Show us your 3D printer/ CNC machine!!!

Vrogy, Serin, I think the two of you are swaying me to consider that printing small volumes isn't necessarily a bad thing.
I am very familiar with how long it takes to print certain pieces. I had a statuette that I wanted to build near to the max height of the Dimension 1200ST, which was 12", and the build time required was 72 hours.
That would have been totally fine if there wasn't other groups that also needed to do some prints as well, especially since the following week was the capstone presentation week. So I dialed back the scale and got to print my model that took only 24 hours to complete.

I agree, when a build takes hours and hours, every second that goes by is crucial and could totally make or break your model, especially if you are not babysitting it.
Fortunately, we used HIPS which prints support material that the model is build up on top of in order to prevent warping.
Unfortunately, HIPS cartridges costs 10x what you would pay for just a regular ABS cartridge.

I'm wanting to avoid having to use HIPS again, because using it also requires you to have a heated chemical bath in order to dissolve all of the support material off.
But I have no idea how one would go about printing out highly complex models (such as a figure with wings on it) without it warping or sagging.
The nice thing about support material is that you are always building on top of something. When you reach the wings of a figure (like I just mentioned) how do you print something on top of nothing?
Bat wings for example, there are all those tips at the bottom; I'm not sure how it would be possible to print that without support material.

While I am interested in printing things for costuming, from wearable parts to bucks for vacuforming and molds, there are also other things I would like to print as well. Things that are on a much smaller scale that I would like to be very accurate, but due to the complexity of some of them, I'm not sure how to approach them.
I really like Transformers; I find that the level of thought, design, and engineering required to make just 1 toy to be extremely challenging and enjoyable. I am hoping to be able to print ones that I design, it is very important to me.

Hmmm, if I'm not mistaken the Dimension 1200 uses ABS correct? In which case you're stuck with the thermoplastic properties of that material.
ABS is used primarily as an injection moulding material, so essentially it was designed to work well in high ambient temperature scenario's where shrinkage isn't an issue.
Of all the stuffing around I did back in the days in which I used ABS.. The stuffs just a crap material for large FDM parts, even seemingly in an industrial printer which is presumably heated/sealed etc.

All of which is to say... I don't think it is worth the time stuffing around to get large ABS prints to work, the failure ratio and your HIPS cost seems like an irrational use of resources.
Now, were you to have access to a printer capable of other materials like say PLA or even some SLS/SLA nylon printers then that would be the way to go in terms of avoiding most warping.
I'd say that if your models are not all that large, and you're capable of hollowing them out a bit, then getting them done at shapeways(or similar) might be more economically and materially viable. I seem to be saying that a lot lately...
Certainly in comparison with running a stratasys I'd bet shapeways be cheaper in the long run.

As to printing stuff on top of 0 support, that's generally, and unfortunately, a design limitation that we have to work within. There are materials available to home-based FDM printers like the PolyMakr Polymax PLA that seem to be better suited for hard to print angles, but you've still got physics to contend with even with a good printer/material.

Just joined and was looking for others on the site who used CNC machines and am now resurrecting this post to show off my machines.

im not sure i want to get into 3d printing now. 50% failure rate on prints. 72 hours to print hires. The printers are expensive. The learning curve , to get to a good product .
ii don't know if i want to get in to 3d printing now.

Blade137 said:

im not sure i want to get into 3d printing now. 50% failure rate on prints. 72 hours to print hires. The printers are expensive. The learning curve , to get to a good product .
ii don't know if i want to get in to 3d printing now.

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Printers are expensive, that's a given - the technology is still relatively new, in terms of being available for the average hobbyist. And, yes, if you don't really know what you're doing then you're going to find a reasonably high failure rate. As for the learning curve and the time taken to print: unfortunately, they're both a given. Any fabrication method - be it foam, Pepakura, or 3D printing - is going to take time, practise and effort to become proficient, and parts take a while to print based purely on the properties of the substances used to produce pieces).

In all, 3D printing is a great way to produce accurate parts in a relatively smaller span of time than you'd accomplish through other means - but, yes, you'll need to learn the processes first. I would advise doing a lot of research, perhaps see if you can't find a cheaper printer to practise on.

