I'm interested in 3D printing. Can you help?

I do not 'own' a 3D printer but since I refurbish returned ones for a local printer companies, Do I really need to own one, when I have 5-6 to use most days.

But I know they sell a kit printer for around $1500 but it does have a 12"x12" x11" build area.

Keith

Tech Shop has locations in select cities across the U.S. Members have access to 3D printers, CAD software and computers, metalworking equipment, woodworking equipment, industrial textile equipment and more. You would have access to the 3D printer without having to buy or make one.

They have locations in the SF Bay area, Detroit, LA, Austin, DC-Arlington, PIttsburgh and Chandler AZ.

Hi,
I found this article to be useful. May be it will be useful to you.
http://www.hanselman.com/blog/TheBasicsOf3DPrintingIn2015FromSomeoneWith16WHOLEHOURSExperience.aspx

Thanks.

but see if there is a makerspace in your area. In the Inland Empire, a friend started Vocademy-The Makerspace (in Riverside). There are 3D printers, CAD classes, laser etchers/engravers, welding, woodworking etc. The makerspace movement is growing; many offer access to 3D printers and CAD classes to learn how to create designs to 3D print. At Vocademy, there are even a couple of guys who created their own 3D printer from scratch (which included 3D printed parts!)

Please check your area. Hopefully a makerspace is close to you!

Hi William,
I don't know too much about 3D printing but i'm fascinated by the possibilities.
I am thinking about buying one (a simple one), but don't have the time to try to build one.

This group on Google+ will help you. It is geared for people who are beginner's or hobbyists. There are lots of newbies, but lots of people who are very experienced and they are generous with their contributions and answering questions. Give it a try! The community is called "3D Printing" Just search for it on Google +
Here's there description from the site:

About this community
Invite peopleShare this community
A community centered around open-source and hobby-level 3D printers and their enthusiasts. The people here are very enthusiastic about 3D Printing and always willing to help. Ask questions! Post pictures! Join us! Responsible disclosure of business ties are required. We have a strict policy on spam and irrelevant content; which includes closed source or patent encumbered development - please also read the full community rules (linked below). Links:
RepRap Beginner Guide
Repables (Thingiverse Alternative)
YouMagine (Thingiverse Alternative)
E3D all-metal, quality hot end
UltiMachine
Tinkercad (Easy 3D modeling!)
Full community rules
Prusa's RepRap calculator
Tom's 3D Printing Video Guides!

William,

I was in you same boat not long ago. I researched for quite some time on getting into this "hobby", if you will, as to what printer I wanted to get. A lot of it for me was I wanted to learn about this cool technology, but I also had a need. I create custom circuits and systems and such and wanted a nice way to be able to build cases for them. I knew nothing in the beginning and just started looking at various printers and their reviews. I can't even begin to tell you how many sites and forums I've read through, but the number is probably a big scary one.

For me, I didn't need a big expensive production type for me. I wanted one I could get my hands dirty on and learn about it, with the idea I could upgrade to better models as my needs and experience dictated. My priorities for picking one went to the levels of 1) reasonably priced, 2) open source, and 3) good support and participation to glean information from.

In the end, I wound up with a Velleman K8200 model printer. It's completely open source and when googled, I could find a lot of peoples thoughts on the printer. The open source part is nice as you can modify any part of it (and there are a lot of people who have made improvements...most of them you can print yourself). Also, being open source, you're not tied to a specific brand of filament that is chipped. (Some 3d printers require you buy their filament and includes a microchip that if not present will keep the printer from working...the DaVinci printers are the first to come to mind).

The print are of this machine is quite nice, measuring just under 8 x 8 x 8 inches (I believe its technically 7.8"x7.8"x7.8"). Another nice feature this printer has is a heated print bed. This helps keep the prints from warping as they cool. It's not a perfect science, but it does work pretty well. I did buy a 10x10 borosilicate (pyrex) plate to place on top of the heat bed. It doesn't come with one, but most will tell you it's a necessity. It does make it much easier to level the print bed which is extremely important for quality prints.

