Poll: Do you have a 3d printer? • Hacker News Board

I've built the RepRapPro Mendel from a kit about 2 months ago. Don't have any "real" use for it - it's just a cool toy to have, considering it doesn't cost that much (paid 640 EUR for the kit). But it may come very useful if I try to build some hobby RC plane or quadcopter though.

Anyway, it's been working nice so far, though I did spend many hours tuning the machine and getting to know the various software (CAD, slicers, printer control). I'm currently in the process of installing another extruder, the primary reason being the ability to print water-soluble support material (PVA) - this makes it possible to print essentially any form, with no limitation on overhang angle.

I think the thing that needs most work in the open source 3D printer works is the development of slicing software and printer firmware. In particular, there is little consideration to how the layers interact with each physically. Currently slicers mostly work in a simple and predictable manner - but with more "intelligent" algorithms modelling the physical processes of a printer the print quality and/or speed could be improved without modifying the printer itself (except perhaps getting faster microcontrollers).

P.S. I'll be very careful buying cheap Chinese filament next time. It tends to have oil inside which makes it almost impossible to stick to any kind of surface, and requires bed cleaning after every print.

Re: Poll: Do you have a 3d printer?

#155

Post by dbrannan » Thu, May 02, 2013, 1:35 AM UTC

flutty wrote: post #150

The problem is that they only print stuff made of plastic. The most interesting things are either made of silicon/metal (computer chips) or organic matter (food, people) and neither are printable.

I recently at a conference and sat in on a session on 3D printing. There were several materials to choose from now, mostly plastic, but I saw rubber and a few other materials.

Re: Poll: Do you have a 3d printer?

#156

Post by alexrson » Thu, May 02, 2013, 1:41 AM UTC

It has saved me ~two dollars so far, namely on this: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:45262

Re: Poll: Do you have a 3d printer?

#157

Post by ricberw » Thu, May 02, 2013, 1:48 AM UTC

Yes, I have one. It's the Dreambox: a fully-automated 3D printing vending machine that is on campus at U.C. Berkeley.

Re: Poll: Do you have a 3d printer?

#158

Post by stevenrace » Thu, May 02, 2013, 1:51 AM UTC

Yup, I have a RepRap MendelMax v1.5.

Enamored as a child by Lego, I broke all early problems down to things that could be solved/built with Lego. In order to build 'real stuff', I knew I needed to learn to weld aluminum and mill things. I read about million dollar 3/5/X-axis CNC machines in the early 90s and tried numerous times to build something 'good enough'.

Many failed CNC projects later, I found RepRap and it's filled a particular need. One that doesn't fill the garage/loft/apartment with a faint taste of aluminum in the air.

Re: Poll: Do you have a 3d printer?

#159

Post by culturestate » Thu, May 02, 2013, 1:53 AM UTC

flutty wrote: post #150

The problem is that they only print stuff made of plastic. The most interesting things are either made of silicon/metal (computer chips) or organic matter (food, people) and neither are printable.

This space is evolving very quickly - it's not perfect by any stretch, but you can actually order metal parts from Shapeways[1], and there was a story recently about NASA "3D-printing" rocket parts using nickel alloy[2].

1. http://www.shapeways.com/materials 2. http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/140084-nasa-3d-prints-roc...

Re: Poll: Do you have a 3d printer?

#160

Post by briguy » Thu, May 02, 2013, 1:57 AM UTC

If Yes, What software are you using....I mostly use Rhino 3D.