50%! Oh gosh I had 7-9 failed parts on my entire halo 4 chief full human scale armor , Heck the chest alone was 64 parts.

over 100 Lbs to date of plastic used and I have around 20-30 failed prints .
Most of the time its me poping in the wrong settings. Or just being a bonehead and not swappng Extruder Liners trying to milk there lifespan

EG forgeting to turn back on rafting ect..

I run ABS for all my armor needs .
I run a partly modded flashforge Dreamer with Ext Filment holders and better Feed tube system.

I've been saving for a while and was finally able to purchase an M2 3D printer from Makergear.

I chose the M2 because the printer received one of the highest reviews on the market and the support is fantastic. The price was a bit of a setback but that's why I saved. Only after the purchase do you recognize how nice this product is and also how much you have to learn to create things from scratch.
There is no place for this printer except my basement and if I'm going to print with ABS plastic, I need an enclosure.
Time to build a cabinet.
Step 1: Figure the what type of enclosure to make. I needed to include the following:
1) It had to fit the printer length/width/height. 24"x24"x30" should do it.
2) I needed a drawer for tools to work on the printer (about 4") and a drawer for supplies (about 12").
3) It needs to have an exhaust fan in case it gets too hot in the enclosure
4) I need lighting.
Step 2: Buy some lumber from Home Depot (I actually had a lot of left over from past projects so I basically slapped a what I had together.
Step 3: Start assembling based on my requirements above:

The top has a box hole cut out for the exhaust fan and thermostat controller

Step 4 - Assemble window doors using the groove edge of extra wood flooring and a piece of plexiglass. See below:

Step 5 - Dry fit all pieces together

Step 6 - Start Staining


Step 7 - Assembly

Step 8 - Install electronics

Step 9 - Print Something (in this case, the housing for my internal camera)
[video]http://www.moesizzlac.com/assets/images/Camera%20Phone%20pics/3D%20Printer/20160207_160655.mp4[/video]
Step 10 - Print the Millennium Falcon because why the heck not.

Step 11 - Watch a time lapse of the Millennium Falcon print from the internally mounted camera.
[video]http://www.moesizzlac.com/assets/images/Camera%20Phone%20pics/3D%20Printer/Falcon2_20160215025255.mp4[/video]
The Sky's the limit now. So far, there is only one downside...and that is the downside of the Schwarts:

Designed completely from scratch and printed on my printer.
Did I mention how much 3d printing rules?

if I were looking for a printer what would be a good one to get?

Well, Kusak3 and I run Wanhao Duplicators. I think Burt does too. I don't know if I would get it as my -first- printer again, but the goal is to get something sturdy, that can print in multiple plastic types. That basically requires a heated bed. Honestly, the best thing to do is research.

serenko3 said:

if I were looking for a printer what would be a good one to get?

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Pretty basically what Arma358 said. The Wanhao/monoprice machine that we have is a tinkers printer. It is a printer with a long history and an extensive list of well documented upgrades. It is also a printer that isnt all that expensive overall. You are basically buying the frame when you buy this printer knowing you will probably replace everything else over time. It comes down to simply how much do you want to spend and how much time do you want to spend tinkering with it. In your case you have Zak and me both in close proximity at this time so extra help isnt a big deal.

Hi, jumping in here with a picture of a print run. Yeah, not exactly Halo related, but its all I have on hand. The machine itself is an M2 V4 Version D/24 volt.


When I have a chance, I'll post in progress pictures of the Halo Carbine I'm printing out. Ran into a bit of snag on that project. I really don't like the monolithic non-working parts aspect of many of the printable objects available on line. I initially wanted the ammo cartridge to be a different filament color than the outer grips (from the look of the model, there is the inner gun, presuming its a smooth bore weapon, and an outer wrap around 'hand/claw/paw' grips for the Elite/Jackal/Brute warrior). I was able to successfully modify the STL file/s to separate out the magazine from the receiver assembly. Then decided, I really want to flip open the entire top magazine receiver cover, like in the game. My attempts to modify the STL files to do that have been foiled by issues the lack of coherency and 'holes' (not watertight) in the mesh. When I print those two parts, and I can assemble my carbine. May give up on working parts, and be satisfied with a wall display weapon.

I don't know if this is the right thread, but how good would this Folgertech Kossel 2020 i3 be for a first printer?

Takanuva said:

I don't know if this is the right thread, but how good would this Folgertech Kossel 2020 i3 be for a first printer?