There are instructions out there as well that will allow you to turn it into a CNC milling machine with the assistance of a dremel. Kind of a cool bonus.

Overall, I've been very happy with my machine. Is it perfect, no. Does it work well, yes, I've had very good results with it.

A few tips:
1) Take your time building it and make sure you truly understand what you're supposed to be doing. The instructions are translated, but for the most part are pretty clear.

2) Accuracy is key. Seriously, for 3d printing you must be super anal-retentive about measurements and precision during assembly and alignment of everything...including leveling the bed. The extra 30 minutes or hour you spend perfecting this before you start will make it so much easier to tweak. My first print, while not perfect, was completely (and surprisingly) usable straight from the print bed.

3) I didn't like the ribbon cable they supply to make the wiring harnesses out of. It's very small ribbon cable and extremely fragile. I bought slight larger stranded cable and made my own harnesses from it. I spent a lot of time trying to make the ribbon cable work and was almost ready to throw the thing away before I decided to make my own. Assembly would have been much quicker had I just don't that from the start.

4) If you have questions, google is your friend. You can really learn a lot from others who have gone before you. I know I've learned a lot from googling parts of things. Thingiverse is a great resource for learning to just print with it. Lots of great things to just download and print.

5) If you prints are coming out right, you don't have something dialed in right. Readjust and try again. Remember, this is bleeding edge technology right now. It's not an inkjet printer you throw on the desk and it works.

6) When assembling the heat block in the extruder be very careful with the thermistor. It's very easy to break it. I killed the two that came with it in the first couple days I had it and had to wait a couple days to get more after ordering them.

I caught this printer at my local MicroCenter store on sale after new year's for $399. Most places have it about $599, but do look around. There are other similar printers...Aurora DIY comes to mind offhand. It's made more of clear acrylic pieces but is the same basic design. I liked the Velleman better as is used sturdier aluminum.

Customer support from Velleman was great. The fan that came with it tested ok at first, but died before I finished testing with it. I had one other thing that broke, too, but I can't remember what it was. Anyway, I made the call to their customer support for the US, which is based in Ft Worth, TX, and they sent me the replacements the same day I called. If our postal service was a little better, I would have had them the next day. Customer service was very helpful and answered any question I had in getting started as well as they replacement parts.

After those couple of hiccups, i've ordered a few spares of the thermistor and whatever the other part was that broke on me, but I've yet to have to use them since the initial problems. I've printed probably 30 or 40 various things and though, I've had a couple of hiccups, they were all easy fixes. Most of the hiccups were the print wasn't sticking well to the print bed glass. Again, this is where the hairspray comes in.

All the parts I've printed have been with PLA, but this printer will print with both PLA and ABS. PLA is a corn based product. It's more brittle and not as flexible as ABS, but is biodegradable. That also means you don't want to use it on things that will be in contact with degrading agents for extended periods, even including such simple things as water. ABS is the typical plastic you see almost everywhere. It's more flexible and heat-resistent, but is supposedly somewhat more difficult to print with. I wish I had experience with it to help you out, but I don't at the moment.

I don't know how much this will help you, but hopefully it will at least get you started in where to look. There really is a ton of information out there. Some of it requires a little thought in how to get google to give it to you, but it is out there. Have fun with it and just remember, it's a new hobby and enjoy just learning how all the parts work together to create the things your making. That part makes all the hard work getting it together worth it.

Good Luck,

Tim

I've owned a 3D printer for nearly 5yrs... The first 3D printer I purchased was a Rapman kit, so built
from scratch with all components supplied. Last year purchased a Makerbot for makerspace we're setting up.

If you're not going to print anything, I'm not sure what value you'll get from it?
If you want to know how a 3D printer works they are plenty of resources online.

What you get from assembling a printer is the knowledge of how to tweak and adjust the machine in order to
produce the desired quality.
Calibrating and making sure the printer is straight and true and level is the bigger issue with home built machines.
Buying off the shelf ready assembled machines don't need as much tweaking or adjustment in general.

I recently heard about Fusion 360 as a great program to build designs, then print locally through a Maker Haus with a high-quality printer.

PENDRAGON 3D ARTS LLC
Jamestown, NC 27282

This is a brand new 3D Printing Business. Any trouble getting in touch can email chumlyfelix11@hotmail.com and I will get you more information.

MicroCenter has a "minimalist" 3D printer kit for $350.

http://www.microcenter.com/product/433055/Simple_Maker's_Edition_Kit

But I suggest you wait a year or two. HP has announced several months ago that they will be entering the market in 2 years and they are developing technology that will be a lot faster than anything currently available. Pretty much everyone has been wondering "When will HP get into this? Because once they do, all these "small fry" startups will pretty much disappear in a year or two."

I certainly can understand "learn by doing". I worked as an electronic tech for a decade, including the period when small computers went from being a "geek toy" to serious tools. I tried reading about the innards but I kept falling asleep, so I built on in an electronics hobbyist magazine. When I say "built one" I don't mean soldering parts to a PC board, I mean wire-wrapping individual IC socket pins from the CPU to the individual memory chip pins. I don't recall if it even worked, but I did learn about memory buses, etc., which was my goal.

But realistically, conceptually there isn't that much to a 3D printer. Digital stepping motors are used because they allow very small incremental movement, heaters melt plastic, then it is forced through a nozzle in an very thin layer. Layer upon layer is laid down to create the object. The ones that create metal use a very fine powder and something to melt it, but they are a lot more expensive, so not realistic "just to learn".

Why don't you get some books or take a course on CAD/CAM systems, including Numerically Controlled Machine Tools? How objects are designed with 3D modeling software and how the software controls the machines that do the cutting, etc., will be very similar. Realistically, unless you plan on repairing 3D printers, you won't really care about the internals of how the item actually gets constructed, you'll care about how to model an object in software and then tell the printer to print it. The steps will be almost the same as CAD/CAM system. Plus, CAM systems are mature technology widely used.

Hi,

Try to check a young company called 3D hubs.com

https://www.3dhubs.com

3D Hubs is an online 3D printing service platform. It operates a network of 3D printers with over 8,500 locations in 140 countries, providing over 1 billion people access to a 3D printer within 10 miles of their home.

You can also access them on

https://www.facebook.com/3dHubs on Facebook
https://twitter.com/3dhubs on Twitter
http://instagram.com/3dhubs/ on Instagram

Note: I am not associated in any way with 3D hubs, just heard of them. John

I trust these people and their opinion:

http://www.naturalnews.com/048779_Lulzbot_Mini_3D_printer_review_Editors_Choice_award.html

Hope this helps.

Check out www.ToolingU.com. They just released the first four one-hour online classes in Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing/Rapid Protoyping, etc.). They cover the fundamentals, capabilities, safety issues, etc.

I recently had a tour of the Milwaukee Makerspace building. They have a 3D printer and samples that have been produced on it. The members are very friendly and willing to provide assistance. They also offer classes on various machines, technologies and activities. As others mentioned I would check out your location for a club such as Makerspace.

My local library has 3 x 3d printers, each a little more advanced than the other. I got a lesson on the first one. It's really not that complicated to do. You will need software that connects to the printer and gives it instructions on what it will create. There is a wide choice. If you are savvy enough you can create your own software to make your own printout.

In the back of the printer are spools of plastic colored thread, which unwind according to the software instructions, in layers. These will become the items you have chosen to print. The simple printer I learned on has only 2 threads, 2 colors. As the spooling out occurs according to instructions, it will lay layer upon layer of the product you are creating.The more advanced printers have 3 or more threads and are faster. You can leave the printer while it's working and come back when it's finished.

For design there are a number of free 3D drafting programs, I use 123D and Sketchup, save as an .STL file
Once you have a design, it needs to be checked for continuity. for this I use Meshlab which does an analysis and helps resolve duplicate lines, parallel planes and other problems.
For sending to a printer, you need G Code which can be generated by a program like Slicr.

I am using a FABtotum printer/scanner/CNC machine which is a new development and shipping. You can check it out on the internet.

