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3D printers.. Advice/input please..

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Ducklakeview
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3D printers.. Advice/input please..

Post by Ducklakeview » Fri Dec 22, 2017 2:23 pm

As I am officially the "hardest person in the world" to buy for, the Wife has asked me what I want for my birthday, "from" the kids..

I've always fancied a 3d printer, but have held off as the early stuff was expensive and basic, but now :D

So, anyone got one, can recommend one, or even ones to avoid?

Mike

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Chris_D
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3D printers.. Advice/input please..

Post by Chris_D » Fri Dec 22, 2017 2:48 pm

I'm doing some consultancy work for Ultimaker in Geldermalsen at the mo Mike. Developing some peripheral products for them including a multi-spool feed station and a PVA removal device. But ssshhh that's top-secret! :lol: Also helping them prepar for ISO9001 certification and beyond as they don't have it at the moment and they're missing out on large contract tenders because of it.

V progressive company and their products are top notch. Not really consumer products - more for industrial applications but there are a bazillion 'pro-sumers' out there with a very active community.

They've given me an Ultimaker 3extended to use (for research?) but it's been sat unused behind my desk uptairs for ages. Theyre around 4.5k to buy apparently :o :lol: The cat likes to play around it too.

Take a look at their website:
https://ultimaker.com/en/products?gclid ... gJMa_D_BwE

If you're after any specific info maybe I can put you in touch with one of the 'product champions' ...

Managed to just about fit this in the passenger seat of the zed!
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Moggy loves it
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The R&D materials science orifice and some of their many creations
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E85 3.0i roadie (03) 'Benny'. E93 320d M-Sport Cabrio (11) 'Bob'.
Image
'Always different, always the same.' John Peel on The Fall.

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Ducklakeview
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3D printers.. Advice/input please..

Post by Ducklakeview » Fri Dec 22, 2017 2:50 pm

Ooh....

Mike

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markplant
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3D printers.. Advice/input please..

Post by markplant » Fri Dec 22, 2017 2:50 pm

Maybe the forum user that did the double din head unit surround be worth a pm, an I for some reason think Neil Mac zedfest has one but could be wrong
3.0 Manual. Sterling Grey. Cream leather Electric an Heated. Professional Navigation/Sony tablet replacement. Storm Werks . an parts waiting to be fitted

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Chris_D
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3D printers.. Advice/input please..

Post by Chris_D » Fri Dec 22, 2017 2:52 pm

Bored wif it nau humin....zzzz
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I'm usually in at the crack of dawn...before the riff-raff arrives :lol:
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More of the R&D showcase
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IMG_20171012_071901.jpg (123.48 KiB) Viewed 680 times
E85 3.0i roadie (03) 'Benny'. E93 320d M-Sport Cabrio (11) 'Bob'.
Image
'Always different, always the same.' John Peel on The Fall.

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srhutch
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3D printers.. Advice/input please..

Post by srhutch » Fri Dec 22, 2017 10:53 pm

AM8 clones are a favourite.

I have one, just upgrading a few components, but a good place to start.

A quick google will give tonnes of info it them.

Just bought a genuine V6 lite hot end and some ingus bearings for mine.
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Ducklakeview
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3D printers.. Advice/input please..

Post by Ducklakeview » Fri Dec 22, 2017 10:55 pm

srhutch wrote: Fri Dec 22, 2017 10:53 pm AM8 clones are a favourite.

I have one, just upgrading a few components, but a good place to start.

A quick google will give tonnes of info it them.

Just bought a genuine V6 lite hot end and some ingus bearings for mine.
:thumbsup:

Mike

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3D printers.. Advice/input please..

Post by bluespit » Fri Dec 22, 2017 11:50 pm

I have use of a couple of them at the lower end of the market, one is an UP+, retailing at about £700. the other is a Makerbot replicator at around £2k. Both have their limitations and foibles but both do what they're supposed to. Ive used them to make a few bits and bobs for the old cars and they've done it very well.

Question I have is what software are you intending to use to generate your STL files? You can get simple 3d scanners if you want to copy things but if you want to generate stuff from scratch you need a decent 3D package
now I'm about to have more time I've suddenly got less toys to play with!

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3D printers.. Advice/input please..

Post by IAmOrion » Thu Dec 28, 2017 10:42 pm

The Wanhao i3 or Wanhao i3 Plus is a really good place to start, decent entry level pricing and solid decent machines. I have the original Wanhao i3 and it's still going strong and the most reliable printer I have. I also have a CTC Dual which is good... but takes some messing around with to get it on point. Not to mention they tend to arrive with the odd bolt dropped out and the rest all need tightening. They also ship them with one extruder higher than the other since despite is being a dual, they set it up as a single. I also have a Cube 3rd Gen... Great idea, amazing quality prints, BUT, crappy design and proprietary makes them bad. It's possible to hack the firmware like I have to then use "normal" filament, but to be honest it's more effort than it's worth and gets very little use these days as my Wanhao is my "go-to" with my CTC as my backup.

The Wanhao i3 I think is around £349, the i3 Plus I believe is around £399, the CTC can be found on eBay around £279 (maybe less).

I've found https://technologyoutlet.co.uk to be great for parts and advice (I bought my Wanhao i3 from them and also bought spares etc from them when needed)

If your budget allows, I would go the CR-10 500x500x500 purely for it's large build area, plus from reviews I've seen they're really good too but the larger one costs around £999
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