Hello,I am currently doing my finial year in the MYP program (the equivalent to Cambridge O’Level’s) and part of my finial examination is the successful completion of the personal project. The personal project is a project which gives students the opportunity to develop our personal interest and to show and apply the skills were learnt during the five-year program. For my personal project I decided to learn and write about 3D printing and use this knowledge to build my own 3D printer.
To complete this project, I am required to provide some first-hand information on 3D printers from those who have used it/use it. In this regard I humbly request your assistance in the form of answering the following questions:
What is your background in 3D printing? How long have you been doing it ? and what exactly does your business entail ?
What type of filament do you use and why?
Where do you source your replacement/ spare parts?
What type of 3D printers do you use: (Filament deposition modelling {FDM}, Stereolithography {SLA}, digital laser projection {DLP}, Selective laser sintering {SLS}, Polyjet etc)?
If you use Filament deposition modelling {FDM} which type of 3D printer do you use/ prefer Delta, Cartesian, etc?
If you use a cartesian 3D printer do you prefer the hotbed moving along the y axis like the Prusa i3 or the Z axis like the MakerBot? ,In your option is there any real difference?
Did you buy or build your 3D printer, if you build it (from scratch or a kit) what difficulties did you face and how did you overcome them?
What type of hotbed do you uses glass or aluminium and what do you use to make your prints adhere (painters tape, PEI, etc ?
What skills or knowledge do you think is necessary for me to be capable of building my 3D printer?
What do you think makes or breaks the printers print quality?
What are the main components of a 3D printer?
What effect has 3D printing technology had or will continue to have on your life?
Are there any specific sites or books that you’d recommend that could help me in my research?
