Electronics > Beginners
Buying 3D printer
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metrologist:
I checked there briefly, and another cloud. Do your designs become open source on the cloud? I'll probably try it anyway as I have a CNC mill that should be working.
Mechatrommer:

--- Quote from: exe on August 16, 2018, 01:49:51 pm ---
--- Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on August 16, 2018, 01:35:28 pm ---3D printed enclosures usually look terrible

--- End quote ---
I disagree, square flat surfaces 3d printers do quite well.
PS took 10-12 hours to print it. FDM printers are not particularly fast.

--- End quote ---
that (picture) looks terrible. admit it, i own 3d printer and happily print whatever i desire, and then post processing however i think necessary to my satisfaction, esp weird shape or custom enclosure that is not available in off the shelf market or super expensive to get, but 3d printer only suitable for prototyping or a one-off. if you are thinking selling in mass a 12 hours print per unit, let alone polishing it, you are shooting yourself in the foot. for squared enclosure i still prefer buying off-the shelf, ebay or something and size my project to fit. there is a guy here selling his product in 3d printed "squared" box, lets see how long he will stand by the idea. anyway, ymmv.
tggzzz:

--- Quote from: metrologist on August 16, 2018, 06:13:43 pm ---All talk about the printer, but that is useless without some design to print. How do folks actually create the design, particularly complex designs?

Isn't that most significant aspect of this, and the most difficult hurdle?

--- End quote ---

That's a good point. The answer depends on what you are trying to create. The tools for creating a head as shoulders bust are different to those for creating a box.

For creating a box, I'd use a declarative computer language where the various dimensions can be specified by parameters p assed to functions. See  OpenSCAD for example.
Nominal Animal:

--- Quote from: tggzzz on August 16, 2018, 09:17:58 pm ---For creating a box, I'd use a declarative computer language where the various dimensions can be specified by parameters passed to functions. See  OpenSCAD for example.
--- End quote ---
Me too. (Although I'd say "OpenSCAD implements a declarative language for defining solid geometries"; it amounts to the same thing.)

I'd really need a small, cheap, quiet, accurate 3D printer I could use for printing small mechanical structures in PLA.

As an example, I've designed a camera dolly for a friend (for GoPros, or cellphone cameras; so palm-sized lightweight devices, not pro gear). The camera stand moves on a linear axis, with the camera holder rotating, both controlled by a small microcontroller reprogrammable via USB.  I'd really want it to have a pan-tilt mount. The forces involved are really small, but I'd like to eliminate any backlash. To do so, I can easily pair cheap geared steppers. However, the stability and usability depends on size and final center of mass, and so practical experimentation is needed. I'm currently limited to wood sticks, Technic Legos, and hobby clays for modeling... When I know the type of the brackets, I can create them in OpenSCAD, obviously, and get them printed even in metal. But for the experimentation, a 3D printer would be nice.

Unfortunately, I can't currently afford a good one (like Prusa i3 even in kit form), and I don't want to risk getting a cheapie that simply cannot produce dimensionally accurate prints. I don't mind spending time to fiddle with the device to calibrate and adjust its performance, though. (I do prefer the new Trinamic drivers, as they significantly reduce the stepper noise.)

Any suggestions to this particular use case?
brucehoult:

--- Quote from: Nominal Animal on August 17, 2018, 12:56:57 am ---I'd really need a small, cheap, quiet, accurate 3D printer I could use for printing small mechanical structures in PLA.

--- End quote ---

There's no such thing.

If you can't afford a Prusa then you can't afford a practical and useul 3D printer. Even the Prusa is fiddly. For most people who just want something that works I'd recommend an Ultimaker 2 or 3. They cost much more.
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