Choose a printer with a heated bed and sufficient extruder heat to handle both ABS and PLA fiber. The ABS has a strong smell while printing while the PLA is more neutral. each type of fiber has different strength characteristics.

There are many sources for fiber and some are much more reasonable than others. Fiber seems to be sold by weight in 1.75 and 3 mm sizes. There doesn't seem to be a conversion from weight of spool to inches of fiber.

3D design is not easy. If you have overhanging parts, you need to provide a support leg which can be removed after the object is printed. Items with thin shells may need a mesh internal structure for support. Objects printed solid use a lot of fiber. Small items printed will take more than an hour and sometimes many hours to print.
Good luck.

1st I'd see if there is a makerspace close to you. You'll learn a lot about pros and cons of different equipment as well as the tool chain options to go from thought to 3d model to slicer tweak for supports for overhangs etc. and finally parse the g code into motion on the machine. A lot (darn near most of the software chain and motion control) of what you'll see and learn can be applied to cnc in general like routers, milling machines, lathes, vinyl cutters, laser sintering cutting burning, plasma cutters, water jets etc.

That will help you decide how kitted you wan't or roll your own from parts. There's a ton of web info on rolling your own but a markerspace will be valuable to decide how precise or quick and dirty you want for your 1st learning toy.

You'll also get a feel for how long it takes to print a part what you can expect for surface finish and the strength of the final part etc. That will give you some perspective on which cnc technology is most a appropriate for what ever you dream up.

It's great that you're looking at it as a learning experience not a kit that will make magic. Have fun.

Sounds to me like you are more interested in tearing something apart for the sake of learning about it than actually building something useful.

My understanding is that 3D printers have been used for years in the proto-typing industry. In other words, before a manufacturer makes a full "run" of their product, they build "mock-ups." One way to build these mock-ups is using 3D printers.

I would Google industrial supply companies and see if anyone is willing to sell an old 3D printer. Then, when it "dies" because you took it apart and can't put it back together, you haven't lost much.

I've built several 3D printers over the years, and I sell a selection of printer parts on Amazon. Sorry I didn't see your post earlier.

If you just want to experiment with building a 3D Printer, the simplest one to try is probably the Prusa i3 Rework, with the 6mm aluminum frame. Most of the other DIY printers out there at the same price or less are generally very complex to build or have inferior capabilities. It has an 8x8x8 build platform, and a very small footprint on your desk. My first printer had a smaller print platform but took up 5 inches more of my desk space. You should be able to find an i3 kit with the aluminum frame for under $600. You can get one with a wood or plastic frame for less, but they also have more parts to assemble.

If you want a top of the line printer and you are not afraid of a challenge, try the Lulzbot TAZ (they just released the TAZ 5, but a TAZ 3 or 4 is just as good). Lulzbot sells the TAZ as a kit for around $1600. It is a complicated contraption with five pages of parts, and about 150 pages of assembly instructions, but it has a 12 x 12 x 12 print volume, is very accurate, very fast, very customizable, and has a great support team behind it.

There are a ton of other printers out there, but if you want to learn the basics of how they work the Prusa i3 is the way to go, and the TAZ is a printer you can use for serious printing.

HI first you need to find out what you want to do with it. Build size (for the size model you want to build) is important if you need to build larger 3D models and the type of material you wish to print with.

There are three major types of 3D printers that I know of, but I'm sure there are more.

1) The type of printers that feed a long strand of plastic, carbon fiber, Grapheme (not sure of the spelling) soft rubbery type of plastics, and foods like chocolate. Also materials to build human body parts.

2) The second type uses a resin liquid that is then hit with a light that hardens a very small dot of resin at a time.
These feed one layer at a time and build the model up from its top and it's really cool to see this completed model coming out of the liquid almost like magic.

The advantage of this method is that you can make extremely smooth models.
The down side is that you don't have a lot of different materials to choose from, only different formulas of resin.

3) Metal 3D printers are used for making very fine metal parts and are very expensive.
The way these work is with a large container full of powdered metal that is shot with a very precise laser light similar to the resin method. With this type when the mode is finished you pull the solid model out of the powder and brush it clean.. This is also good for jewelry.

