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Comment by maratd | Hacker News Reader

> If you want a 3D printer and cash is an issue, look to building your own Reprap.

Or you can just buy a Solidoodle. I did.

http://store.solidoodle.com/index.php?route=product/product&...

I can firmly recommend the Solidoodle 2 - it came fully assembled about a month ago for just about what my housemate's RepRap Prusa Mendel cost him to build last year, and is only slightly less capable (mostly in that the build area is a bit smaller).

Me too. My Solidoodle 2 arrived last week and I've kept it busy. So far I'm very pleased.

The Makerbot 2 does look very nice and I like the high resolution and larger build area - but I'm holding out for one with dual extruders.

I like the photos of the solidoodle2 and the price tag. How is the end product? Some dudes in a local hackerspace built a reprap a while ago but that thing is nothing but disappointment... Head drift, ooze problems, constant maintenance. What's the most complex thing you've printed, if you don't mind me asking?

Over the last two months, it's been decent. I had ooze issues, but they were cured by removing water from my filament using an oven and a lot of desiccant.

As for head drift and maintenance, no head drift and almost no maintenance required. I had to level the bed as it wasn't quite right when I got it (UPS clearly smashed the package as always, though, so it was probably right when it was shipped).

I think the manufactured steel-frame approach that Solidoodle and MakerBot have taken is superior in many ways to the cobbled-together threaded rods/hardware approach that RepRap designs take - you pay more for a large build area, but it's easier to get decent strength and much less fiddly in terms of setup (no adjusting bolts to make rods line up and the like). Sure, you can't make a copy with just a hardware store and a 3D printer, but for the price and functionality difference, I'll deal with that drawback.

I've printed a couple of decently complex models and what I've found is that settings and filament matter a -lot- more than anything else. The print head goes where I want it to and the extruder pushes the amount of plastic I request through the nozzle - beyond that, it's all about making sure the filament isn't expanding too much in the hot end via high quality filament and making sure there is -no- water in it, and getting the slicer to request the correct amount of plastic at the right rate.

All very interesting, thanks for the detailed response. I'm pretty interested in setting up a fully-automated custom brewery/distillery so I've been looking into making a lot of custom fittings for piping and heat-exchanging. Thanks again

Looks like the Solidoodle is .3mm resolution vs .1mm resolution of the R2, and at roughly 25% cost.

EDIT: I originally said .3 vs .2 - but it is actually .3 vs .1 - so the R2 is much more fine. Still - $500 is a good price for this at all.

Can they both use the same filament?

> Can they both use the same filament?

If you get the heated bed option, yes.

I have seen on the Solidoodle forums that the Solidoodle has a .1 "mode" but I don't have the specifics. The Solidoodle website says, "It's possible to print hi-resolution parts at a layer height of .1mm, which gives top-notch looking prints".

The "resolution" numbers you're seeing are a red herring. The quoted number is the height of a layer that the settings shipped with the printer are good for, not the precision or accuracy of the print head. The X, Y, and Z resolution, as well as the extruder step size on a Solidoodle (and almost any other printer these days) is plenty good to print .1mm layers. The challenge in printing .1mm layers is that you're depositing a very tiny amount of plastic onto each layer, so variation like filament quality and moisture, temperature, and speed matters a lot more.

Check out RichRap trying out different "resolutions" (layer heights) on his MendelMax printer with a Wade's extruder here to learn more about how layer heights work:

http://richrap.blogspot.com/2012/01/slic3r-is-nicer-part-3-h...

Great link, thanks. My reprap-fu is a year stale and I hadn't noticed these guys. Seems like it's the printer the Cupcake should have been.

They seem to offer 3 models Base, Pro(+$50), Expert($+100) but no description I can find anywhere on the site.

That's because their website sucks. Store doesn't link to the main site. Try http://www.solidoodle.com/ for videos, blog, etc.

Actually it looks like I simply missed it description was below(I didn't scroll)

Base Model $499:

    Everything you need to print - just add a computer!
    Acrylic Build Plaform - good for doing small prints
    70W power supply
    Open design (no outer cover/door)

Pro Model $549:

    Heated Build Platform - allows you to build large prints up to 6x6x6" without bottom warping. 1/8" aluminum plate.
    Upgraded power supply
    Spool holder to hold filament (makes unattended printing much easier)
    Interior lighting
    Open design (no outer cover/door)

Expert Model $599:

    All the features of the Pro model plus an outer cover & front acrylic door to give your printer a finished look with clean lines

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