On Thursday, 26 April 2018 17:01:18 UTC+1, Nightjar wrote:
On 26/04/2018 16:16, dennis@home wrote:
On 26/04/2018 12:34, Nightjar wrote:
On 25/04/2018 14:23, David wrote:
Having just read an interesting "What I did with my 3D printer"
thread, I
wondered which 3D printers DIYers used, and why.

A quick look online seems to show printers in the £200-£400 range so
there
would have to be a significant saving to cost in for making one off
parts.

I can understand the "Uh, duh, because 3d printing!". Just wondering if
anyone has cost justified a purchase on the savings over buying stuff or
throwing away something as unrepairable.

Anything I've seen in that price range seems to have quite poor
resolution. I would put them in the because I love gadgets category.



The ~£99 ones ebay have the same resolution as the £1000 ones in general.

I was thinking more of something like the Ultimaker 2+, which is nearer
two grand.

You only get a significantly better resolution when you go for a resin
printer using a laser and UV resins.

I would expect a 0.4mm nozzle and 0.2mm layer height even from a £99
printer and you can probably replace the nozzle with a 0.25mm one.

I've not seen any that offer better than 350-400 microns layer height.
The Ultimaker 2+ can get down to 20 microns and includes a 0.8mm nozzle.
It will also work with much more useful materials than PLA, such as ABS,
nylon and polypropylene.

yes that's more like it, glad someone knows a little more about 3D printers as most don't seem to realise the number of differnt plastics and their properties and then compare the stated 'accuracies' and what is actually achievable.
Wil a £99 printer you'd get reasonble results printing out low quality christmass cracker toys and the like, won't even achieve the quality of £1 shop stuff.
But 3D printers are fun and they will get cheaper it's similar to how colour printers were back in the mid 90s you';d need to spend quite a few £100 to get a decent photo printer now they can be brought for £30 and are better quality.

3D printers are fun if you have the time and patience.
I'd want one with at least 2 heads if not 3 and the ability to print more than just one type of plastic, and presntly I'd expect to pay between £600 & £1,500
but as yet I don't really have a good use for one.