I was just rounding off…and sounding off 
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Good info. The 3D printing process is very interesting, but wish I could think of a single thing I would use it for. That’s not intended to be a negative comment. I’ve seen them produce some cool stuff in the lab. Just haven’t been able to come up with a personal application. I can think of a thousand uses for a laser. And have been seriously considering a CNC. A CNC would have considerable application for complex builds. (The things I can’t do by hand or with standard wood and metal working equipment.) But the 3D printer application escapes me. Maybe I just need to think more.
I agree with you on this one. For me, it’s the materials. I just can’t get over the plastic look.
I have seen wood filament for them, but still not into that look.
You can make some neat things with 3D printers, as a quick browse through www.thingiverse.com will illustrate. For all but the simplest objects, though, it can take days or even weeks to finish a multipart projects and many more hours of finishing if appearance is especially important to you. It’s hard to beat for one of a kind designs, though, especially the ones you create from scratch.
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Just made a spout lid for a mason jar in the 3D printer this morning for filling the bird feeders - 10 minutes of 3D CAD, 30 minutes in the printer and it looks like a store bought molded part - problem solved in less then an hour.
They are extremely slow but I don’t find it to be a big problem as once the first layers are down they don’t need constant monitoring. Even on my little machine I’ve had prints run 12-13 hours. As long as it can chug along while I sleep or I’m at work we are good.
I agree that time is less of an issue since the 3D printer can run unattended. The downside to that is checking your print the next morning only to find a shifted layer, a warped large part (usually ABS for me), or a kink in the filament spool that has created a mess of spaghetti on your printer platform. That doesn’t happen very often on the better printers, but is sure annoying when it does. Then you get to print the part(s) again and hope that the problem doesn’t recur. My point is not to dissuade folks from using them but to encourage them to be aware of their limitations and to be realistic in their expectations. Making a print of something like the Millenium Falcon that looks halfway decent takes a fair bit of time and crafstmanship. For example it took me several weeks to print this model of a Toyota truck transmission from Thingiverse.
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Finding a good use for a printer when you already have a laser is the tricky bit.
3D printer is an additive process, so parts inside of parts is where it shines. For me this is most often magnets, screws, or other things which needed a housing. Sometimes figuring out how to embed a pre-existing object can be tricky.
The primary drawback on the laser is that it is 2D. So there will be some few cases where you cannot think of how to use 2D components to get the 3D final result you want. Then the printer comes back to value.
Due to the time for printing (and the frailty of the plastics in general), doing anything structural with a 3D printer tends to come up lacking. So I see a nice synergy in the two devices. Structure on the laser, and joinery/corners or other enhanced detail on the printer.
I hope it sticks, I kinda stole it from aviation were $1000= one aviation unit. “I just dropped three AU on my annual inspection of my plane.”
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Exactly. Same with a CNC router. Much of the time a part can be reimagined as a buildup of 2d parts but not always. I always have fun trying.
GFU’s I like it!
I need to get my wife a new car, but it’s going to set me back 14-18 GFU’s
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Love the transmission model - excellent!
Thanks for the heads up on the price alert. I pulled the trigger on the model one step up. And already placed orders for Prime delivery of the abs filament. Hard to believe CNET did a review a little over a year ago claiming the 800 price point. So 350 is a good point of entry if all goes wrong. Was looking at the printrbot but decided I’d go with monoprice for the better warranty and return policy.
I almost did the same “go with the next one up” but the ability to easily add a second head and slightly larger bed won me over. EDIT (Hmm… Why I thought it was bigger I don’t know)
I thought I saw that the bed could be upgraded to a heated one also but now I’m unsure.
Ah heck now I’m questioning my decision…
I think a heated bed is a necessary feature
Sorry. Did not mean to muddy your purchase. But the heated bed and metal frame were the factors I weighed heavily. And the fact that the Duplicator i3 (what this is rebranded from) has a large user base already and should be easy enough to secure parts for. That goes for the architect too. And if I want a laser cut wood frame I can whip one up once the Glowforge arrives.
I had the same thought on the frame.
I may call in the morning and switch my order. I think either way I’ll enjoy my purchase. Other than the heated bed (which I can upgrade to) and the additional height (z axis) I think my decision was right
Weigh in the cost of the heated bed and the metal cage and see if you can justify the extra 50$. For me I didn’t need to lay down two colors at once and if I do that is simple enough with clear pla and a can of spray paint or two.
I compared the three Monoprice models. It’s odd that they describe the low and high end models as capable of 0.1mm layer resolution, but say nothing in that respect about the mid-level model. I would hope that it, too, shares that spec.