New 3D printers that cost less than $500 | Hacker News Reader

New 3D printers that cost less than $500

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44 pointstjaerv16 comments

Interesting attempt to capture the low end of the market. As a Replicator owner (and a "Cupcake" user) the things that make for a good 3D extrusion printer are rigidity, flow control on the extruder, a heated build platform, and most importantly moderated air flow. All of the 'open air' printers suffer from print failures when a cool breeze causes the plastic to freeze to quickly, shrink and then warp off the platform.

Bottom line is that you can build your own Reprap for less than $500, get to know it very well, and have a lot of fun. But if you want to buy a 'tool' and start doing 3D prints with it, you probably won't be satisfied with the < $1000 printers out there.

Totally agree. I have a TOM and unless I surround it with lamps that produce enough heat to keep the "build chamber" warm, it's unable to print anything other than coins or very small dimensional objects. I'd even go as far to say the Formlabs Form 1 is the only "Real" 3-D printer worth considering. All the extrusion based systems are more expensive geek toy than too.

I disagree. The proprietary resins used in printers like formlabs are expensive. The plastic items produced in this manner often lack structural integrity, and they are always small in the lower printer price ranges. So if you want figurines, formlabs is maybe the way to go, but that's about it.

Most of the fused deposition printers (like the MendelMax, AO-100, reprap Prusa (2 and 3) can print in more materials (ABS, PLA, even Polycarbonate), and produce larger functional parts than things like FormLabs. The main issue is the striping, which is less "pretty."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZwjvZ79iYo

I don't think striping is the main issue - It's the lack of repeatability. Because of patents on things like heated build chambers, it's hard to get consistent, dimensional parts off hobby machines. If you have access to one of the higher priced Stratasys systems, I agree that FDM is competitive.

Formlabs technology works much better at the low prices. While their resins are proprietary, when you factor in the cost of wasted plastic (and time) due to failed print jobs, it's not bad.

And Formlabs, and stereolithography based systems generally, have many benefits beyond figurines. Consumer electronics shells are much better suited to that format. As are most designs that have undercuts or voided internal geometries. They can also produce parts in a variety of materials, e.g. wax for jewelry castings.

I'm all for the experimentation and low cost machines, but they're far closer to toy than tool.

It depends what you are doing. Agreed, tuning does add work and makes repeatability more of a challenge, but that comes with tradeoffs--the ability to print in more mediums (chocolate!).

I'd be uncomfortable using formlabs type resin parts for anything with load or wear, using them within machines, joints for a table, replacements for dishwasher parts, etc. I can't print anything of size with formlabs type printers. If I want to make a quadcopter body, or a modern-art lamp, I'm SOL. You have valid points--just are valuing use-cases differently than I do.

So Formlabs wouldn't be good for toys then? What's the best alternative for that then? The Replicator 2?

Well, above 1k, and if you don't want a toy, you might be better off with a CNC... Get http://www.amazon.com/Rockler-Click-N-Carve-Carving-Machine-... or something. Current 1.3k is a pretty sick price btw.

I was in the market for a 3D printer a while back, but I was really put off by how low quality, amateur-esque the entry-level 3D printers were (Reprap and co) at the < $1000 price mark; while on the other hand, how freakishly expensive the professional 3D printers were ($15,000+). I was surprised at the lack of options in the middle. Replicator 2 seems to be a step in the right direction, but it's not quite there yet IMHO.

Does anyone have any recommendations in the $5k range? A larger chamber size is an absolute must.

I'm not sure what you consider a "large" chamber, but formlabs is supposed to start shipping in April.

http://formlabs.com/

I'm surprised they didn't mention the Solidoodle. $499 for the base model. I've ordered it ... hope to get it before the end of the year.

The main reason I'm getting it is to explore the software tools for 3D printing. I don't expect professional grade prints from the device. When I was in grad school, we had access to one of the 10K+ 3D printers. However, it was a big hassle using those (required chemical baths to remove filler material, etc.).

What I am very surprised by is the number of companies trying to make 3D printers. While competition is usually good for customers, I am concerned that the large number of offerings will fragment the user base.

Yep. A Solidoodle 2 user here. Used two printers, one of the earlier serial numbers, and a very recent built. Can recommend it. Pretty neat design. No troubles, comes ready to print...

Disclaimer: I'm not in any way associated with Solidoodle, aside from being a customer.

I think the more interesting segment of the 3D printer market is the slightly higher end printers that are much easier to use than the cheapest ones. A really cheap 3D printer takes a lot of effort to keep running well (calibration, etc).

I'm not so much worried about the cost of the printer, it's $50/lb price of the plastic that's bothering me.

If printer ink is unicorn blood, printer plastic is made of its pulped horn, or maybe even its stem cells.

Actually printer ink is very similar in price to human blood:

http://www.cockeyed.com/science/gallon/liquid.html

The prices on amazon are aprox $20/lb

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