$299 3D printer achieves Kickstarter goal in minutes
101 replies, posted
[QUOTE=sloppy_joes;44501361]Anyone else skeptical about this? I mean, why do they even need the kickstarter? It looks mostly finished, 50 grand barely pays for anything in the business world, if the testing and such isn't done then 50,000 probably won't cover it. They said they need it for the molds? what?
Maybe it's just an advertising campaign though. If it's ready to go to market then they don't really need the 50 grand.[/QUOTE]
Maybe they needed the 50k for getting more credits?
[QUOTE=No_Excuses;44497550]So what exactly does the average person do with a 3D printer? Print trinkets and shit until the novelty wears off, then regret the purchase?[/QUOTE]
Pretend they're Captain Picard using the ships replicator, of course.
I'd like to 3D print the original primary weapons of the TF2 classes, I think that would be pretty neat
[QUOTE=No_Excuses;44497550]So what exactly does the average person do with a 3D printer? Print trinkets and shit until the novelty wears off, then regret the purchase?[/QUOTE]
Massively useful if you do any sort of hobby in RC, especially if you're building stuff. I've 3D printed parts for a Tricopter, and I'm planning on making a quad as well. If I need replacements, I print them myself. Also, DnD miniatures, character pieces, etc. I want to make a custom tileset for Fallout PnP. Any sort of models that you want, little custom plastic fittings, mounting brackets, and thingiverse has a shit ton of files for all sorts of other useful things. I paid $900 for mine, and I haven't regretted it for a second.
[QUOTE=BFG9000;44496438]I smell some plastic .22's in the near future :D[/QUOTE]
Enjoy picking plastic out of your face and eyes. On a more related note, i've always wanted my own 3D printer, so this is a very good thing.
[QUOTE=bord2tears;44498592]Is the 50-350 micron resolution enough to print good miniatures and Lego knockoffs?[/QUOTE]
50 micron is really good but any print will take FOREVER. Honestly, at that resolution it could be as much as an hour and a half for a 2x4 brick. That said, on 300 micron (0.3mm layers) it goes relatively quickly. Legoish blocks can be hard to print because the nubs on the top are pretty small and the top of the brick is mostly unsupported inside so you really have to dial your printer in to get spectacular blocks.
Here's a few I managed to print off, the rest are in my son's toybox lol
[t]http://i.imgur.com/H8Isns3.jpg[/t]
Not perfect but they do work. These are on 0.3mm and the 2x2 bricks take about 15 minutes each to make
[QUOTE=zombini;44502301]Enjoy picking plastic out of your face and eyes. On a more related note, i've always wanted my own 3D printer, so this is a very good thing.[/QUOTE]
I hate to think that there's a chunk of people who bought these, who know very little about 3D printers other than the liberator thing and that's a little scary but also funny
I'm waiting for my $100 3D printer
[url]https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/117421627/the-peachy-printer-the-first-100-3d-printer-and-sc[/url]
YIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSS PAYDAY IN 15 DAYS GONNA GETS ME ONE
[QUOTE=Erasus;44502508]YIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSS PAYDAY IN 15 DAYS GONNA GETS ME ONE[/QUOTE]
You can 3D print yourself a caps lock key! :smile:
i find it funny, this has been around since the 80's and is only now catching attention?
[QUOTE=Leestons;44502518]You can 3D print yourself a caps lock key! :smile:[/QUOTE]
I can also print myself a very excited picture of myself.
[QUOTE=Marik Bentusi;44498222]If a piece of technology like this catches on (like touch devices), devs will start coming up with games that can use this tech as infrastructure. Maybe Scotty will beam an artifact your way and you gotta find the Made In China to convict the forger.[/QUOTE]
That sounds gimmicky and boring.
So I know pretty much nil about 3D printing, but I kinda want one if I can do miniatures, or small models. Excuse my ignorance but could I print tabletop minis with decent accuracy? I figure they won't be perfect, and it will take ages probably.
[QUOTE=No_Excuses;44497550]So what exactly does the average person do with a 3D printer? Print trinkets and shit until the novelty wears off, then regret the purchase?[/QUOTE]
The main thing you'd want a 3D printer for that justifies the cost is if you're a tinkerer, hobbyist, or engineer. Hell, Privateer Press makes masters for many of their molds by printing it in 3D first, then making casts with it.
But people who tinker and engineer things in their own homes find 3D printers indispensable for their versatility, because milling machines are expensive (and wasteful) and laser-cutters can only do so much (but having all three at your disposal just increases what you can/can't do dramatically).
[QUOTE=confinedUser;44502545]i find it funny, this has been around since the 80's and is only now catching attention?[/QUOTE]
The technology has only just started seeing proper applications outside of research and shit. It was prohibitively expensive for the longest time due to the computer requirements, the hardware itself, and the resources (probably the cheapest part then, and the most expensive now haha).
Companies in the earlier days of 3D printing probably wouldn't even be considering it for rapid prototyping due to the costs, foam mockups would have been just as cheap. However it's gotten a lot cheaper, so it's off like a fucking rocket right now (even though no consumers actually have a real use for them).