I bought a Rostock Max kit and build it myself.
My reason for choosing this printer is because the build is
X=11"x y=14.75" x=11", it's accurate, very fast, and can print a lot of different types of materials such as carbon fiber.
It's USA-made and their customer service is excellent, from my experience.

Since the Rostock Max is a Delta design, it stands out like a high-tech spiderlike printer and has a small footprint considering the build size. In other words it's cool-looking as well.
It wasn't easy to build myself, I won't mislead you, but if you can follow directions and READ them along with the videos and you stick to it, you can do it.

It was a built in three stages:
First you have to put together the parts and there are a lot of them. Because the parts very precise that you need to follow directions putting it together. I found the soldering to be hard and you need a 40 watt soldering iron, a special high temperature tape, and a special copper based RTV (it's a high temperature paste).

Second the electronics involves mostly having to wire the machine and some soldering.
The trick here is follow directions and keep control of each wire because this is crucial. That it's going through it's proper feed and doesn't get caught in the belts. It is also very important that the hot end and the hot plate are set up properly so the Arduino board can read the temperature properly.

Third is the setting up the OS & you can program your printer using a USB port to transfer files to set it up.
You don't need to stay hooked up to the computer and can print from a memory card that comes with the printer.

Wait you aren't done yet. You have to calibrate your printer. This is crucial because the better you set the calibration the better your prints.

I skipped a lot of small steps but I hope this gives you an idea what it takes to put together your own 3Dprinter.
I can tell you from first hand experience that there is a huge satisfaction by putting together your own printer and you are on your way to create magic.

Hi William J,

Getting started in 3D printing is massively confusing. You are going to hear terms like FDM, Laser Sintering, and Photolithography. I think the best place to start learning about it is by pointing your browser to reprap.org. This is a Wiki for 3D printing. It covers the different methods of 3D printing and dozens of different designs of printers. It has many links to plans or kits for different printers.

I currently have 2 3D printers I have built. My first was a White Ant RepStrap built by following plans from a book. It is absolutely horrible! It weighs a ton and the prints are very messy. I ended up mounting a Dremmel instead of the print head and now use it as a CNC milling machine. My second is a Prusa i2 RepRap. I built it from pieces bought on eBay. It is immeasurably better. The prints are smooth and detail is precise.

One model you should consider is the SmartRap. The manufacturer has made it open source, so you can find details of how to build and program it on the github at https://github.com/smartfriendz/smartrap, The plastic printed parts can be bought from SmartRap, or you can downlad the .STL files for them from Thingiverse at http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:177256/#files and have them printed somewhere like Shapeways. They also sell complete kits with all the printed parts, hardware, and electronics for about $420 plus shipping at their site http://shopping.smartfriendz.com/en/. The reason I single out this model is the self-leveling bed. I spend a lot of time before each print making sure the bed is level. It might not sound like it would matter, but when you are printing layers 1/10 mm thick your print head is very close to the bed and it's very easy to crash it into the bed or have the first layer not stick to the bed if it isn't level.

Anyway, I would ignore the advice to wait until HP comes out with a 3D printer. Building and using a 3D printer will be frustrating, and will force you to consider things you have never thought of. More important, it will be very satisfying when you have it working.

I do not own a 3-D Printer or plan on getting one soon but I did find some interesting reviews at the following site:

http://www.bestreviews.guide/3d_printers?&network=ADWORDS_SEARCH&type=SEARCH&subtype=TEXT&origin=google&ad_id=1182811&google_params[matchtype]=b&google_params[network]=g&google_params[device]=c&google_params[creative]=58607779339&google_params[keyword]=%2B3d%20%2Bprinter%20%2Breview&google_params[placement]=&google_params[adposition]=1t3&gclid=CJu5-Jbqh8QCFUkR7Aod1xQAlw

Hope this helps?

Hi William,

You didn't mention what your budget was. So many of the entry level printers out there are upwards of $1,000, which is extremely cheap compared to industrial printers, but still out of range for a lot of people.

