3D Print quality

General discussion of 3D printers

3D Print quality

Postby J45on » Thu Oct 13, 2011 10:23 pm

I would love a 3D printer but from what I have seen so far the print quality just is not good enough
That was until I saw these http://davedurant.wordpress.com/2011/10 ... of-prints/
I really really want one now :shock:
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Re: Print quality

Postby TLHarrell » Thu Oct 13, 2011 10:36 pm

I have not really been all that impressed with this type of 3D printing either, but this is looking good. Still, the speed of producing parts with this method is painfully slow. As you make the resolution better, it takes more layers, therefore it takes even longer to print. It does open the doors to parts that would be impossible to produce by subtractive methods though. I've seen some incredible stuff at the Maker Faire that was 3D printed.

My ultimate shop would have a 48"x24" laser, 96"x48" CNC and a 3D printer. I'll still keep 3D printer at the bottom of the list for now.
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Re: 3D Print quality

Postby BenJackson » Thu Oct 13, 2011 10:56 pm

The speed of producing parts is much lower, but the turnaround for prototyping is still far ahead of any subtractive method. If you can limit your designs to what you can cut with a laser it would be competitive, but if you are working on a true 3D part then even current 3D printers are faster than the alternatives.
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Re: 3D Print quality

Postby r691175002 » Thu Oct 13, 2011 11:28 pm

Depends on what is being produced.

I dislike 3d printers in general since I feel they receive a lot of undeserved credit. They have a few advantages (mostly ease of use since no CAM is needed) but I can't really think of any non-trivial project I would be willing to do in only extruded plastic.

Most of the time you see 3d printers used for cosmetic pieces or just to see how something looks/feels before building it for real.

Given the choice between a mill or a 3d printer I would take the mill 100% of the time.
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Re: 3D Print quality

Postby andrewblanejr » Fri Oct 14, 2011 4:58 am

with a 5th-axis mill...could you acheive the outer shapes that a 3d printer can make?

/Andrew
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Re: 3D Print quality

Postby TLHarrell » Fri Oct 14, 2011 4:11 pm

With a 5-axis mill you definitely could achieve the same outer shapes as a plastic extruder type 3D printer. There are internal features that you can do on a 3D printer that no subtractive method could achieve.

It is a very different tool. Each tool has it's capabilities and it's weaknesses. For me, I'm just not into waiting 7+ hours for a part to be produced at this time. And if something fails during that run, the part is hosed. I'd rather redesign parts to use a different tool.
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Re: 3D Print quality

Postby J45on » Fri Oct 14, 2011 4:17 pm

I just have a machine fetish that is my excuse :D
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Re: 3D Print quality

Postby TLHarrell » Fri Oct 14, 2011 6:01 pm

I have a major machine and tool fetish as well, just no money right now to feed it. And my workshop is half of a one car garage, so not much room either.

Hoping to get a steady revenue stream going with my little hobby laser, then step up to a bigger laser and a CNC machine in the future.
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Re: 3D Print quality

Postby KaryMills » Sat Jun 02, 2012 12:16 pm

hi @J45on yes that printer is looking good. But I got really confused about to choose printer or copy machine for my company :S. Should I purchase Printer or copy machines ? or both? I heard copy machines able to do all the tasks of printers. I need your recommend. Thanks :)
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