Would this be good enough to print out 7 inch tall or so figurines?
[QUOTE=hexpunK;44502774]The technology has only just started seeing proper applications outside of research and shit. It was prohibitively expensive for the longest time due to the computer requirements, the hardware itself, and the resources (probably the cheapest part then, and the most expensive now haha).
Companies in the earlier days of 3D printing probably wouldn't even be considering it for rapid prototyping due to the costs, foam mockups would have been just as cheap. However it's gotten a lot cheaper, so it's off like a fucking rocket right now ([B]even though no consumers actually have a real use for them[/B]).[/QUOTE]
[URL="http://www.dannychoo.com/en/post/26900/How+To+Mass+Produce+Your+Own+Products.html"]I wouldn't say that[/URL] There's plenty of uses for it, just not many that are particularly profitable. It's the little things that make it worth having for me. The fact that I can replace a zipper, a doorknob, and the window lever on my car on the same machine without having to buy anything. At this stage, it's practical in the sense that you can make things yourself for about the same cost as buying them, but there's a huge disparity between the price of filament and the price of ABS or PLA pellets and more and more people are starting kickstarters for DIY filament extruders, so the overall price of printing is dropping and fast.
[editline]10th April 2014[/editline]
[QUOTE=CrimsonChin;44502861]Would this be good enough to print out 7 inch tall or so figurines? I like having figures of characters that I like as decoration and many characters either have no figurines (like something from Shadow of the Colossus) or cost $200 out of rarity.[/QUOTE]
Most of these machines, regardless of the price, are made out of essentially the same parts and the quality of your prints is almost entirely dependent on how well you tune your machine. The biggest difference you will notice in buying an expensive printer rather than a cheap one is the quality of tech support and how long the base parts last, but most every part on your printer can be replaced for under $10.
[QUOTE=frozensoda;44502865][URL="http://www.dannychoo.com/en/post/26900/How+To+Mass+Produce+Your+Own+Products.html"]I wouldn't say that[/URL] There's plenty of uses for it, just not many that are particularly profitable. It's the little things that make it worth having for me. The fact that I can replace a zipper, a doorknob, and the window lever on my car on the same machine without having to buy anything. At this stage, it's practical in the sense that you can make things yourself for about the same cost as buying them, but there's a huge disparity between the price of filament and the price of ABS or PLA pellets and more and more people are starting kickstarters for DIY filament extruders, so the overall price of printing is dropping and fast.[/QUOTE]
Oh yeah, I'm not denying that everyone will have zero use for them, but a lot of people who are basically impulse buying them have little use for them. Being able to print out things to fix things, or things just to look nice is a really nice ability to have. But at this stage in 3D printing it's probably not worth getting into unless you have some kind of plan for it, otherwise is just an expensive toy that you'll need to replace soon as we're making giant leaps in the technology now.
snip
[QUOTE=frozensoda;44502865]but most every part on your printer can be replaced for under $10.[/QUOTE]
Okay that's pretty damn cheap if it breaks.
Though assuming something more critical changes, like the components that handle the actual "sticking" of the printer material to handle smaller sizes at greater speeds? Or you want something that handles different material better? I expect those bits aren't massive cheap.
[QUOTE=CrimsonChin;44502861]Would this be good enough to print out 7 inch tall or so figurines?[/QUOTE]
If it's a smaller printer, and you're clever enough, you can design the figurine to be printed in multiple sections that can be assembled later.
[QUOTE=hexpunK;44502942]Okay that's pretty damn cheap if it breaks.
Though assuming something more critical changes, like the components that handle the actual "sticking" of the printer material to handle smaller sizes at greater speeds? Or you want something that handles different material better? I expect those bits aren't massive cheap.[/QUOTE]
The whole assembly is called the hot end and they run between $25 - $75 depending on the model you get, but that part is actually pretty rugged. The worst case scenario, and it happens to a lot of newbies, is getting a super clogged hot end and then destroying it while you are trying to clear it. The most expensive part of the machine is the control board which is usually a RAMPS or Sanguinololu board, they run from $40 up depending on what you need. All in all, I've had my machine for over a year and I print pretty regularly, I have not replaced a single part yet, not even any of the printed parts.
If anyone here does end up getting this or any other 3d printer, it's a good idea to model/find and print a spare set of all the printed parts on your machine, it will save you from having to find someone else to print it for you should something break.
you guys should also check out [url]http://thingiverse.com[/url] if you want some ideas of what you can do with a 3D printer even with no skills in 3d modeling. It's quite a lively community.
merge?
[QUOTE=frozensoda;44503920]you guys should also check out [url]http://thingiverse.com[/url] if you want some ideas of what you can do with a 3D printer even with no skills in 3d modeling. It's quite a lively community.
merge?[/QUOTE]
It only merges up to two hours.
[QUOTE=frozensoda;44502419]50 micron is really good but any print will take FOREVER. Honestly, at that resolution it could be as much as an hour and a half for a 2x4 brick. That said, on 300 micron (0.3mm layers) it goes relatively quickly. Legoish blocks can be hard to print because the nubs on the top are pretty small and the top of the brick is mostly unsupported inside so you really have to dial your printer in to get spectacular blocks.
