REVscene - Vancouver Automotive Forum

PuYang · 06-22-2016, 06:30 PM

Hi everyone,

hopefully there isn't another one of these threads already (I didn't search, but frequent this section of the forum often enough, and haven't seen any).

So, I'm looking to invest in a 3D Printer to use at home, for personal and for my classes (I teach digital art part time, and am hoping to expand into some small 3D printing for students when I have more experience).

I am wondering if anyone here has any personal experience with any consumer level 3D printer, and if you can share your thoughts etc.

I'm planning to buy one within the next few weeks, and have been googling a bunch of reviews and youtubing videos.

A printer that seems to be a good bang for buck is the FlashForge Creator Pro: Flashforge Creator Pro 3D Printer
It prints PLA and ABS.

Does anyone have experience with this printer? or other printers near this price range? (~1600 CAD). My original intended budget was 3000, but this printer caught my eye.

Why I am struggling right now to pull the trigger is due to my "standards". Reviews and videos keep saying this printer prints "good quality / detailed" if set right. But then I watch the video and am not OVERLY impressed. Are my expectations too high?

I understand there is a learning curve, and a bunch of settings, etc etc, to get the best print possible on any machine. And I don't mind learning as I go. But I don't want to invest time / money on a machine that may end up leaving me disappointed in terms of print resolution etc. Yet, I know the reality is, I have a budget constraint too.

So, anyway, if anyone has experience with consumer / home 3D printers (Not just the one I posted), and can share some experiences etc, that would be awesome!

Random story; I used to work at FigurePrints, printing WoW figures for Blizzard. Back then they used a powder material which was really expensive instead of plastics etc, and the figures came out in full color! It was a fun experience, but 3D printers / technology has come a long way since then!

Thank you guys in advance!

DragonChi · 06-22-2016, 07:12 PM

This site pops up a lot on my radar, https://www.3dhubs.com/

You could try local Universities, or BCIT, they'll probably have 3d printers to test out. I know someone that has a 3d printer, he seems to have lots of nozzle issues whenever I see him. I think he's got the deltaWASP.

Manic! · 06-22-2016, 08:19 PM

I have done a ton of 3D printing. Our makerspace has 9, 2 custom build delta's, 1 boots industry kit, 1 pursa kit, 1 powder printer we are building, 1 printerbot wook kit converted to metal and 3 Printerbot simple metal printers. We bought our first Printerbot Simple metal over 1.5 years ago and it has been rock solid. We have over 50 members and it is used everyday by different people who have there own settings. It's pretty simple to use once setup. Make sure you get the heated bed.

One of our members is a high school teacher who has build 2 Delta printer and has now bought a couple of printrbot simples for his school.

Checkout the Make magizine shootout: http://makezine.com/comparison/3dprinters/

http://printrbot.com/

You can check out some of our prints here: https://www.instagram.com/makerspacenanaimo/

Boostslut · 06-28-2016, 08:54 AM

Don't know anything about this, but there is the MakerLabs that has facilities to do 3d printing. Maybe check them out. I don't know the spec's on their machines though.

PuYang · 07-02-2016, 12:00 PM

Just wanted to give a quick update. I bought the FlashForge just now.

About a month ago when I was looking at it, it costed around 1500+ CAD (~1100? USD).

And it is now 1200 CAD on Amazon.ca, so I made the purchase.

Just wanted to thank you guys for the info etc. Those websites you guys linked are informative, and have given me more ideas and to see what people are doing etc etc.

So, thank you guys!

Manic! · 07-02-2016, 02:01 PM

Awesome. Whats the max temp of the nozzle? With the dual heads you should try printing with HIPS. It dissolves in Limonene. so you can do something like this:

seacans.com is the cheapest for filament and they are local but it's wound poorly so if you are not watching it can cross over and make a not cause the pint to fail. MG Chemicals and Bot feeder are both suppose to have high quality filament. MG is made in Canada and Bot feeder is made in Taiwan.

PuYang · 07-02-2016, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Manic!

Awesome. Whats the max temp of the nozzle? With the dual heads you should try printing with HIPS. It dissolves in Limonene. so you can do something like this:

seacans.com is the cheapest for filament and they are local but it's wound poorly so if you are not watching it can cross over and make a not cause the pint to fail. MG Chemicals and Bot feeder are both suppose to have high quality filament. MG is made in Canada and Bot feeder is made in Taiwan.