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I'm sorry to say I have no experience with Folgertech, but for first time printer, I was told to look for:
1) Cheap
2) Something easy to work with (basically learn what all the parts do)
3) Something with a lot of community/company support in case you have questions.

The problem you may run into is: if this machine gives you problems (unreliable prints), you may be discouraged from 3d printing and to that I say...please don't. In general, I have had a really good experience with my machine. 3D printing is awesome, I mean really awesome.

My best advise I can give you is ask individuals on these boards, that have machines, what they have and would they recommend. I asked Xtremenoob his opinion in a pm and he recommended makerbot citing that it is easy to use, low maintenance, and prints well.

Right now, I would totally recommend the makergear M2. It took some getting used to but once I dialed in all the settings, it just works.

the makerbot is a VERY overpriced for its specs.

Its not a heated bed machine. it cant do ABS

Its a single nozzle so it cant do supports.
it does not take off the rack Industry standard parts .

MSRP of 2700

Every other printer out there Ive seen is a better value.

heck my flashforge at 1100 a pop is a better value . I can get 2 and Still have enugh to buy the plastc to make one armor set

Really the Best DIY is the prusa I3 ... DONT get a cheap kit. its gonna not be made as well . METAL body is key

Pay around 400-600 and its a workhorse.
Ive heard good things about the makergear M2



BTW for 2 grand you can get a TAZ and that is a VERY VERY good machine.

That Folgertech is a Prusa i3 RepRap kit, and has an aluminum frame. I'm on super low budget, like max of $250. I've been looking at stuff, and it seems the main concern would be upgrading the boards, lubricating or upgrading the bearings, and making sure that all the components are there and undamaged. I'd prefer to print components on my high school's printer in a few months for a larger printer, though I'm unsure about purchasing hardware and electronics myself. And smaller ones like the MP Mini Select don't seem that great of value.

Takanuva said:

I'm on super low budget, like max of $250.

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Then save up for something better. I realise that 3D printing is an expensive hobby (I'm currently looking into it myself) and that the idea of dropping large amounts of money can be a little daunting, but you really get what you pay for if you decide to invest that little bit extra for the quality. It's the 'pay now, never later' idea - paying that bit more for a decent printer now will save you perhaps even spending the same amount again over the lifetime of the printer in components to repair it.

Thanks for the advice. I'm wanting a printer to engineer suit components, such as making under armor pieces such as the boots from ninjaflex, and possibly seals and other components for a filtration and air system. I'll mind your suggestions, but I don't have a job and I have a limited budget for holidays from my parents.

Takanuva said:

Thanks for the advice. I'm wanting a printer to engineer suit components, such as making under armor pieces such as the boots from ninjaflex, and possibly seals and other components for a filtration and air system. I'll mind your suggestions, but I don't have a job and I have a limited budget for holidays from my parents.

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Might be worth scrimping and saving, then. Like I said above, going 'cheap' isn't exactly the best option sometimes. peterthethinker was right when he said that cheap printers often mean having to spend again the initial purchase cost simply on getting the thing working and running smoothly. It's not ideal, but it's the 'measure twice, cut once' approach - get a decent, sturdy kit from the outset and you'll spend less time and money on repairs down the line.

Do you have a preferred brand of printer or 3d printer or is it more preference and the type of printing you are wanting to do? Also, I have seen some people building their own CNC machines, is that a viable cost effective way to obtain one or is that expert level stuff?

I've build and designed several 3D machines in the last year. I debugged a couple of machines for 2 Chinese companies and learned quite a lot about the different design compromises all designs (really, ALL designs) impose on the product. By the nature of the design, machines will be better at some stuff and worse at other stuff. And that's true, independant of chosen brand or whatever.

I've build Ultimaker 2+ clones which are litterally indistinguishable from the "real" product. The only difference is, the Chinese clone had _more_ capabilities and was bigger, while costing less than half.

I've build 300€ parts Delta's that can blow the output quality of a real Ultimaker straight out of the water, and that by own admission of at least 3 Ulti owners.

I mean, you can buy (again, as example) a 2500USD Ultimaker -which is a good machine - but as it's running that cursed Olson Block printhead -which sucks, but still is better than the original crap hotend Ulti used-, it simply can NOT reproduce the quality that you can achieve with an E3D hotend. You can't even achieve the quality of a good KNOCKOFF of an E3D. And you don't have to believe me. This admission came from one of the people working at Ultimaker, and it's why several hobbiests Frankenstein their Ulti's to support E3D's in the end.

