My 3D Printer Experience

[Jumpy07]

Thought I would post my experiences so far with Solidoodle 3 3D Printer.... I know that a 3D printer is top of most Multi-Rotor wish lists.. so thought this might be useful..
I did the usual of trawling a lot of forums and reading as much as I could before taking the plunge and placing and order..

My considerations were... had to be well under £1000, good build size support, ready built, and have good user and manufacturer support.

Although building one was within my means, the time factor put me off...  so I looked at several ready built... there are some good off the shelf models @£1,400 but out of my budget..  .. also downside of some of these was that they use propriety filament..  or the build size was small..   In any case I settled on the Solidoodle 3, which is the third version of this printer... It's a good size.. can build up to 8" x 8" x 8".. In comes in a frame ready built, but no enclosure. @£760

I read as much as I could before the printer arrived...  which helped..
Whatever you think, 3D printers are NOT plug and play...  even though its assembled and tested before its sent out.. you can guarantee that you are going to have to do some tweaking  and adjusting once the courier company has chucked it about their van..

The Solidoodle 3, SD3 is connected to your PC via a USB connection.. and the PC must be on during printing.. and the printer cannot operate standalone..

The noob problems you tend to have.... And ones that I am experiencing are..

Prints not sticking to bed...  the bed on the SD3 is heated and has Kapton tape applied to it... this is supposed to make prints stick.. but I had issues.. looking at the forums.. most people convert to glass bed... and apply hairspray to it to make prints stick... (have now ordered one)

Unable to keep uniform heat .. or not enough heat... although the SD3 comes it a frame.. it has no doors or roof... so this will be my next upgrade.

Uneven print bed... there are adjustments to level the bed..  but you need an allen key... so the first thing most people do its print some knobs to make it easy..... have printed these.. and they are very neat..

The SD community is very good .. there are lots of free designs on thingiverse.com to upgrade certain elements of the printer.... This is what my SD3 has mostly been doing since I got it J.. cable management, better supports, cover brackets, Z bracket etc etc

There are lots of free files on Thingiverse.com and other websites...  the software I use is called Reptier  and this enables me to set the temperature of the printer head and plate.. calibrate the bed etc.. and also print etc

Now you cant just print files from thingiverse.com.. you have to "slice" them first..  Reptier has a plug in called Slic3r to do this... contrary to belief...  most 3D printers to not print solid parts... to save filament.. you can print webs etc and specify how much infill.. slicing sorts all that out... or should do.. but some files you need to manually edit.. (way too complicated for me at the moment.)

Also worth pointing out "overhangs" can be a problem..  the SD3 can print 45 deg overhangs..  but you really need supports to do major ones...  which entails modifying designs etc.. and introducing a web which needs cut out when complete..

I walked into 3D printers with my eyes open.. they are very much bleeding edge.. and do required a lot of tweaking etc to get the most out of them... I am only two days into this and have learnt a lot already... have had some great prints.. but have also had more bad ones .. guess will get better as I learn.

Prints can take a very long time...  7 hours for something that would fit in your back pocket... so my next upgrade to the SD3 will be a standalone print controller.. so I can turn my PC off..

3D printing is not that cheap..  electricity is a big part of the cost.. running the heaters etc... but also the filament is around £26 per kg. .. so don't think you will get rich printing stuff off and selling it J

In summary if you do buy a 3D printer.. make sure you have patience.. and recognize it will take a while before you get the best out of it... sounds like Multi Rotor';s in general..







Info on my printer can be found here
http://store.solidoodle.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=79

[Rafter]

Do you have to wear 3D goggles when your using it   

Peter

[Gaza07]

Very nice I will prob also want a gopro 3 case   

[Jumpy07]

Its very therapeutic and hypnotic to watch.. lol

[JT]

 Very cool indeed I';m ever so slightly jealous......

But where are the photos of what you have printed? Or better still a nice gopro timelapse of it doing its thing

[XH558]

Very cool indeed I';m ever so slightly jealous......

But where are the photos of what you have printed? Or better still a nice gopro timelapse of it doing its thing

+1 on that :)

[nub]

looked at them a while ago the reprap, makerbot etc etc there was one very interesting one though i';ve forgotten the name of it and worked slightly different by pulling the model out of a small pool of the material being used.

sure it was an open source kind of thing or something and they were looking for funding to get the printer into production or something.

anyways very cool tech and something i';ve love to have sitting around to play with on crappy windy days like today.

edit:

update went and had a wee search was doing my head in not remembering what it was called and looks like they';re actually selling the unit now, it was the Formlabs Form 1.

[Jumpy07]

Some bits so far...  printer has been working overtime printing bits for its self to upgrade its reliability..
Have also now moved to glass bed and am using hairspray to aid bonding and stop curling...  not totally cured but a lot better...



GoPro lens protector
Knob (for my boat)
Mount for ezUHF 8 channel lite
SMA Spanner
IMU mount for brushless gimbal
Vertical VTX mount for TBS frame
Camera housing for 38mm board camera.. (this is super lightweight compared to metal ones)
Oh.. and Vespa pen holder for my engineer mate lol

[barneyg]

Jumpy if I made a design for a Crius AIOP v2 could you print it ?

Edit : Just to be clear I was thinking you could sell them to members :)

[Jumpy07]

Yeah no probs... its not quick printing I have to say..   so low volume isn';t going to be cheap.. given time, electricity and filament.. but if u need something drop me an stl file and will have a bash  not looking to make money though.. just need to cover costs ..

