I am Considering a 3D printer

[Joe Jones]

Man ... I just have to have a 3D printer soon. I have looked at the small home hobby units, Yes, they are cool, and they are AFFORDABLE, and they can make a lot of things. I am the kind of guy who like to take a bigger leap of faith.

I am soooooo tempted to get a 3D printer soon. I just added a small hobby laser, the X-Tool D1 PRO 20 Watt blue diode laser, and even after the first day, I can see that I will be using this a LOT. I am waiting for all of the stuff to arrive. I still haven't received the air assist, the frame extensions, and a few other things I ordered. Then I have to build a portable cabinet for it, so I can take it to craft fairs and flea markets, etc.

I looked at the ENDER units, and the MakerBots, and so forth. All nice ... I guess. It looks like I can get a relatively nice (small) 3D printer for under a thousand dollars. The problem is, I buy something, and then very shortly afterward, I move up. So the original purchase is wasted money, unless I sell the first thing I bought, and I usually don't. For instance, I have a 3D scanner here that I purchased about six years ago. It is the Next Engine unit with the additional rotating pivot attachment. I would sell it for $3,000.00 if someone wanted it. Sure, it WORKS, but shortly after getting it, I ended up with a FARO TECHNOLOGIES scanner with the 12-foot arm and the tripod. I bought it at a FabTech show in Chicago. It was a demo unit that was recertified, and I got it for the ridiculously low price of $32K. I used it for a little while, and then life got in the way, so I sold it a couple of years ago.

The printer that is keeping me up at night right now, is the CreatBot D-600 PRO. It has a build envelope of nearly eight cubic feet (600mm x 600mm x 600mm). I can see real potential for such a unit. If I add this to my shop ... They even finance it so it is very affordable. I have two rifles I could sell to pay cash for it if I go that route, but I really don't want to sell them. It is looking more and more as if they will come in quite handy in the coming year or so.

So the question is, should I go the ENDER route and "start small" or jump in with both feet and go for it?

Joe

[adbuch]

Just go for it!! You only live once, and it's only money.

[Joe Jones]

Just go for it!! You only live once, and it's only money.

Ha! Ten YEARS ago, it was only money. Now it requires a little more planning. I can buy it. I just want to get up to speed on designing 3D STL files and such before I jump into such a purchase. Along with it, I would also want to get the CreaForm Go!Scan 3D Scanner and that would basically DOUBLE the price of the investment.

Still, it is like a gnat in my ear ... it is buzzing ... buzzing .... I think it is time to sell one of my favorite guns

Joe

[adbuch]

Fusion 360 is great for creating solid models (stl files) for 3D printing. I recommend you study the excellent Fusion 360 tutorial lessons from Arnold Rowntree. There are short lessons and could get you up to speed in several evenings.

[plasmanewbie]

Like David said Fusion 360 would be a great place to start. I had no clue about 3D modeling and started with Fusion tutorials and was surprised how quickly I caught onto it. I would have never thought I was capable. If you can design what you want in Fusion then I would feel comfortable spending the money on the printer.

[robertspark]

I have a creality cr10S version 2

300x300x400 build volume

the height I have never used past about 150mm

the build plate 300x300 I have used up to about 250x250.

it ha been heavily modified and almost no longer is a cr10s except in build volume

I use octopi for remote management as it lives in my garage office and it just chugs away at whatever I ask it to print

the top rated 3d printer seems to be a voron 2.4 at present, very fast. that seems to be the most desired one at present.

but I am very happy with my cr10s, although it does have everything upgraded to faster, hotter, smoother etc etc etc

I would not buy something like an ultimaker.... although I did consider it when I started out

[Joe Jones]

Fusion 360 is great for creating solid models (stl files) for 3D printing. I recommend you study the excellent Fusion 360 tutorial lessons from Arnold Rowntree. There are short lessons and could get you up to speed in several evenings.

It is on my list of "Things To Do" David! I will probably DIE before I accomplish 25% of them.

Joe


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[Joe Jones]

the top rated 3d printer seems to be a voron 2.4 at present, very fast. that seems to be the most desired one at present.

I will look at it. My good friend just bought the Italian offering, the MODIX Big-180 X. I looked at that, but the price does not include very 'SPENSIVE shipping to America from Italy which almost doubles the price. He is building a new shop, so when the printer is up and running, I will drive down to see it in action. Apparently it can print something the size of the average human being

Joe

[adbuch]

Instead of just adding it to your list, why not just make a point to sit down tonight and get started with these tutorials. There are 16 of them and you can easily do 3 or 4 in an hour. These are short - maybe no more than 15 minutes each. And great fun to do. If you like using Design Edge, then drawing with Fusion 360 will be right up your alley. And just think how great if will feel once you have completed them and can join some of the rest of us designing and printing 3D parts. So instead of just talking about it, why not get busy actually doing it.
David

[adbuch]

I started out with the Voxel MP3 priced at $389. This one is actually manufactured by FlashForge for Monoprice. The equivalent FlashForge branded printer can usually be had for a little less. This is a great little printer. When I made the decision to upgrade to dual independent extruders, I opted for the FlashForge Creator 3 Pro priced around $3300. The beauty of this one is that I can print the supports from PVA while printing the actual part from PLA or equivalent. The PVA will dissolve in water after printing so this makes the support removal easy and has the other benefit that supports can be printed internally and dissolved by soaking in water, where as they would be impossible to remove if printed from PLA.

I still use both printers and they have both worked out well for me.

