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Aug 2015
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Downtowndisney
Aug '15

Hi,

I am a library media specialist in Pittsburgh, PA. We are just putting the finishing touches on our new makerspace, and one of our final pieces for purchase is a 3D printer; this was left for last, as technology changes so much.

While we do have a budget for the printer, I don’t want to spend much over 3k when all is said and done (PLA, support, warranty, etc.). I will be working with 6th-8th graders on the machine; however, I do not have much experience (I’ve watched people use 3D printers, but never gone at it myself).

So, here are my requirements:

1) Ease of use; plug and play is not necessary, but it would be excellent.

2) ABS vs. PLA; we currently have a uPrint SE in the building, so having a machine that accepts ABS would be great, but not required.

3) Simplicity. I want something that kids (and I) can actually use and not have headaches with.

Where I stand…

I was all set to get the Ultimaker 2; however, the Zeus all-in-one by AIO Robitics is very intriguing, as it would get the kids engaged immediately with the scanning.

Honestly, I am not married to either of these machines; however, they both looked good for my purposes.

If you have an opinion on which of these would be better suited for our needs or have another (better?) recommendation, please let me know.

Thank you so much for all of your help!

Have a magical day.

  • created

    Aug '15

  • last reply

    Jul '16
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loganj13
Aug '15

Hi, I’m lucky to be a highschool junior who has experience with a few different 3D printers. I have lots of experience with the Ultimaker 2, the Makerbot Replicator 2, and the Printrbot Simple Makers kit. I am not a fan of the Ultimaker 2 at all, I’ve probably had over 200 hours of prints in the last year, and very few were on the Ultimaker 2, because it fails so often and was unrealiable. The Makerbot Replicator 2 is a better option, however I have still had to take it apart at my school atleast half a dozen times to fix little issues. The Printrbot machines are good quality, however they are very low end. They do their job well, but the results you can expect are poorer quality. I would reccomend checking out either a Felix Printer, or my personal choice, a Rigidbot. I’m saving up for a Rigidbot right now for a few reasons. For most prints on a MB Rep2, I print at 40-50mm/s. A Rigidbot can print at 80mm/s and have just as good, if not better quality prints. It has a 10x10x10 inch heated build plate, and can be upgraded later to a dual extruder among other things. The best part: the kit to build the Rigidbot (the build is not like that of a Printrbot where there are dozens of issues and steps a frustrations along the way. It’s more of just assembling the frame and plugging it in.) is only $580 and I believe that includes CONUS shipping. So you could buy two of them, and 20-30 rolls of filaments and still come out spending less that you would on a Makerbot or Ultimaker 2. The U2 I use, as well as the 2 MB Rep2s are in my school’s makerspace. One of the biggest issues I’ve seen is when people who are cleared to use the printers don’t really know how they work and don’t remember what to do, and accidentally damage, clog, and mess up things. I think it would be a great way to start the kids off then to build the machines with them. Unlike with a Printrbot kit, from everything I’ve seen the Rigidbot build process is very straight forward, and would be easy for a few adults supervising interested kids. It helped my understanding of 3D printers immensely when I built my Printrbot Simple Makers Kit (I did custom upgrades to make it about the same build volume as an Ultimaker 2, and similar if not better quality prints, all for $700). Hope that helps!

scottassoc
Aug '15

Check out Afinia. Their machines have won numerous awards from Make Magazine, are bullet-proof, and they have a dedicated Education sales channel that has curriculum options. They also have phone support, which is rare.

All of of their models print with ABS and PLA.

AlGoreRhythm
Aug '15

Awesome! As a middle-schooler and a 3D-Design/Printing aficionado myself, I have been loving my Printrbot Simple Metal. It’s essentially plug-and-play, and the few minor issues it had were easily fixed. It comes as a PLA only printer, but can be upgraded to an ABS + PLA Printer pretty easily (which would be a pretty good project for kids new to 3D Printing!) My second choice when purchasing my 3D Printer was the Ultimaker 2 Go, but I thought it was a bit too much more expensive for only slightly better printing.

I’d say either one of those is a safe bet for a new makerspace. Also, it’s really cool to see that some schools are building makerspaces like this, I’m really jealous! :stuck_out_tongue:

11 months later
UnionNine
Jul '16

@loganj13 Did you end up buying and building a Rigidbot yourself, and can you comment on how it went if you did?

It sounded like you’re comparing your experience with the other two machines with a machine you didn’t have in-hand at the time, so I wanted to know if you had in fact experienced all the machines you were evaluating/discussing.

Thanks!

loganj13
Jul '16

I actually did end up getting a rigidbot. I like the machine, however small things have had issues and to be frank there is 0 customer support. However the community on google plus is very helpful. If I were in your shoes and had the money, I would buy a Lulzbot. They are great quality and there are spare parts available in the US and they have good customer service I believe. I dont personally have one but recently convinced my school to buy one.