4 ms·

I was extremely high on buying a 3D printer, and then I read this post: http://chopmeister.blogspot.com/2014/08/sifting-through-features-or-guide-to.html?m=1 ht

by vqc 12y ago

I was extremely high on buying a 3D printer, and then I read this post: http://chopmeister.blogspot.com/2014/08/sifting-through-features-or-guide-to.html?m=1 http://chopmeister.blogspot.com/2014/08/sifting-through-feat... I think I'm going to wait a while before buying.

jfoutz 12y ago
I bought a cupcake back when they were kits. It was fun to build. Soldering my own stepper drivers was kind of cool. They were a great step between nothing and full DIY. I feel like i could build one from scrounged parts now. It's not a good printer. belts slip, hard to keep the heat consistent or even know what a good heat is for a given model. i can futz around with it for a couple of hours and then get good prints for a while, but any downtime and i forget all the special little tweaks to get a good print. I probably have around a 1 to 2 ratio of successful prints to failures. Fundamentally, the thing that's holding back 3d is the design software. openscad is great for what it is, but it's not like amazing. Desktop publishing really take off till mom could print a banner on the old dot matrix. Something like Broderbund's Print shop pro. Heck, a clip on my dishwasher broke. it was way easier to just order the part. I still feel a little guilty about not printing up a replacement, but it would be dozens of hours for a $10 part. They are a fun toy, i'd recommend going reprap or something and just figuring out how to make one. Actually doing useful work with one (even a cheap commercial one) would require a lot of discipline and willingness to fiddle with things. If you just want one to design your own parts, hit up shapeways or one of the alternatives. send them your dxf get a thing. it's cool. Regardless, diy or outsource, I'll bet you a nickle the design software is what holds you back. Blender is awesome, but not easy. openSCAD is awesome but not easy. etc...
- D_Alex 12y ago
  > it would be dozens of hours for a $10 part. Yes, but then you upload the design to Thingiverse or similar, and it becomes 30 minutes (plus printing time) for the rest of the world. And 30 mins may in itself be unjustifiable to save $10... but ordering the part online will probably take time too...

by vqc 12y ago

jfoutz 12y ago

I bought a cupcake back when they were kits. It was fun to build. Soldering my own stepper drivers was kind of cool. They were a great step between nothing and full DIY. I feel like i could build one from scrounged parts now. It's not a good printer. belts slip, hard to keep the heat consistent or even know what a good heat is for a given model. i can futz around with it for a couple of hours and then get good prints for a while, but any downtime and i forget all the special little tweaks to get a good print. I probably have around a 1 to 2 ratio of successful prints to failures. Fundamentally, the thing that's holding back 3d is the design software. openscad is great for what it is, but it's not like amazing. Desktop publishing really take off till mom could print a banner on the old dot matrix. Something like Broderbund's Print shop pro. Heck, a clip on my dishwasher broke. it was way easier to just order the part. I still feel a little guilty about not printing up a replacement, but it would be dozens of hours for a $10 part. They are a fun toy, i'd recommend going reprap or something and just figuring out how to make one. Actually doing useful work with one (even a cheap commercial one) would require a lot of discipline and willingness to fiddle with things. If you just want one to design your own parts, hit up shapeways or one of the alternatives. send them your dxf get a thing. it's cool. Regardless, diy or outsource, I'll bet you a nickle the design software is what holds you back. Blender is awesome, but not easy. openSCAD is awesome but not easy. etc...

D_Alex 12y ago
> it would be dozens of hours for a $10 part. Yes, but then you upload the design to Thingiverse or similar, and it becomes 30 minutes (plus printing time) for the rest of the world. And 30 mins may in itself be unjustifiable to save $10... but ordering the part online will probably take time too...