Best 3D printer

Hello Pat!

I'm happy for you that you've had success with your 3D printer. In the end it all boils down to how much such machine costs and how much work do you have to invest to keep it working.

With limited resources (some people have almost unlimited money but their time is still limited!) I'm for letting the pros do their work (making the machines operate smoothly) while the modeller can concentrate on designing and building models.

Before the 3D printers even became an option, I have done things similar to what you described by printing pattern with my inkjet on paper that was then glued to heavy cardboard or plywood and cut out - this also gives you frames that can be covered with various sheets and such frames can be bigger than most 3D printers can tackle - and the inkjet really isn't expensive.

Makes me want to write that our brain is the most important tool in our toolbox - and you don't have to pay for that tool (with money).

Thanks for reading and have a nice day

Paweł

Hi,

While I think I understand what some of the posters here are saying I think that I don't fully agree with some of their comments. 

On the one hand I do agree that anything that you can print from home on a relatively inexpensive printer will likely not be as "clean" or "well defined" as something that you can get done by a service (like Shapeways).  However, even the stuff that I have bought from Shapeways has required some degree of clean up, especially with regards to the "striation" and other "artefacts" from the printing process.

In general I have found that with regards to cleaning up these type of print "artefacts" can be very difficult if you have a complex 3D printed shape.  As such I have found that although you can potentially print a complex model as a single "piece" a lot of times it may actually be better to break a model into smaller assemblies that are easier to "clean" and "surface prep" prior to assembly into a single larger unit.

With this in mind I have found that even my older printer can still be of a great use to me.  In a lot of ways I view my 3D printer more as a "scratchbuilding assistant" than as a "parts replicator" since I know that whatever I print will require some clean up and additional work after its printed.  But it has been very useful to me in trying to assure that whatever I have printed is reasonably correct in dimensions and layout.

For instance, I have used my 3D printer to:

• make a rough shape for a 1/60 3D astronaut for a build.  It eventually required a lot of putty and sanding/sealing, but by starting with a scaled 3D model that I downloaded off the internet I was able to make sure that what I was starting with had the proper dimensions and proportions, etc.
• Similarly, another time I 3D printed the rough "framework" for some sponsons that I wanted for a small aircraft carrier kitbash, and then covered those "frames" with sheet styrene, which I found easier than trying to build the "frame" out of styrene shapes, since there there were a number of varying dimensions, angles and such that I suspected might be difficult for me to cut and assmeble properly.
• In addition to those however I have also printed a couple ship hulls, that I then coated with balsa filler (and/or putty) and sanding sealer, which I then sanded smooth.

In each instance I could have potentially instead tried to completely "scratchbuild" the items the old fashioned way (such as building up a hull by tracing frames onto wood, cutting them out, assembling them, and then "planking the frames") however the use of my 3D printer has allowed me to greatly "simplify" alot of the steps in "scratch building" stuff in my model building.

Pat 

Pawel

Learn do do 3D drawings and then print your designs at some company, there are far more companies with free 3D printer time for sale than there are guys willing to make 3D designs for you, that you would really like. 

I totally agree with this. I've leanred to use Autodesk inventor to model my parts and I send em out to be printed. I've done this for engineering projects outside of the hobby as well. It will cost some money but it is much cheaper than you setting up your own studio and learning/maintaining 3D printing.

There is HIPS (High Impact Polystyrene), but it's a blend of polystyrene and polybutadiene rubber, so I'm not sure if it would cement with model glues.

As far as a FDM printer goes, I would recommend a Pursa I3.  Not inexpensive, but you'll get consistantly good results.

Hello!

I'm repeating myself here, but I always say: Learn do do 3D drawings and then print your designs at some company, there are far more companies with free 3D printer time for sale than there are guys willing to make 3D designs for you, that you would really like. The 3D printers you can cheaply buy are mostly novelties good for demonstrating the general idea od 3D print, but won't print nice, exact and smooth model parts. Machines that can do that cost real money - why let them gather dust somewhere when there are even better machines waiting for your design at specialized print shops?

Good luck with your 3D prints and have a nice day

Paweł

PS. Most 3D printers I have hard of don't print styrene - but resin, ABS and even brass, silver and steel.

Are you talking about a filament printer? If so, I can tell you I looked at them and was not thrilled with the print lines left in finished prints. On the other hand, you can get a resin printer for around $250 that will print clean parts from liquid resin-- it's not polystyrene, but it's so clean the prints look like they're injection molded. After some research, I was able to pick up a Photon S printer from Anycubic for $238, which included 500 ml of resin and extra FEP (the clear sheet that goes on the bottom of the resin vat, it needs to be replaced evey now and again). Other manufacturers make different resin printers at different prices, so it's worth a little research to figure out exactly which one will suit.