I am new here and I am pretty new to the 3D printing world. All my experience is just ordering same parts at Shapeways and talking to some colleagues.
We are interested in getting a 3D printer in my department. We have had a look into technologies and prices. My question is about what makes different a printer from another.
For example, what is the difference between a Makerbot Replicator and a 3D Prusa I3 P3Steel. The first one is close to 3500 euros and the P3Steel, with some good components, around 600.
What makes the Makerbot more expensive? Ok, the Makerbot design and finishing is of course better and more professional. But what about the quality of the print-outs?
One can print PLA and ABS in both printers, the quality (roughness/detail) of the parts are similar, maybe the printing time is different?
In the place where I used to work they had a 3D dimension of 30k€, this was years ago, maybe now the prices are lower.
My point is what makes a printer better than other? what parameters/properties does one have to look at when choosing one?
thank you
PS: of course I understand that higher price is not a synonym of higher quality, but they “should” go together
There are a few things to consider with 3D printers. One is the layer height or resolution, which is the height of each layer which is being made. The lower this is the higher the resolution. 100 microns is a good quality at 0.1mm layers, but some printers go to 20 microns (0.02mm). Another thing to consider is the print bed and volume. The smaller models (10cm x 10cm) are far cheaper than a bigger printer (20cm x 20cm). A feature to look out for is the heated bed which generally cost more, but they lower the amount of warping. If you are unsure, then warping is when the edges of a model curl at the bottom. This happens more with a large prints. Many other feature like Wi-Fi enabled and touch screen are just for your personal use. To me these are a wasted cost, but others may like the additional features. Finally the amount of nozzles and scanner capability may persuade you. Some printer come with two or even three nozzles, meaning you may print with more than one colour and the 3D scanners allow you to copy an existing item and print it. Depending on what the printer will be used for, depends on what feature to looks out for. Sometimes certain printer can be virtually identical, but the branded ones cost more as they are more recognised.
I’d advise looking at what the printer will be used for and what you want to achieve from it, then have a look, matching features to what you need. Extra features may be an added bonus or an extra cost. When you find a few printers compare price with the features and what software comes with it. Some printers have free software, where others you have to buy it separately.
Sorry this is a bit long but I hope this helps. Good luck with finding the printer and have a great time with it. Its all one big learning curve, but it is usually better to ask on here if your unsure of something.
Take a look at the trendreport of 3D hubs, by searching in talk.
Itall depends on what you are going to do with it, I run Leapfrog HS which has a pretty large build volume and can print almost everythindg from 0,1 mm to 0,25 mm thickness . with various printspeed installation and dual color
We build many prototypes or small setups (for testing electronics…), so a 3D printer would be better than making drawings and bringing the parts to the mechanical workshop.
The 3D Prusa I3 P3Steel can easily print 100 microns layers, and I understood with a good calibration 20-40 microns. Also we can use two extruders, scanner and we want to implement a laser to cut thin foils.
About the warping the setup we have made with the Prusa includes a heatbed
I don’t see any reason to buy a Replicator over a Prusa.
The Leapfrog HS looks also promising, because of the speed, it is also around 3000 euros. Johnsaen, apart from the speed, why do you like the leapfrog better than Prusa?
(sorry for insisting so much with the same question)
Be very careful of your expectations for the use case you are discussing. I’d strongly suggest that you try out the workflow with one of those colleagues’ 3D printer you’ve been talking to and see if it really is going to do what you expect with the class of printer you are discussing. You need to account for the time it takes to create the 3D model, deal with the limitations of 3D printing (overhangs, support, hole shrink, warping, etc.), wait for the printer (0.5hrs for tiny -> 24hrs for really large), failed prints, and design iteration. Also remember the maintainance these machines require - despite some claims, they are not designed to be robust, reliable, it-just-works affairs. They require tweaking and adjustment and fiddling and repair and practice to get great results. You aren’t going to just sketch out anything you want, flip the power switch, hit print, and get it out an hour latter. Depending on the volume of items you have and the cost of the labor to run this printer in your group (yes, even your time costs) you may be much better off sticking with the machine shop (good machine shop can make you anything), Shapeways (they can afford a variety of MUCH better printers to fit a wide range of needs than you’ll be able to have in house), or 3D Hubs (they live and breath their 3D printers and if one is full or down, there are others). Love my 3D printer, but I wouldn’t count on it for my job. If I was looking at that, I’d have spent several thousands more for a professional machine that is more reliable or found a good local shop I can depend on.
Agree, but not what I’m talking about. The learning curve is an investment, but most people new to 3D printing tend to have this vision of doing a quick sketch and having the printer reliably turn out exactly what they drew when the reality is that there is alot more restrictions and iteration to get the part you need - especially at the sub $5000 level. For a hobby, it’s not a big deal, but in a business you need to go in eyes wide open so you don’t over promise on the return.
Johansen, thanks for the details, your list was nice to discuss with a colleague, your printer really gets 300mm/s?
I was really expecting not to play around with the printer. I am surprised about the fact that I’ll have to set it up very often. I’m happy to mount it and play with it, but in a long term we don’t want to spend much time tightening screws…
In the review of the Prusa Steel here in 3D Hubs, one can read as a “con” the printing quality. What does it mean? what is this quality ? If the layer thickness is the same, isn’t the quality of the part the same?
Which printer would you recommend for a more professional use? over $5000
For functional protoyping i won’t recommend this ?
About the print speed, that is possible , yes
My printspeeds however are 10000 mm per min if I want a fast print, and if I want detailed prints is use a speed of 6000 mm/min so 100mm sec
Printing quality is the capabilty to print detailed objects, But thats all in the hand of the user to fine tune printsetting with the software’and the capability of the slicer software to do that!
Printing is fun but you’ll have to invest in adjusting settings, even another producer of filament can have an impact on your printsettings and quality of the print
