I was going to see if I could revive this discussion, but it seems Ron has beat me to it.
First off, I think we need to decide if we are looking to buy a fully assembled ready-to-print printer or if we could get away with a kit (possibly more than one kit, one for electronics, one for the Cartesian bot, one for the hot end etc.). I believe if we are willing to do some assembly then the money we've already raised is more than enough. If we want something that is ready to print we will pay a premium for it and we will likely have to raise more. I have built a printer and therefore know all the parts required and how to fit them together. I am willing to contribute my time and knowledge (for what that is worth) to assembling a printer from a kit but am unlikely to be the driving force as I am not the most motivated individual. If there is interest in building our own I can put together a preliminary rough estimate of the cost of the parts. As for the choices of printers, in my opinion the mendal max is the best choice. It was specifically designed to have a more rigid frame than other diy printers, which translates into better print quality. I also wonder if the Mendel max might not be rigid enough to also serve as a PCB mill. I don't like the idea of a closed source printer because then we are limited to what the manufacturer thinks we should do with the printer/software. Also, what happens when the manufacturer discontinues this product. I'm sure you all know the problems with closed source. As for the printrbot, I have read some forum posts that state the z axis isn't very stable and tends to move around a little while printing. This small amount of movement in the z axis likely accounts for the printrbots lower quality prints. Also, you want as much print area as you can get. No matter how much area you have it is never enough. On Mon, Jan 28, 2013 at 2:53 PM, Benjamin Bergman <[email protected]> wrote: > The Afinia looks nice, but I would prefer seeing an open hardware model. > Also, lack of Linux support for me is a killer. > > The Printrbot is a nice price, but the quality example in that review > looks kinda bad. > > MendelMaxPro looks like a good candidate. The resolution of the example > print isn't great, but the quality seems good. > > Another candidate, though a bit more expensive ($1600), might be the > Ultimaker http://ultimaker.com/ > > Review: > http://blog.makezine.com/review/make-ultimate-guide-to-3d-printing/ultimaker/ > > Pros > > - Open source > - ABS & PLA > - large print bed 8.3 x 8.3 x 8.3 > - ultra fast > - high resolution > - Mac/Win/Lin > > Cons > - quality reduced at top speed (extra hanging strands that need to be > trimmed) > - price > > > On Mon, Jan 28, 2013 at 2:07 PM, Ron <[email protected]> wrote: > >> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- >> Hash: SHA1 >> >> Hey guys, >> >> First off, we've raised exactly $1000 for the 3d printer. With people >> who said "I'm willing to put in $x.xx more if needed", we have $1200. >> That's $150 from our goal! >> >> That being said, Brian has some serious concerns about the printer we're >> looking at. Basically, it's not being made anymore, its wiki page is >> gone, you can't buy parts directly, and it's more expensive than some of >> the supported alternatives. >> >> Below, he outlines a few options that we may want to look at. >> >> I don't really have a clue in this, and I honestly only want a printer >> because I think others will get great use out of it (it's not something >> I'm particularly into). I'm happy to help campaign and to look after the >> pledges, but beyond that, you're on your own! >> >> So, check out the options below and let's have some discussion! If one >> makes a lot more sense, we'll get it, if there are multiple good >> options, we can vote or something amongst the people who pledged or >> everybody. We can figure out the details later. >> >> Ron >> >> - ----- Forwarded message from Brian Kulyk <[email protected]> ----- >> >> Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2013 13:07:15 -0600 >> From: Brian Kulyk <[email protected]> >> To: Ron Bowes <[email protected]> >> Subject: Additional options for 3D printer >> >> *Afinia H-Series* $1500 http://www.afinia.com/3d-printers >> >> Review >> >> http://blog.makezine.com/review/make-ultimate-guide-to-3d-printing/afinia-h-series/ >> >> Pros >> >> >> - Best in class ( $1000 - 2000 ) >> - Easy to print - automatic slicing >> - Easy to setup >> - Reliable >> - Most accurate in class >> - Won Make's "Best Overall Experience" >> - ABS & PLA >> - Better print quality >> >> Cons >> >> >> - Closed Source >> - Mac & Windows only >> - Small print bed - 5.5" x 5.5" x 5.3" >> >> >> *Printrbot LC* $799 Assembled ($549 kit) >> http://printrbot.com/shop/printrbot-lc/ >> >> Review >> >> http://blog.makezine.com/review/make-ultimate-guide-to-3d-printing/printrbot-lc/ >> >> Pros >> >> >> - Best in class (< $1000) >> - Open source >> - ABS & PLA >> - Very flexible - can be expanded >> >> Cons >> >> >> - Additional adjustments >> - Small print bed 6 x 6 x 6 >> - lower quality print than afinia >> >> >> *MendelMaxPro *$1295 >> >> Review: >> >> http://blog.makezine.com/review/make-ultimate-guide-to-3d-printing/mendelmaxpro/ >> >> >> Pros >> >> - Open source >> - ABS & PLA & PVA >> - Large print bend 9 x 10 x 7 >> - very fast >> - based on RepRap >> >> Cons >> >> - Relativly noise >> - lower quality print than afinia >> - considerable amount of tweaking a dialing-in >> >> >> Other printers and reviews: >> http://blog.makezine.com/volume/make-ultimate-guide-to-3d-printing/ >> >> - ----- End forwarded message ----- >> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- >> Version: GnuPG v2.0.19 (GNU/Linux) >> >> iEYEARECAAYFAlEG2nwACgkQ2t2zxlt4g/TTGgCgkfgwJ8bu8vA6eqABBGtvFdZe >> ausAoKbtpMIBjsLhc5a77nihvsIvlfMt >> =Z1UZ >> -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- >> _______________________________________________ >> SkullSpace Discuss Mailing List >> Help: http://www.skullspace.ca/wiki/index.php/Mailing_List#Discuss >> Archive: https://groups.google.com/group/skullspace-discuss-archive/ >> > > > _______________________________________________ > SkullSpace Discuss Mailing List > Help: http://www.skullspace.ca/wiki/index.php/Mailing_List#Discuss > Archive: https://groups.google.com/group/skullspace-discuss-archive/ >
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