3D printer recommendations?

[guerney]

They're getting so cheap, that I'm actually thinking of buying one. Are the cheap ones rubbish? Does anyone have any recommendations for a low cost 3D printer, or can share any opinions or experiences of this, or any made by this brand?

Creality Ender 3 3D Printer | 220*220*250mm

Ender 3 3D Printer in Creality-UK official store, Best cheap 3D Printers for sale, one of the most popular 3D printers. Creality Ender 3, a high-quality DIY 3D Printer for beginners and creators. An open-source 3d printer with amazing printing precision and affordable price. Free shipping from...

www.crealityofficial.co.uk

...or share horror stories of terrible 3D printer buying decisions? Pitfalls or limitations to avoid?

Honest review, or paid promotion:

For a start, a fully enclosed bottle cage with adjustable size (for bottles and flasks) would be nice - bottles keep falling out, yet more junk to fill my house and cover my bike with....

Also, does anyone have recommendations for a cheaper 3D scanner?

Creality CR-Scan Ferret Pro 3D Scanner

Buy Handheld 3D Scanner, Creality CR-Scan 01 3D Scanner set with handheld and Turntable Mode now. One of The Best 3D Scanner For 2021. Scan Easy and Ture Color in True reduction.

www.creality3dofficial.com

 

[Point Reyes]

Interesting. Thanks for posting this very positive review. I wonder, though, what can you make besides dust collectors that sit on a shelf? The printer looks like a lot of fun but what can you make that's useful? He made a water bottle carrier but that the only useful thing I saw. I'm afraid I'd get tired of the knick knacks and it would sit unused.

 

[TJS109]

I have had an ender 3 for some time and have added a few modifications to improve it.
Apart from useful things like box's , small lino printing press and rc boat I have printed lots of scanned objects.

Useful u tube channel for advice https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsdc_0ZTXikARFEn2dRDJhg

Site for all about 3d printing https://all3dp.com/3d-printing-news/

site for things to print https://www.thingiverse.com

I have found it an interesting hobby and as useful as you want it to be

 

[Point Reyes]

I have had an ender 3 for some time and have added a few modifications to improve it.
Apart from useful things like box's , small lino printing press and rc boat I have printed lots of scanned objects.

Useful u tube channel for advice https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsdc_0ZTXikARFEn2dRDJhg

Site for all about 3d printing https://all3dp.com/3d-printing-news/

site for things to print https://www.thingiverse.com

I have found it an interesting hobby and as useful as you want it to be

Thanks, the YouTube video is interesting. I could see it becoming a fun hobby. You don't have to make useful stuff. In the future I bet it'll be the go to way of making just about everything. I think I read SpaceX makes rocket engines with 3D printing.

 

[vfr400]

Interesting. Thanks for posting this very positive review. I wonder, though, what can you make besides dust collectors that sit on a shelf? The printer looks like a lot of fun but what can you make that's useful? He made a water bottle carrier but that the only useful thing I saw. I'm afraid I'd get tired of the knick knacks and it would sit unused.

What you make is only dependent on your imagination. If you can't think what to make, it's probably not going to be much use to you. I have two printed parts on my bikes. I have a robust bracket for my rear light because the brackets on the cheap lights I buy always broke when I tried to replace the batteries. The other is a base for my home made barrery.

Post#10

How to make a lightweight battery

Take one Aldi aluminium water bottle and cut the bottom off with a Dremmel: 10 cells will fit in with the BMS alongside, or you can get 12 cells with the BMS on top. The BMS I used is just too big to fit clat, but I think it might fit if you rounded off the corners. It needs a charge...

www.pedelecs.co.uk

 

[guerney]

What you make is only dependent on your imagination. If you can't think what to make, it's probably not going to be much use to you. I have two printed parts on my bikes. I have a robust bracket for my rear light because the brackets on the cheap lights I buy always broke when I tried to replace the batteries. The other is a base for my home made barrery.

Post#10

How to make a lightweight battery

Take one Aldi aluminium water bottle and cut the bottom off with a Dremmel: 10 cells will fit in with the BMS alongside, or you can get 12 cells with the BMS on top. The BMS I used is just too big to fit clat, but I think it might fit if you rounded off the corners. It needs a charge...

www.pedelecs.co.uk

What do you use for CAD and what format do these 3D printers use? .DXF?

 

[guerney]

Looks like it's .STL files:

Importing and Exporting STL Files for 3D Printing | SketchUp Help

In SketchUp, you can import and export STL files, which are used in 3D printing. As explained in 3D Printing a Model, for a SketchUp model to become a successful 3D printout, the model needs to meet certain criteria, such as having a base and a volume and being a solid.

help.sketchup.com

 

[TJS109]

The input to most printers is gcode. You need a slicer program to translate a SLT or other format file to the gcode that the printer will work with. The slicer program is the main tool for preparing designs for your particular printer. Excellent free programs are available Cura being one example.