David

[Joe Jones]

Instead of just adding it to your list, why not just make a point to sit down tonight and get started with these tutorials. There are 16 of them and you can easily do 3 or 4 in an hour. These are short - maybe no more than 15 minutes each. And great fun to do. If you like using Design Edge, then drawing with Fusion 360 will be right up your alley. And just think how great if will feel once you have completed them and can join some of the rest of us designing and printing 3D parts. So instead of just talking about it, why not get busy actually doing it.
David

I am happy that your world is so simple for you.

Joe

[adbuch]

I'll help you to get started. Here is the link to download the Fusion 360 hobbyists.

https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/personal

Once you have it installed, you can get started. You don't even need to know how to use the drawing tools in Fusion 360 to make a part. You can just draw up your shape with Design Edge and export as dxf, then bring it into Fusion 360 to extrude and save a stl. Very simple to do.

Here is an example.

DE to F360 1.jpg

DE to F360 2.jpg

DE to F360 3.jpg

DE to F360 4.jpg

DE to F360 5.jpg

[adbuch]

DE to F360 6.jpg

DE to F360 7.jpg

DE to F360 8.jpg

DE to F360 9.jpg

If you have any question, just ask and I will be happy to walk you thru it.
David

[Joe Jones]

Thank you David. I have SolidWorks on one of my computers. i paid a King's ransom for it, but I have YET to get past the third training video.


Joe

[adbuch]

I also use have SolidWorks paid license, but have switched over to Fusion 360 because it is so much easier to use. I will look forward to seeing your first project drawn in Design Edge and converted to 3D with Fusion360.

[Joe Jones]

I also use have SolidWorks paid license, but have switched over to Fusion 360 because it is so much easier to use. I will look forward to seeing your first project drawn in Design Edge and converted to 3D with Fusion360.

Be patient! I have a lot of other things fighting for priority.

Joe

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[adbuch]

Here is the stl file from my example.

sample 3d part.stl

And here is the Design Edge file I started with.

Round plate with holes.pcm

As well as the dxf.

round plate with holes.dxf

[Joe Jones]

One of the things I would really like to do, is to get the Go!Scan 3D handheld unit and the CreatBot 600 3D printer, and use them for an idea I had several years ago. To scan someone's face, and then 3D print a life size (or larger) shell of the face that can then be mounted to a plaque, perhaps surrounded by artificial flowers or whatever, as a memorial. I could also scan the entire head and shoulders, to make a bust of the person. I would offer the service to undertakers and such, as another product the surviving family members could purchase. Yes, the people I scan would generally be dead.

Likewise, I like to build Halloween props. I have always liked the reverse mold busts in the Disney Haunted Mansion, that follow you as you move across the room. It is a simple optical illusion that really works well. With the correct scanner and 3D printer, I could make them out of a clear or translucent material, or a solid material, then hiring a talented air brush artist to paint in the face. I could scan latex masks and such, or do detailed scans of human faces, dogs, horses, etc. Cats would have nothing to do with it, of course.

Adding to the list, preserving the old ornate tombstones in the old cemeteries. You know the ones, in places like Chicago, and New Orleans, and Georgia ... I would like to scan those fantastic tombstones, and then reproduce them somehow. There is no Copyright on a 200 year old tombstone, so that would not be a problem. A simple change of the name is all that may be needed.

I could scan a baby sleeping in a crib, and print a life-size or smaller reproduction for the parents to keep.

Then there is ... that market. The guy who wants to immortalize his (wife's/girlfriend's/lover's) torso, from above the neck to below the waist, with or without arms (Venus De Milos), or the woman who wants to immortalize her guy's six pack abs ... etc. There isn't a huge call for marble sculptors these days, but a 3D scanner and a 3D printer could make that happen as well. Current technology can produce accurate 3D printed life-size (or larger, or smaller) reproductions and there really is a market for these products. I wonder how many guys would want their lover's mini statues of their anatomies hanging from their keychains.

Joe


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[Joe Jones]

Here is the stl file from my example.

Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I am leaning toward diving into this.

Joe

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[adbuch]

I used Fusion 360 to create the stl files for these prototype parts.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/rFfvSXhWYA1du58E8

I printed them all on my Voxel mp3 with pla filament.

https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-133820 ... B07GV5GLLC

mp3.jpg

[Joe Jones]

There are a lot of those small 3D printers out there. Various build envelopes. Various speeds. Various prices. If I dive into this, I want a much larger build envelope.

PART of the reason people come to me to make things is because I have the only 5x10 cnc plasma table in town. There is a GoTorch in town (I hear) and another PlasmaCam (4x4) lurking somewhere out there. I see his work pop up here and there. But they don't have a 5x10 table, and they don't have a forklift. Actually, there IS a company here in town that does industrial metal work. They have a 'YUGE Lincoln plasma cutter with the 12x24 foot bed on the floor. They have no interest in small jobs like wall art and monograms, so they are not competition.

I am looking around for the trailer I want to buy, to replace the new car carrier I was using before it was stolen off of my property. I want a specific style, a gooseneck two-axle deck over with a 20 foot bed and no dovetail. I could have one custom made, but I am waiting until this covid zombie apocalypse is over, in August 2023, when it was originally SCHEDULED TO END.

Joe

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[adbuch]

This is the one I have. But bigger is not always necessarily better. There is more to consider here than may meet the eye.

ff creator 3 pro.jpg

Just remember you gotta learn to craw first, then walk, then run, and so on.

[acourtjester]

Weather walking or driven in a Rolls Royce, what matters is the journey and and what happens at the destination.

[adbuch]

Weather walking or driven in a Rolls Royce, what matters is the journey and and what happens at the destination.

Very well said Tom! I most heartily concur.
David

[Joe Jones]

There is nothing wrong with the small printers except for the size limit of what they can produce.

Joe

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