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I agree with most of your points. - I make CAD software for a living, so I've got a leg up when it comes to modeling. And I still absolutely find it a pain.

I agree with most of your points. - I make CAD software for a living, so I've got a leg up when it comes to modeling. And I still absolutely find it a pain. - Interesting feedback on being food-safe, thanks for the clarification. - Yes, I realize that it's much faster than other options. I guess I was just a bit naive. Still, I'd love to have a 3d printer that is even faster than, say, a Carbon3d printer. It would really speed up the cycle time. - When I first got started on the Rep2 makerware was using makerbot's C++ slicer for most models, and a Python-based slicer for high quality. The situation is much better now than it used to be. I've heard good things about slic3r. I have gotten better at designing so that supports aren't needed. I've also had some good luck with meshmixer's editable supports. - The rep2 nozzle is okay, it's the 5th gen replicator (after they were bought by stratasys) that has the horrible problems and is super expensive. Based on what I've heard, I wouldn't recommend buying a 5th gen makerbot.

kefka 11y ago
I do full stack myself, from electronics design, part design, software, and qa. I have an associates degree for drafting/3d design along side a specialty in plastics. My hunch was that thermoplastics was going to take off after the expiration of the patent in '09. Lo and behold... No, I would love a 3d printer that would only take seconds to make a part. However, with ABS, we're effectively limited to about a 200mm/s@.35mm is about the top end of printing. Obviously we can add in more hotends and other tricks, but the flow of ABS itself is the limiting factor. And about the supports, I've usually approached them more from a metal casting way. Making a sprue network isn't difficult; the only weirdness is to design the 'infill' in the STL, rather than let the slicer handle it. Because usually, I want a 5% rectilinear infill for the sprues and something better (say, 30% honeycomb) for the part. Ideally, I'm working on a way to delineate areas that I want different infill on slic3r. That would be pretty spiffy. Also, have you seen Antimony on the CAD front? http://www.mattkeeter.com/projects/antimony/3/ http://www.mattkeeter.com/projects/antimony/3/ Pretty neat idea, similar to the system in Blender.

kefka 11y ago

I do full stack myself, from electronics design, part design, software, and qa. I have an associates degree for drafting/3d design along side a specialty in plastics. My hunch was that thermoplastics was going to take off after the expiration of the patent in '09. Lo and behold... No, I would love a 3d printer that would only take seconds to make a part. However, with ABS, we're effectively limited to about a 200mm/s@.35mm is about the top end of printing. Obviously we can add in more hotends and other tricks, but the flow of ABS itself is the limiting factor. And about the supports, I've usually approached them more from a metal casting way. Making a sprue network isn't difficult; the only weirdness is to design the 'infill' in the STL, rather than let the slicer handle it. Because usually, I want a 5% rectilinear infill for the sprues and something better (say, 30% honeycomb) for the part. Ideally, I'm working on a way to delineate areas that I want different infill on slic3r. That would be pretty spiffy. Also, have you seen Antimony on the CAD front? http://www.mattkeeter.com/projects/antimony/3/ http://www.mattkeeter.com/projects/antimony/3/ Pretty neat idea, similar to the system in Blender.