for the block, then a spool for the heads and another three (if you're doing colours) for the headers and valve covers. Plus the machine of course, going back to time - the smaller the machine, the smaller the build plate = more prints needed. On the other hand, the XY needs to move less distance, catch 22.

It's not just a clearcut answer I'm afraid, but additive machining is a hell of a lot easier to learn and approach though, you're up and running in a fraction of a time. Oh, and no coolant required either!

If you do the ej20 build, please keep us informed. Question 1 is how big of a 3d printer is required. Question 2 might be how many hours. BTW...there's nothing easy about this steam kit either...and if you screw up one of the castings, it's $$$ to buy a replacement. So, screwups are time consuming either way, but at least you can just print another part with the 3d printer. You don't have to pay $$$ + Shipping + Handling then hope you don't screw up the next one.

Phil