Rapid Prototype machine: Buying one very soon. Input wanted.

[pbjosh]

I am going to get a RP machine for the business. I am thinking a printerbot Replicator 2 or maybe a RIP-RAP or....

Budget is about $2500. I want higher resolution over speed, and ease of use (I am a total RP newb) but I am quite sharp on the CAD side of it. I would like to order this week. I want to be able to do a full gun body at least, so a smaller machine is out.

I will also be availible for some for a few fun projects (RP the Simonized Cocker for one) and who knows what else.

So, any thoughts, input, experiences throw them at me.

[pbjosh]

https://store.makerbot.com/replicator2.html Not a bad option, long lead time

RepRap, sheesh my spelling today... Tons on ebay.

https://shop.ultimaker.com/en/ High resolution... long shipping time maybe

Any other thoughts?

[neftaly]

The CNC side is actually very easy - slicing models, creating infill etc is all pretty much automated nowadays :P
At the moment I have an injection-moulded Huxley derivative by SeeMeCNC. Was using a RepRap before, it was incredibly finicky though. Also had an extruder mounted on a DIY CNC at one point.

I haven't used one yet, but Rostock delta designs are the new hotness. Here's SeeMeCNC's.
I probably wouldn't bother with the Ultimaker BTW.

e. Just FYI there's a practical limit for resolution, owing to the fact that plastic tends to bead up at the tip of the hot end. XYZ resolution generally ends up being way higher than the actual print resolution. If you want super res in a hobbyist machine, go for one of the DLP-based (resin) printers. I find extruder machines fine for most prototyping though, you have better materials for feedstock and can always manually fix details and chemically smooth edges.

[Simon]

Wow, these things have come a long way, that's for sure. I don't "need" one yet, but am very interested to see how your purchase turns out and works for you in real life.

[pbjosh]

Hot damn that is cool. Huge build platform.

The software - if I have the CAD files, is it normally just insert .stl, .sldprt or related file to a convertor program and get G-code?

Do you know of any DLP printers availible for the price? I know Formlabs is starting up, but kinda late for my window, and also kinda getting sued. I saw the Miicraft and a couple others, mostly as build your own... and none really ready right now, today. Hrm.

[pbjosh]

I suspect there will be some teething pains. The 100 micron might be enough for my fitting and trying for layouts and feel. I can also do wild custom triggers and such which would be quite fun for shows.

But I will keep you all updated.

[neftaly]

Pretty much, here's a tutorial. Netfabb is great btw.
I'm not really in-the-know about resin printers, sorry. I have a strong bias towards extruders, owing to the wide selection of print materials.

In case you're interested, here's a little video I filmed a while of my mate Gary's RepRap.

[pbjosh]

I am tending toward the extruders, mostly because of print area for the price. I am just working on some bits for fit and feel, plus maybe some testing and don't think I need quite that resolution, the more I look at it. My biggest issue, as I feel it out is time for setup, troubleshooting, hunting down a finicky software or mechanical issue I don't have much time for.

The software doesn't look too crazy, and I am looking at the stand alone option with an SD card. Knocking out .stl files is not a problem, and I just received a new solid gaming platform for doing CAD on.

From what I have seen on the forums only a few of these seem to work (not SeemeCNC, just in general) right out of the box. Or well, kit. Mostly on the RepRap style. Quite a bit of dialing in, getting the parts to work right, and troubleshooting. I don't have that much time right now with the kids and everything.

I need something fairly solid and out of the box. That really limits me, and I would love to have the time to build a reprap and tune it up so I can figure out the details. Unless it really isn't too bad.

Any heads up on the time to setup and troubleshoot? Any little bits of surprise profanity you have ran into? I am thinking the SeemeeCNC Rostock (good find!) or a Replicator 2 is about perfect, with decent resolution, huge build areas, and fairly solid operations. The difference is 8 week wait for a fully assembled ready to go unit that only runs PLA or a 3 week wait for a tune and time unit that runs ABS and PLA, with far more options, for half the price. Leaning on the Rostock - and thank you!

[pbjosh]

Ya know, for my needs and experience, I think I am going to grab the Replicator 2 for now. I am not going to have time to play around with a machine so much, and I am not looking for the build experience. I am looking to crank out parts. I am going to give them a call and see what is up with it, and go from there.

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/commer...inters-20.html

I have been reading this - a bit factor in my choice. Ha! Awesome though, figured I would pass it on.

[neftaly]

Ok, make sure you check out some 3D printed PLA objects before you go ahead though. It's a bit too brittle to be used "in the field" IMO.