first 3d printer choices

[souvlakinator]

hi everyone, just have a question to help me decide which way to go as far a first 3d printer purchase. the context of the purchase is a machine shop in a medical hospital, we have a wide range of service from patient care to experimental research parts. at the moment we have our selection down to contenders we believe are a good combination of economy, quality and build size. those selections are the gMax 1.5xt or the raise3d N2 Plus FFF. thoughts and opinions on these products would be much appreciated to help us make a choice. to pair with the selection we are also looking into a 3d scanner to match. our price range for the scanner is between $1000 - $2000. suggestions? thanks so much for time and input.

[CADNinja]

Hi Sou. I can set you up with a UP Plus 2 paired with an Afinia ES360 Scanner. I can offer a support contract as well. Location is Texas. Super high resolution prints from the UP Plus 2. Great and easy to used software. I sell CAD software and might suggest Rhino as well. I offer this as a turnkey package. You can reach out to me via email at jeffopel@ncscompany.com

[Veloforge]

I would suggest you look at a Mark Forged Mark 2

printer. It is a little higher cost than you specify, but the carbon reinforced parts are very strong.

[cobnut]

Hi @souvlakinator, the gMax and the N2 are both interesting machines and tough to choose between (as you know!). However, given the choice I’d go for the N2 mainly because of the enclosed build area but also because I seem to hear more about the N2 (and good things) which, although a totally unscientific “gut feeling” is perhaps not a totally crazy reason.

The enclosed build area is really only important if you want to print materials prone to warp and delamination (such as ABS) but it may also have advantages in terms of cleanliness and safety, depending upon the environment it’s going to be placed in.

One of my favourite YouTube bloggers is Joel Telling and he’s reviewed both these machines, so if you haven’t already seen them, they’re worth a watch:

Raise3D N2+ 3D Printer Review - YouTube (N2)

gMax 1.5XT+ 3D Printer Review (from gCreate) - YouTube (gMax)

[AryaVenugopalan]

I myself, in a medical setting would go for an sls printer - but in these two objects the N2 is the way to go

[USDAAPPROVED]

I own the N2 Plus and it has performed like a champ right out of the box. I waited for the V2 hot ends so I think that helped ( this was for their Kickstarter, they’re standard now). Even convinced a coworker of mine to buy the same and he’s happy as well and prints strictly in ABS, where as I print primarily in PLA. So my vote is for the N2 Plus. I have a feeling ABS will be more of what you’ll use in a medical environment as it’s usually a bit more flexible (for situations where something might have to be snap-fit or installed and uninstalled multiple times).

As far as a scanner, a former coworker of mine bought the Einscan scanner back when it was a Kickstarter and he loves it. It’s turned out some beautiful scans of his small sculpts that he prints on his Form2 to make resin kits. http://www.einscan.com/shop $1199.

Here’s his site where you can see the kits made from scans: http://labestiastudio.bigcartel.com/products

Hope this helps!

[DeValkHub]

Hello Souvlakinator,

Maybe we can help you further with scanning and printing parts.

We have a GOM-scanning machine for more information about the scanner see: GOM Metrology

The materials we print are Titanium Grade 23 (Ti 6Al 4V ELI Alloy) or Stainless steel 316L.

If you are interested or have some more questions send a email to info@machinefabriekdevalk.nl.

For more information about the company see: Machinefabriek De Valk home and AddFab | 3D metals fabricated

Kind regards,

Machinefabriek de Valk

[big_ideas]

N2- plus definitely, we are a manufacturing company and we rely heavily on our machinery, and the N-series is the only printer built to make end user parts and print in virtually any filament. Highly recommended!