 

[guerney]

The input to most printers is gcode. You need a slicer program to translate a SLT or other format file to the gcode that the printer will work with. The slicer program is the main tool for preparing designs for your particular printer. Excellent free programs are available Cura being one example.

Thank you, that's useful to know. Are these capable of printing metals? This Kickstarter appears to have stalled:

Filamet - The Only Precious Metal 3D Printing Filament

Filamet, the 3D printing filament that lets any standard 3D printer create high quality metallic objects right on your desktop!

www.kickstarter.com

 

[guerney]

Could these metal filaments be used on the Ender 3?

#FFFMetal 3D Printing Filament for the Lab, Classroom and Studio

The only Open Architecture Bound Metal 3D Printing Technology that gives everyone the power to 3D print in metal, ceramics and glass.

www.thevirtualfoundry.com

sold here somewhere:

Sinterable filaments for 3D printing

Filaments that allow 3D printing of parts that are fully metallic or ceramic after sintering. Many materials available.

filament2print.com

Brittle, but still interesting:

Ultimate Materials Guide - 3D Printing with Metal Filament

Metal filament is a base material infused with metal powder, adding weight and a metallic finish. Improve your print quality with advice from our experts.

www.simplify3d.com

 

[guerney]

The input to most printers is gcode. You need a slicer program to translate a SLT or other format file to the gcode that the printer will work with. The slicer program is the main tool for preparing designs for your particular printer. Excellent free programs are available Cura being one example.

Blender is free, also exports to .STL:

Exporting to STL — Blender for 3D Printing

 

[guerney]

Blender is a b*tch to use, compared to anything else. But it's free.

 

[guerney]

I wonder... if two printing heads are used for ABS and metal filaments alternately, could a very light but strong, durable, appropriately flexible bike frame be 3D printed? And would it worth trying?

 

[guerney]

Calculating the stresses would be tricky, but there are apps for that:

Aircraft Design & Analysis | DARcorporation | Aerospace Consulting Services

DARcorporation is a world class aeronautical engineering company providing professional services for the design & analysis of aircraft and aircraft systems.

www.darcorp.com

Structural analysis

Hexagon’s CAE portfolio provides structural analysis for components and full systems in an open environment by leveraging the latest paradigms of data.

www.mscsoftware.com

The Top Bicycles Made With 3D Printing - 3Dnatives

Curous about the 3D printed bicycles on the market? Then this ranking is for you! We've made a list of 3D printed bikes and bike parts.

www.3dnatives.com

I think it's beyond a home project...

 

[guerney]

Creating lithoplanes from photos looks very useful for making beermat/coaster Xmas stocking fillers; 3D lithoplane faces of recipients, or something else:

https://3dp.rocks/lithophane/

Free 3D printing utility allows any image to be converted into 3D printable lithophane

3D printing enthusiast Mark Durbin coded an entire web application that would turn his daughter's 2D drawings into 3D printable lithophane STL files in an effort to spark her interest.

www.3ders.org

The developer's blog:

Open process

I’ve thought about, used and contributed to Open Source hardware and software (and 3D models – wherever they fit between hardware and software) for a number of years. I recently decided…

3dp.rocks

The results look quite good:

Log in to Facebook

Log in to Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family and people you know.

www.facebook.com

 

[soundwave]

HRE's 3D-printed titanium wheels are basically witchcraft

Thankfully they're just conceptual, because there's no way to keep that wheel clean.

www.cnet.com

 

[guerney]

Watches never do enough, this one is open source and you can download alternative cases to 3D print:

Watchy by SQFMI | Watchy

Watchy by SQFMI

watchy.sqfmi.com

Watch Cases | Watchy

watchy.sqfmi.com

A 3D printer looks like a great way to fill my house with random cr*p.

 

[Woosh]

A 3D printer looks like a great way to fill my house with random cr*p.

there are a few negatives.
There is the smell of melted PLA plastic. It's not very bad because the plastic is made from sugar so it does not smell as bad as plastic made from oil, but I get a bit of a headache from it.
Next, you have to get the temperature of the heated bed right. It varies from one brand/type of filament to another. Get it wrong, you'll get wonky prints.
Last but not least, the time it takes to print anything. It'll take hours to print a golf ball for example. You can't speed up the process because the filament can only be run through the nozzle at a set speed.

 

[guerney]

there are a few negatives.
There is the smell of melted PLA plastic. It's not very bad because the plastic is made from sugar so it does not smell as bad as plastic made from oil, but I get a bit of a headache from it.
Next, you have to get the temperature of the heated bed right. It varies from one brand/type of filament to another. Get it wrong, you'll get wonky prints.
Last but not least, the time it takes to print anything. It'll take hours to print a golf ball for example. You can't speed up the process because the filament can only be run through the nozzle at a set speed.

Thank you, that's all great info - when I get one, it's going in the loft!

 

[sjpt]

Thank you, that's all great info - when I get one, it's going in the loft!

Can somebody please fill me in? I remember the "under the kitchen sink collection"; useless gadgets that came with the plugs ready cut off so they could go straight under the kitchen sink. I assumed it was Monty Python, but can't find it.