O____O!!, I never seen that before. I'll look into it. I'm not too familiar with a these tricks etc yet hahaha (hopefully will learn as I go).

I can't seem to find the max temperature info... I'm pretty sure I read it before somewhere. I have read too many different sites talking about printers, that everything is kinda jumbled in my head. Plus I'm not overly familiar with optimal temperatures etc. I've read that if printing on transparent filament, a lower temp produces a clearer finish, while hotter temps make it cloudy at the end. I need to do LOTS more reading in the next few weeks!

The older version (Creator X) apparently is around 260 degrees from what I've read. Not sure if this version (Creator Pro) has a different max temp.

EDIT: Ok, nvm, found it. Up to 280°C. More specs laid out here:
http://shop3duniverse.com/products/creator-pro

Manic! · 07-03-2016, 12:44 AM

280c is good you can print with Nylon and other exotic filaments with that. One cool trick is you can pause the print move the print head and change the filament. When you un pause it will start where you left off. I have done a 7 color print with a bunch of leftover fulfillment.

Manic! · 09-14-2016, 11:25 AM

So how is the printer running?

PuYang · 09-15-2016, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Manic!

So how is the printer running?

Hey! Thanks for asking!

This is gonna sound strange, but I haven't used it yet. It's sitting on my desk, assembled already.

I've been super swamped at work lately. So, when I get home from work, I sit my fat butt down and do nothing productive lol.

However, during this time, I modelled a few simple things to test the printer. Have a few ideas of what I want to print in the near future.

I will update you / this thread when I use it... hopefully this weekend. I honestly have no good excuse aside from laziness for not having used this printer yet o___o...

I also had a set back on the 3D software I use.

I use AutoDesk Softimage XSI mostly. Unfortunately, the geometry approximation for that program is different than most. It doesn't actually add geometry / subdivisions when smoothing round objects. So, now I have to export into a different program like Maya (or just make my models in Maya from the get go) to make round objects for printing.

PuYang · 09-20-2016, 04:30 PM

My FIRST print!

Obviously not too great, some things I still need to tweak.

Most of the settings were default on the Simplify3D software on High Quality. I made some minor adjustments only.

It's essentially a Keychain with a text based logo on it (my thumb is covering the circular hole).

I figured this object would let me test the sharp corners and resolution of the text. (It's not great, so I probably can't make it any smaller. Unless some settings can fix this).

The object is fairly thin, but still has the rectangular insides (forgot the proper term). The TOP surface probably needs to be adjusted to be THICKER, as right now, some of the underlying rectangular structure is showing through? (so the surface isn't perfectly smooth)

All in all, excited for my first print! Quality actually looks worse in the photo than by the naked eye. it has flaws for sure, but actually looks more forgiving in person.

Had some trouble removing it from my print bed though, as I did not come prepared xD

EDIT: second image is the 3D model. The Bevels aren't REALLY noticeable on the printed model. The printed model is just under 3 inches in length though, so it's pretty small. I'm confident that a larger print will show the bevel details decently.

PuYang · 10-08-2016, 03:14 PM

Sorry for the bump, I don't know how many people actually view this, but if anyone has suggestions on BRANDS of ABS filament, please let me know.

I am in the process of making more models for printing (to further test / learn tricks and techniques etc).

I am hoping to continue to use ABS for now, since that is what my printer came with (instead of using PLA). My printer came with RED and GREEN, which are "less desirable" for unpainted prints. I am planning to order Whites, blacks, maybe transparent/clear, and Glow in the dark (for fun haha).

Amazon.ca has tons of brands, and all priced similarly. I don't mind ordering a few colors from different companies. I wouldn't be surprised if they were all relatively the same in terms of reliability and quality. But if anyone has experience with one brand over the other, feel free to let me know.

Thank you in advance!

(Googling this was hard, as most results are comparing ABS with PLA etc. Not BRANDS of ABS with other brands). And some of the lesser known brands aren't even discussed.

EDIT: I've somewhat narrowed down to "MG Chemicals" from Amazon.ca. My sole reason for picking this brand is their page allows you to see and select all of their colors offered. So I can buy multiple colors from one page, instead of browsing through long lists finding the colors I want. AND they have translucent/transparent, which apparently some companies don't offer.