Looking at 3D Printers, Need Ideas

[Terabyte2007]

I have been looking at 3D printers for a while now. There are quite a few to choose from. I have narrowed it down to these two. Any ideas on other units? Recommendations?

1) FlashForge 3D with Dual Extruder - http://goo.gl/B369CW

2) Afina H-Series - http://goo.gl/FfPJ7n

I just wonder if a 3D printer in this class will have the accuracy and resolution to be useful in small scale low production pieces.

[krenzo]

I just ordered the FlashForge, and it'll arrive next week.  There's a place that sells it for $950.

[Rigby]

I just wonder if a 3D printer in this class will have the accuracy and resolution to be useful in small scale low production pieces.

3D printing in general is not really suited for any type of production work.  It can be done, but I've found that prints of different things require a whole lot of trial and error in terms of finding the best way to actually do the printing.  Knowing what kind of build platform will work best is a damn art, for example.  Though, with ABS you're pretty limited in choice, there.  Depending on the shape or size of a piece I print on my MakerBot, the best print will be on acrylic, polycarbonate, copper sheet or steel sheet, each with or without a painters tape layer on top.  They all have different adhesion and temperature compensation properties, which can mean the difference between the PLA I use warping or not, or the printed part being easy to remove, or not. 

Once I get it dialled in, though, I find myself not printing much else for a while.

[Sigmoid]

Is it just me, or the Afinia is a millimeter-accurate knockoff of the UP Plus?! xD (and the FlashForge 3D looks suspiciously like an Ultimaker...)

Anyway, it would seem that the production viability of 3d printing depends very much on the software used - probably a lot more than the hardware. These small-scale FDM printers are pretty much beta products, using one means a lot of experimentation and trial-and-error. Still, I do know people who have been using homebuilt RepRaps for printing device enclosures, controls and similar, for small-scale production use.

[free_electron]

afinia and Up1 are one and the same thing

[chris0822]

I have been using a first generation Ultimaker for about 8 months now and I have nothing but good things to say about it.  With any 3D printer you are going to need to tweak the settings for different objects and materials.  Even the $30k Stratasys printer I use at work fails on a print occasionally.

That being said, my Ultimaker is as close to send and forget as I imagine any consumer level 3D printer can be after learning how to configure it before a print.  Ultimaker's Cura software is also very nice to use compared to the other open source slicing tools I have tried.  From what I understand, Afinia uses its own proprietary software that you are forced to use as the printer doesn't take standard G-Code.

As far as production goes, for very low volume, 3D printing could be viable.  You have to understand that a high quality print could take at least 8-10 hours depending on the size of the part.  The advantage would be the ability to iterate on a product without making new molds.

[Terabyte2007]

I have been using a first generation Ultimaker for about 8 months now and I have nothing but good things to say about it.  With any 3D printer you are going to need to tweak the settings for different objects and materials.  Even the $30k Stratasys printer I use at work fails on a print occasionally.

That being said, my Ultimaker is as close to send and forget as I imagine any consumer level 3D printer can be after learning how to configure it before a print.  Ultimaker's Cura software is also very nice to use compared to the other open source slicing tools I have tried.  From what I understand, Afinia uses its own proprietary software that you are forced to use as the printer doesn't take standard G-Code.

As far as production goes, for very low volume, 3D printing could be viable.  You have to understand that a high quality print could take at least 8-10 hours depending on the size of the part.  The advantage would be the ability to iterate on a product without making new molds.

Thanks, good to know!

[hagster]

Dual head extruders are really useful. Thus means you can build supports in a different material that can be dissolved off .

Also a heated platform is an essential.

The dirt cheap RepRap Ormerod is well worth a look.  Iv'e seen it running and the results are really good (for a FDM printer). It has a heated bed and space for additional print heads. Plus you can buy 4 of them for the cost of the Flashforge which increases your production throughput a bit. Edit- that said it is a new kit and it has a few teathing troubles that requires a bit of tweaking.