Considering a 3D printer

Since it is Monoprice it’s probably a safe bet. It looks good for the price. But despite the “works out of the box” claim, it’s likely still fidgety to some degree. It might be better to have a printer that has a big community behind it, for better support.

Personally, I am with @pdobrien – I am waiting for an SLA printer. A plastic pooper like this Monoprice is a pretty neat tool, but resin printers look like freaking magic. I’m holding out for magic.

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Although, when you watch it happen in real time it’s less magical. Very very slow magic :slight_smile:

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haha. Although newer ones like The Slash (out in PRU right now - I still await mine) can move quicker (People are reporting 400sec/cm at 0.2mm layers, or 8000sec/cm at 0.01mm) due to active cooling. And obviously as you move up in cost to the Carbon and others you can get insane speeds… Here is the Uniz Slash speed test (190mm/hr of a vase)

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Not bad! Is it me, or is the completed part of the vase flexing when it’s pushed onto the bottom of the tank? I’m thinking that could throw things off.

I believe that is the “peel” operation. Having seen people’s (PRUs) completed prints, they are pretty amazing.

Ah, makes sense. It’s hard to tell from the time-lapse.

Watching peel operations always seems like the printer is breaking… (the tray drops precipitously on one side…)

I went with this resin printer. Excited to try resin for the first time.

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You not helping me making a choice. :slight_smile: :wink: :sweat_smile:

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I swear every time I come to this forum I bookmark 2 other CNC tools!! YOU GUYS ARE KILLING ME.

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Sorry aboutthat. Of course it’s another crowd funded project so there is that to consider. :wink:

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When I first saw the video I thought that vat of resin is way to small for stereo lithography (which I got to see 20yrs ago). I had no idea it printed upside down! Amazing!

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ha ha . No worries. After last nights announcement. I am happy.

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I had backed the Monoprice mini delta for an October delivery ($170 including shipping) but just today they released a couple new bundles. I was able to cancel and re-back the $199 bundle which includes 2 spools of filament, for an August delivery. Not bad for $30 extra.

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Yah I watched the video on it today. At that price there is little reason not to get in the game. I really enjoy my Monoprice Dual, although it is a bit of overkill.

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There’s a terrifyingly cheap ($98) printer on KS now; it’s being built by some of the DigiStump people, though, so they might actually know what they’re doing…

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My Monoprice Dual went down last night. I had repaired a cable earlier while rushing to complete a large print job with a deadline, and wrapped the repair with 3M electrical tape. It got hot, uncoiled and promptly jammed itself in one of the gantry bearings. At least its an easy fix!

The original repair was due to cable fatigue, a wire had broken inside the insulation. I need to get a cable chain!

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I just ordered the Monoprice Select Mini V2. For the price I couldn’t pass up trying out this 3d printing thing, even if the machine fails pretty quickly. However there are a ton of fix videos and tips on this machine so if I need and want to most of the common fail points are fixable.

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I have a lot of troubles with fine “strings” all over the projects when I use PETG…that drives me absolutely nuts.

Tip: Aqua Net hair spray helps prints stick to glass beds. Easy cleanup: alcohol on a paper towel. Much easier than blue tape on the print bed and stuck to the bottom of a print.

I use PLA a lot because most of my prints are “indoor residents” and rarely see the “light of day”.

When I use ABS the smell is what the family complains about. It is difficult to get it to stick and not peel up on the corners slightly. Have found that the BuildTak works pretty good for adhering prints to the bed. Be careful pulling them off using a spatula/straight edge as you can pierce the BuildTak and then have to print in different areas that are not damaged. Getting that BuildTak off is a bear.

After building a Prusa several years back, then an Oni (local designer/maker), I have converted to Ultimaker and absolutely love the brand!! Our Makerspace owned over 26 3D printers at one time so we got to know a wide array of printers. Ultimaker has been the least fussy and most reliable that we found. They bought an Ultimaker 2 which we upgraded to a 2+ and get good prints with it. Personally we bought an Ultimaker 3 which has a dual extruder. We can print in 2 color or one color and PVC (water dissolvable support material) in the other. They also make an extended Ultimaker which prints taller prints.

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Use ASA which essentially is abs without the smell. I use the e3d asa and it’s got a gorgeous satin finish.

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