Here's a few I managed to print off, the rest are in my son's toybox lol
[t]http://i.imgur.com/H8Isns3.jpg[/t]
Not perfect but they do work. These are on 0.3mm and the 2x2 bricks take about 15 minutes each to make[/QUOTE]
Can you have it print several bricks at once so you can set it going and leave it for a few days?
Is it cheaper just to buy lego at that point?
[QUOTE=bord2tears;44519171]Can you have it print several bricks at once so you can set it going and leave it for a few days?
Is it cheaper just to buy lego at that point?[/QUOTE]
Yes you can print multiple, but it wouldn't take a few days. As far as cost goes it is cheaper to print them than it is to buy them. I do not have the math here, but I did it at one point and it is cheaper, however if you are gonna be printing tons and tons of them time is a factor.
I mean it's cheaper in terms of (material + electricity) < (price of legos) for pretty much any number of lego pieces. You could fill up the print bed with them and print them all in one go, but I wouldn't because if something goes wrong you lose a lot more than just a few pieces. I would just print them a few at a time.
I can't see it on the Kickstarter page but how fast did they get funded? Truly in a matter of minutes? like 15min?
There really is not enough education about 3D printers in general... it seriously needs to change.
Quick rundown of common themes in the thread
-You will not be making DnD minis, most likely. That level of detail is quite hard, and games workshop is uber aggressive about getting that stuff pulled from thingiverse and such
-3D printing a 3D printer (or parts of it, rather) is the very premise of the [URL="http://reprap.org/wiki/RepRap"]RepRap project[/URL]. Cheap, high quality printers that can fix themselves and partially duplicate themselves
-There is a project a lot like this called the Makibox that has been behind schedule now for a year and a half, and looked just as good in potential.
For $299 you can get yourself a printrbot simple that will work quite well and will ship within a few days. Print time on this printer will be slow I imagine, and the build volume is quite tiny. A more rigid design like a mendelmax 1.0-2.0 and Prusa i3 can reach MUCH higher speeds and just shit out small parts with a high enough acceleration setting.
Printers require a fair amount of maintenance too, from maintaining belts, keeping threaded rods lightly greased, and maintaining the electronics (stepper drivers love to overheat).
AND FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY DONT BUY A MAKERBOT. They're way way way way overpriced for how they perform. Seriously. Just don't.
[QUOTE=paindoc;44519670]There really is not enough education about 3D printers in general... it seriously needs to change.
Quick rundown of common themes in the thread
-You will not be making DnD minis, most likely. That level of detail is quite hard, and games workshop is uber aggressive about getting that stuff pulled from thingiverse and such
-3D printing a 3D printer (or parts of it, rather) is the very premise of the [URL="http://reprap.org/wiki/RepRap"]RepRap project[/URL]. Cheap, high quality printers that can fix themselves and partially duplicate themselves
-There is a project a lot like this called the Makibox that has been behind schedule now for a year and a half, and looked just as good in potential.
For $299 you can get yourself a printrbot simple that will work quite well and will ship within a few days. Print time on this printer will be slow I imagine, and the build volume is quite tiny. A more rigid design like a mendelmax 1.0-2.0 and Prusa i3 can reach MUCH higher speeds and just shit out small parts with a high enough acceleration setting.
Printers require a fair amount of maintenance too, from maintaining belts, keeping threaded rods lightly greased, and maintaining the electronics (stepper drivers love to overheat).
AND FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY DONT BUY A MAKERBOT. They're way way way way overpriced for how they perform. Seriously. Just don't.[/QUOTE]
Yeah pretty much all of this, but I'd also like to add that printing a gun is not a good idea. I mean sure, technically it will shoot 1 maybe 2 rounds without exploding, but I can't talk to [B]anyone[/B] about my 3D printer without them asking me if I make guns. It's turned from a single guys experiment in material strength into this urban legend that if you have a 3D printer you can mass produce guns for next to no cost. I don't know where people hear this stuff, but most people I've talked to are completely misinformed about the original liberator project and the designs that came after it.
They are all pretty much based off the liberator which to date has only been test fired once that I'm aware of. My point in saying all this is that if your main reason for buying a printer is to make a gun, strap in for 100+ hours of printing for a gun that may or may not remove your hand, is only accurate to 15 feet, and can land you on the top of several watch-lists.
Also, I believe that one of the main problems that newbs have with their 3D printer is actually caused by something similar to stuxnet. Call me crazy, but I think the liberator was supplied by the government to track and catalog people who are interested in making a gun with a device like a 3D printer. There hhave been reports that the NSA can tap in to and read the raw Gcode going across your cable to the machine, and it cross references that gcode with gcode from the liberator. Stuxnet targeted iranian centrifuges by making them spin faster than they are supposed to and damaging them while reporting the "correct" speed to software, I believe something similar is happening with the hot-end temperature controls to people who try to print guns, and that's why so many people have been having a PEEK barrel meltdown.
/conspiracy
edit: im trying to find the news article about how they can read the gcode if I find it ill update with a link
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