Also, a steel frame printer is nice, but doesn't mean a thing if the rest of machine is build around cheap, potentially badly printed ABS prints for motormounts, hotend carriages, Effectors, ....
Even Prusa's MK2 still uses WAY too many ABS printed parts for it to be anything else than a glorified, slightly overpirced tinker machine. It incopreates a couple of really cool ideas, the self-diagnostic/measurement/callibration system is cool. But honestly ? Any self build Delta with a good level system and Repetier firmware can do _exactly the same thing_.

So the worth of this system ? In my humble opinion : Questionable for those who're capable of building such a kit and useless for those who buy the machine ready-made.

But my main issue is "too much plastic" on printer-quality-critical parts. If you're looking for a machine capable of production ? You do _not_ want that.
You don't have to believe anything I write, but if you pick up something from what I'm writing here, let THAT be what you remember.


My shortlist at THIS moment ? Based upon my own, hands-on real life experiences ?

If you can live with a Delta design and a reasonable build space (300x345), don't want to build anything yourself and are looking for a sturdy, mechanically extremely stable device ? Hatchbox Alpha.
You still could mod the hell out of it if you wanted (adding a second extruder ect ect), and and-of-the-box the quality of the prints is amazing.
Also : full steel/metal design. There's no wood/plastic/glue/whatever to be seen. It is a machine build to last, has a heated bed, a good autolevel system, good and stable firmware which is still under active development and it has no vendor lock in in terms of usable software or supplies

TBH, I love Delta's. They're elegant. Spooky. They can be a serious pain to callibrate, certainly when you build one yourself, but once ready or when bought ready-made, that shouldn't be an issue.

Have enough money to splash out ? Either visit the gMAX 1.5 site and order one of these monsters. With a buildspace of 400x400x450 (or 470), there's nothing you can't do. The gMAX has become really popular in a short time, and considering how its' build, that's no surprise. US based company. There's a small company 10 minutes from my house where I do some "semi free" support work who've got one of these. Instantly fell in love with that thing.

Which let to : the Chinese Knockoff of this thing, the Formbot T-Rex 2.

I know this machine first hand, it's sitting here next to me. And there's a guy (you should look it up) who posts regular videos on his (older) Formbot. He's created some really nice stuff with it and as he states (and I can confirm), the quality is like that out-of-the-box. What is more important : he had a couple of issues with his Formbot in the beginning, and he indicated the people at Formbot will go out of their way to make sure your machine behaves as intended. That's a service which should not be underestimated.

My Formbot T-REX2 is the advanced version of that one. Dual independant extruders (I admit, I've yet to try that feature), 400x400x470 build space, dual zone heatbed, run-out-of-filament sensors, Wifi and Laser engraver as option. And of course, full metal construction. No plastics. No kit. Ready made, and it certainly is a lot more value for money compared to a 1000€ exclusive shipping Prusa. Actually, the Formbots are "SDK", semi-knocked-down. Limited assembly needed, which involved about 15 minutes of work if you really take your time, 5 minutes if you're in a rush.

If you ask "what printer now" in 6 months, my answers would be different, no doubt.

Also, and it's vitally important you realize this : NO printer is a "simple plug and play" device. They ALL need you to learn about them, not just to work with them, but also to do the needed maintenance and even repairs on them.

I won't say "don't go with a FolgerTech because it's crap". I've seen very nice results coming from a Folger. But if you want to do that, know you will need some time till that kit does what you want that it must do, also, Folger has a newer, much bigger version which uses a Utli-like frame instead of a Prusa-like frame. While I wouldn't recommend the 250€ Prusa clone, the 500€ Ulit-like is certainly worth your attention.

i'm not going to follow the seemingly popular "if you have to assemble it yourself, it can't be sturdy" kind of vibe I seem to pick up here.
The original Ulti could -I think it still can- be had as a kit. And with all its faults and shortcomings, the Ulti 1 is a workhorse like no other.
So if you think you can build a machine ? You can ! If you think you can't ? You still probably can ! The only people I'd advise not to go for a kit no matter what are those who're not willing to put in the needed time to tweak a DIY kit, or people where stuff spontaniously bursts into flames whenever they approach it.