Da Vinci 3D Printer

[CS]

Well I want to buy this 3D printer, however I thought I would check in with the forum first.

MUST -Ready out of the box
MUST -ABS and PLA plastics

DECENT price, print size

The filament cartridges are chipped, however that seems easily bypassed. Stupid headache, but I'll do it for the money if I print as much as I expect.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. 3D Printer researching is a death march...

[jakethebeast]

Haven't heard about that printer before, but from my experience with my Solidoodle i must say that ready out of the box printer within this price range seems impossible. Also the print quality out of the box is usually pretty bad.

My solidoodle took almost 2 weeks adjusting and trial and error to get it to even print, and countless hours spent on finetuning and modding to make it print well enough for my taste.

[CS]

Well I would expect to do some calibration. A lot of the more home brew machines are incomplete and require you to buy other components first.

What generation of the SolidDoodle did you buy, and what type of modding did you do? Any problems with the mechanical properties of the prints?

[jakethebeast]

I have gen 2, Pro model. Didn't have to buy anything, and most problems consisted of prints not sticking to the bed, prints were not solid, belt tension and extruder calibration was waay off etc.

I have made the anti backlash mod for it, printed new extruder, atm i print to glass, had to change the extruders stepper motors fan etc.

[mobile chernobyl]

SolidDoodle has great reliability record and ease-of-use rivals MakerBot's.

For more in depth knowledge on the "alternative" producers of 3D printers (a.k.a. anything but Makerbot and Stratasys or 3DS units) Check out http://forums.reprap.org/index.php - it's a great community of engineers/creators similar to how spudfiles works.

I currently use a MakerFarm Prusa i3 - which is a great setup if your looking for a more DIY approach that allows complete flexibility with modifications (i.e. firmware modifications, print head/multiple print head modifications, infinite printing materials possibilities) - something you will have a harder time with on a closed/limited platform like the Da Vinci. - But to that end - Similar to Jakethebeast - I spent A LONG TIME calibrating mine and with the tinkerer attitude I tend to have towards projects, my printer is more of an experiment in mechanical design then a printing machine most of the time haha.
-I am currently building a rather larger 14"x14"x14"? (x,y,z) capable printer with a novel designed print head that allows "variable" extrusion width though - probably won't be able to resume that until I figure out where I'm moving next lol.

[MrCrowley]

I imagine you guys post quite a bit on 3D printer forums. Don't know about the others here but I'd be interested in seeing some of your guys tinkering/mods/projects. Do we already have a dedicated topic for it (can't remember)?

[jrrdw]

Do we already have a dedicated topic for it (can't remember)?

We do now, CS just started 1...

@CS: You making parts or projectiles? Or non-spudgun related???

[CS]

http://www.3ders.org/pricecompare/3dprinters/ - By far the most complete list of 3D printers.

The filament, the plastic used for printing, has a chip on its container that counts wire consumed and prevents more from being loaded. This can be reset using a arduino board... ARGGH!

Mobile, with my lathe and mill I have realized that I spend about 5% of my time building. The rest of the time I am tinkering, measuring, adjusting, planning the operations... I've become a little bothered by this whole process, so I am hoping a 3D printer will make the process a little simpler, and restore balance to the universe. I think you might get my point.

MrC, http://www.spudfiles.com/materials-ammo ... 3-165.html

Jrrdw, not so much, prototyping/ fun mostly. Although I have thought of spud related things as a fleeting thought. Timed, impact, successively bursting shell, with some sort of flour-air mixture type deal. Yeah I have thought of it.

[jrrdw]

I know very little about 3D printers but sounds to me like a lot more adjusting to do...Good luck!

[mobile chernobyl]

http://www.3ders.org/pricecompare/3dprinters/ - By far the most complete list of 3D printers..........

Yes this is a great list - it looks like it's pretty up to date as well - Reprap.org is a forum that discusses the bleeding edge of extisting and experimental hobby 3D tech - plus the people that are about to premier on kickstarter - so it's a great information resource if you're trying to weigh the pro's and con's of different models such as a delta style vs one of the many many Cartesian style 3d printers!

Why anyone buy's makerbot's in this day and age is beyond me - but I guess it goes right along with why marketing is an industry haha...

[CS]

*whistle*

I was looking for images showing the accuracy. This guy was playing around with the fill and level to make the most solid gear. The best is on the left.

Jrrdw, have you ever adjusted the carriage gib on your 8x12, Pain... In... The... A**... I loosen them up on most projects, but for fine finishes I tighten them up. Makes moving the carriage and cross slide harder to move. The gib adjustment screws are down behind and underneath the thing...

[jrrdw]

When I got my lathe I pulled all the gibbs and degreesed them (and the rest of the lathe) dipped them in SAE30 motor oil reinstalled them ain't touched them since eccept the tool slide, I modded that to a QCTP. No troubles other then a stripped tool post bolt. To fix that I just eppoxied in a M8X1.25Pitch bolt, cut the QCTP center shim shorter, drilled out the threads, welded 2 nuts together, reinstalled everything.