I was in a similar position to you at the end of 2013. I just wanted to find out what 3d printing was all about. My budget was under $500 because I really didn't know if I would continue to do anything with it. I did a fair amount of research, especially using Make magazine's guide to 3d printers, and I settled on the Printrbot Simple. At the time it was about the cheapest 3d printer on the market, but still highly rated enough that it wouldn't produce just junk.

I have been quite satisfied with it so far. It was a lot of fun to put together, and getting it in kit form saved me a chunk of money, which I ended up pouring back into the system with build volume upgrades. I would say the biggest drawback to this printer is the 100x100x100mm build volume. Once you put it together, however, and decide you want to go bigger and better, this is still a great little machine for printing smaller parts.

Since I bought my Simple kit, Printrbot has come out with a metal version, which is a lot more stable and has a bigger build volume, but is also a little more expensive at $539.

Now that I've built the Simple, I'm interested in using it to build another, such as the Prusa i3. If you are that technically inclined, you can check out reprap.org and build it from the ground up, or order a kit from one of the vendors listed on that site. I would have to say, though, that I wouldn't have been able to tackle a scratch-built printer like the i3 before I built the Simple kit. I'm a home improvement DIYer but I'd never built a small machine like a 3d printer. Your skills may be a lot better, in which case I'd recommend starting there so you can get a bigger and better printer for the same amount of money.

Good luck and happy printing!

(p.s. If you are new to these kits, then I'd warn you that there is a lot of tweaking and tinkering that is required to get these printers to work consistently and with quality. You cannot expect to have it work perfectly out of the box, and you will make frequent trips to user forums to figure out why your prints aren't going correctly. It does require a lot of patience, but it's very rewarding and instructive when you do figure it out.)

I saw in here somewhere, "build myself" and thought I'd pass this along for all to ponder.
So I read this guy's process of building his own 3d printer out of spare parts as many over in the garage monster contraption compilers have been doing a while.
First he got an older ink jet with a tractor feed. What does that do for you? It gives you reverse capability. With the ASCII printer codes in hand you can reverse the tractor feed rollers.
He first built a table that has vertical movement. A simple set of fine thread bolts at four corners mounted on pillow block bearings screwed through threaded sleeves on the table top. A long bicycle chain turns all bolts in unison. The tricky part was the stepper motor running from an old com port to back the table down and then up so as there is always positive tension for more accurate height control.
He tore apart the printer down to the rollers and hot wired all the opto sensors and mounted the thing on rails. The tractor gears moves the whole printer and powder tray back and forth.
So the thing worked like this:
From a batch file the printer gets the command to feed two sheets of paper. This slides the entire printer and positions the powder tray over the print area. A simple reed switch runs a vibrator that sifts the powder onto the surface for as long as the batch time out lasts. Then the printer reverses the paper to print over the surface.
This repeats for every black and white mask image that represents slices of his 3d model. AutoCad solid modeling I believe is what he was using but there are several freebie modeling apps with the same abilities.
Now I don't know if he worked out all the bugs such as a spring to help keep the printer against the tractor rails consistent, and a better powder tray. Also there were problems with dust and reloading the ink jet cartridge with the hardener acid. I think it tended to dissolve its internal components, nor do I know what the life span of the cartridges were. That's a lot of printing for a very small project. Oh yeah, it takes a long time to print and he had to keep refilling the duster tray.
And lastly, you need to be able to generate many sliced images of your 3d model as each slice will need to be the size of the thickness of the print layer.
All in all I never got the final verdict if it was worth it. I have heard of others using roto-zips, Dremels, etc. round about the same way with success in carving general reliefs out of wood leaving just some minor smoothing with wood carvings. The ones I saw used a rack moving the mini-router rather than the entire table. The point is that they both used gutted printers or plotters. Older printers and plotters are prime candidates as they are simpler, their components are well known and more easily adapted to need. i.e. replacing motor drivers with bigger steppers and transistors/MOSFETs etc..
Yeah, if you don't have a couple years in electronics, some form of programming and some mechanical wit, yer stuck with over the counter products.