Craig

[barneyg]

I';m working on the wife to get one :) ... Found a mendal prusa i3 with 8 x 8 print area kit for 600 dollars ... Needs a PSU and a sheet of glass for the print bed.  Includes a screen and a print controller.

[j45on]

Jumpy07 is that SMA spanner from thingiverse ?
If so I designed that 

[Smeagol]

Good informative post - thank you.

I had also considered one of these devices, but TBH I couldn';t think what I would have made that I couldn';t already on my CNC, even thought of adding a print head on to my machine, but didn';t think it would be worth the effort.

They are much slower than I thought, obviously the vids I have watched aren';t real time, although the part quality does look good in the samples you have shown.

I wonder how accurate the parts are, how round are the holes and are what are the limitations apart from overhangs etc.

I';ll be interested in your experience as you progress and gain more knowledge of the machine.

Thanks for sharing, most helpful.

[Paulham]

Nice one.

I';ve been looking at 3D printers recently. I found a guy selling the makerbot replicator unopened in give box for £1200. I just couldn';t justify emptying my pocket that much.

I had a go of using autocad and blimey. It';s not easy!!

Cheers
Paul

[Jumpy07]

Jumpy07 is that SMA spanner from thingiverse ?
If so I designed that 

Yeah its is lol..  very handy wee spanner.. thanx

[Jumpy07]

Good informative post - thank you.

I had also considered one of these devices, but TBH I couldn';t think what I would have made that I couldn';t already on my CNC, even thought of adding a print head on to my machine, but didn';t think it would be worth the effort.

They are much slower than I thought, obviously the vids I have watched aren';t real time, although the part quality does look good in the samples you have shown.

I wonder how accurate the parts are, how round are the holes and are what are the limitations apart from overhangs etc.

I';ll be interested in your experience as you progress and gain more knowledge of the machine.

Thanks for sharing, most helpful.

Its can create some very intricate parts....  overhangs over 45 deg are a prob.. but sli3r creates supports if required..

I have had issues with sizes..  ABS can shrink a bit.. so have had to scale a  few designs

I think you would get more use an quicker return from a cutter... but then again the printer can make a lot of parts it cant..       

[Brian]

printer has been working overtime printing bits for its self to upgrade its reliability..

You want to watch that! It';ll become self aware soon and take over the world!!

Brian

[teslahed]

I';ve just had some samples turn up;



It looks very impressive and the white camera stand should be quite useful - thanks Craig! 

[Smeagol]

I can definitely see benefits, would even help with some proto stuff that I could machine post print if necessary.

I think they are a way forward, but not just yet for me, unless I get a little windfall.

[barneyg]

The wife has surprised me ... I have a go ahead on getting one :)

Been looking at http://www.makerfarm.com/index.php/prusa-8-i3-kit.html which looks a nice kit for the money.

Now I';ve got the go ahead though I';m hesitating ... I';m not sure I can make use of this enough to make it even vaguely cost effective

[ChrisH]

Now I';ve got the go ahead though I';m hesitating ... I';m not sure I can make use of this enough to make it even vaguely cost effective

Did you think about that when justifying your multicopter? Go for it, a week or two on bread and water never hurt anyone! 

[Ross]

For their cost you REALLY  have to be able to justify it.  Making one or two items for yourself and a few friends does not justify the outlay and time.. Running one as a business is a different scene altogether.
 
I would put these in the "New on the block must have" category and then, after a while, they become unused..much the same as the home sized vinyl cutting machines( and the knitting machines for the girls).
It sits there...but spending money on your flying hobby is much more satisfaction.

OK I stand to be vilified for the above.     But ask yourself.   Do YOU really need one?

[barneyg]

For their cost you REALLY  have to be able to justify it.  Making one or two items for yourself and a few friends does not justify the outlay and time.. Running one as a business is a different scene altogether.
 
I would put these in the "New on the block must have" category and then, after a while, they become unused..much the same as the home sized vinyl cutting machines( and the knitting machines for the girls).
It sits there...but spending money on your flying hobby is much more satisfaction.

OK I stand to be vilified for the above.     But ask yourself.   Do YOU really need one?

This is the question I am asking myself :) ... I can think of a few one off items to make for my quad - possibly more if I get another quad.  I can think of making replacement parts for broken toys for the kids, and I can think of making custom models both for me (limited use) and the kids (if they used this as much as they currently use cardboard and tape then I could drown in plastic)

It is a really long stretch from this to "need" :)

[Jumpy07]

It would take a very long time to pay for itself...anything moderately useful takes hours to print..

That said..if you want some custom stuff for you multis then no argument..

I think a small cnc cutter would give better returns to start..

[barneyg]

I think a small cnc cutter would give better returns to start..

I assume you mean in terms of making things to sell ?

How about printing a dremel flexitool adapter for your 3d printer ?

[Tony Campbell]

I';ve just had some samples turn up;



It looks very impressive and the white camera stand should be quite useful - thanks Craig! 

3D printing that coffee cup stain was just a waste of material tho  ::)

[Smeagol]

Well you have had the 3d printer for a while now, it must be second nature to model and print things 

How are you getting on with it, any more photos of completed items.

I re read this thread tonight as I got the bug again about one of these, was looking at one of the prusa mendel diy build ones, looks a bit cornflake packet and pva glue though with loads of nuts and threaded rod.

The same question always flashes up "do you really need one" and the comment about it sitting gathering dust makes a lot of sense, but I like to tinker and build, perhaps it';s time I got the quad fpv finished instead  :embarrassed