3d printing

[arnorway]

anyone else here interested in 3d printing? i have not done it yet, but i am seriously considering getting a printer. anyone got a printer recommendation for a beginner?

[Natacha]

I have no recommendation but I am interested too :-D

[InternetTeen]

I don't even get how it works.

[Tyler111]

My dad has two 3d printers. I don't know what models they are, but I could ask him and get back to you. He prints random little things and gadgets to help around the house, and I've had him print some small things for me too. It's pretty useful.

[abcdeqwe]

It takes forever to 3D print things
You also can’t 3D print anything too complicated
Plus 3D printers r really expensive. You gotta be pretty well off to be able to get one lol :rolleyes:

[Sailor Mars]

My school has two 3D printers. It takes houuurrssss to print things, but they come out pretty cool.

3D printers are expensive, and you’d have to know how to use 3D modeling and rendering programs in order to design and print something.

[arnorway]

i found one that is supposedly good (for it's price) and not bad for beginners: monoprice mini delta. think about getting it
the biggest worry is, like Sailor Mars said, the 3d modelling :P guess i have to learn that :yes:
RyanIsGay24 yes, i am a posh snob, get over it :rolleyes:

[Natacha]

Isn't there design files to download and print right away? I mean you don't have to redesign the Eiffeltower all over again to print a small model for instance?

[arnorway]

Isn't there design files to download and print right away? I mean you don't have to redesign the Eiffeltower all over again to print a small model for instance?

yeah, you can download lots of stuff on sites like thingiverse, already found that and also looked at cura, the program you need to make files that the printer can use. that's quite easy :yes:

[abcdeqwe]

i found one that is supposedly good (for it's price) and not bad for beginners: monoprice mini delta. think about getting it

That’s great! I’m happy that you are happy :)

[Jake445]

It's definitely neat and interesting and would make a good hobby! Getting into it isn't that cheap though so maybe a printer would make a good gift?

[cozoe]

My school has some and I'm taking a class next year that uses them for projects. I'm excited about trying them.

[PlasmaHam]

They're interesting. Last semester I took a course in engineering design, where we learned how to use 3D design software like Solidworks and applied that to design and print a multi-part 3D print project. My group did a mechanical music box, other groups did cars, action figures, and models.

This would be a difficult hobby to pick up, unless you have plenty of money and time. 3D printers and their plastics are expensive by themselves, and while there are a few opensource 3D design software, if you want anything good you are going to have to pay at least $100 a year to license it. If you have no prior experience, I would recommend you get involved in some 3D printing club at your school or elsewhere in your community. Would be a fairly cheap way to judge whether you really want to invest in something like 3D printing.

[Sailor Mars]

i found one that is supposedly good (for it's price) and not bad for beginners: monoprice mini delta. think about getting it
the biggest worry is, like Sailor Mars said, the 3d modelling :P guess i have to learn that :yes:
There are plenty of tutorials to learn AutoCAD, but it’s type expensive of a program. Another one is Rhino, which is more specifically geared towards 3D modeling, but is less used (because autocad is an easier program), and another one is Silo, not sure how many people use that anymore. Like PlasmaHam said, I recommend finding a club or something to join and learn, and that way you can use their resources instead of having to pay for everything yourself.

[arnorway]

They're interesting. Last semester I took a course in engineering design, where we learned how to use 3D design software like Solidworks and applied that to design and print a multi-part 3D print project. My group did a mechanical music box, other groups did cars, action figures, and models.

This would be a difficult hobby to pick up, unless you have plenty of money and time. 3D printers and their plastics are expensive by themselves, and while there are a few opensource 3D design software, if you want anything good you are going to have to pay at least $100 a year to license it. If you have no prior experience, I would recommend you get involved in some 3D printing club at your school or elsewhere in your community. Would be a fairly cheap way to judge whether you really want to invest in something like 3D printing.

There are plenty of tutorials to learn AutoCAD, but it’s type expensive of a program. Another one is Rhino, which is more specifically geared towards 3D modeling, but is less used (because autocad is an easier program), and another one is Silo, not sure how many people use that anymore. Like PlasmaHam said, I recommend finding a club or something to join and learn, and that way you can use their resources instead of having to pay for everything yourself.

thanks for the suggestion, but my school doesn't have a 3d printing club, nor do i know of any close by. didn't know about the modelling software, but found online based things like tinkercad, which is from the same company as autocad and free. also found youtube videos about it

[bonbon]

You can also try FreeCad. Pretty powerful, and totally free and opensource. I'm using it with a 3D printer we can use at school to print customized cases for electronic projects.

[arnorway]

when i got home today after school, there was the printer :yeah: dad had ordered it, and half of it is his, as he also wants to play around with it too. so parts of my allowance will be held back for a while, until i paid off my half. really cool :yes:
i am really psyched :woot: the first thing is already printing too :yes:

[bonbon]

Great!!! post results, I'm curious to see what you can get out of it!

[Gamer.]

I've owned a Monoprice Maker Select 3D printer. It is pretty cool to think of something useful, downloading it, and 8 hours later having it ready to go.
As others have noted, printing takes hours and hours but if you set it up and then go to bed, it is usually ready in the morning.

Monoprice actually has very good prices for printers, they are usually just rebranded name-brand printers that are much less expensive. The nice thing is that most printers can print their own parts and enhancements (to an extent)

[lliam]

It takes forever to 3D print things
You also can’t 3D print anything too complicated
Plus 3D printers r really expensive. You gotta be pretty well off to be able to get one lol :rolleyes:

Agreed. It's slow, but you can print even complicated stuff if you print in parts. we did it during a interdisciplinary college project called d-copter which means nothing else than a delivery drone.

Whether 3D printers are expensive, is probably dependent on what you define as expensive. Of course, there are cheap models and you can even build 3D printers yourself. Or you can order them as kits and j6st put the parts together.

Anyway, while the cheap ones are more like toys, I would not buy a 3D printer under $ 500. And even these printers aren't intended for semi-professional use, I guess. But you can still print complex things with them if you take some time and effort accordingly.



But what intrigues me personally are more those kind of 3D printers that you can use to print real houses, as a Chinese company already offers it.

This summer I may have the opportunity to watch a house be printed by a huge mobile 3D printer. And I'm really curious about it and eager to see that thing working.

Isn't there design files to download and print right away? I mean you don't have to redesign the Eiffeltower all over again to print a small model for instance?

There a lot of those files stored somewhere on the net. On youbtube I found links to them. eg, to print self made toys or musical instruments such as guitars.

[arnorway]

I've owned a Monoprice Maker Select 3D printer. It is pretty cool to think of something useful, downloading it, and 8 hours later having it ready to go.
As others have noted, printing takes hours and hours but if you set it up and then go to bed, it is usually ready in the morning.

Monoprice actually has very good prices for printers, they are usually just rebranded name-brand printers that are much less expensive. The nice thing is that most printers can print their own parts and enhancements (to an extent)

our first few prints were actually enhancements for the printer, like a filament guide or a better spool holder :lol3: