What is stopping you from getting a 3D printer?

What is stopping you from getting a 3D printer?

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    35
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I know too many people that have them and are very good at what they do. Maybe someday, probably not though.
 
Tidal Gardens
monkeyCmonkeyDo said:
My co worker just last week showed me a video of them 3d printing a house. Basically a cement 3d printer that did walls by stitching back and forth motion.
I do think it's the future. Just not their yet.
Robots! Incorporate the robots!!lol
D
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I saw a news story where an entire house was 3D printed. Not sure what the material was. I think it was a habitat for humanity project. Most everything was printed. Walls, roof, kitchen/bathroom cabinets. It was crazy. The family was given the printer so if anything broke they could print up a new piece. Supposedly it was printed really fast. I meant to look into it more because it just seemed impossible. The house looked pretty good as well. You're right about it being the future. Maybe they can finally find a way to use all of the plastic waste we have created. Use it in 3D printers. :-)
 
@Projects with Sam Question for you... I often see 3d printed accessories like nem guards and reef light guards and they look so smooth in the pics. Are most of these filament style printers and the pieces have been polished or are they possibly a different type of printer?
 
@Karen00 You can get smaller nozzles and print in smaller layer height. Also, there are post-processing steps you can take like letting the part sit in an acetone gas chamber to partially melt the outside to get it smooth. (the chemical needs verification)
Also could be clever photoshop for the pics.
 
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Top Shelf Aquatics
Projects with Sam said:
I don't mean to kick a dead horse but I have found some filaments to be next to unprintable... did you try different filaments or kept trying just the one you had? I'll help you troubleshoot it if you want. I don't have an ender5 but if you want to try again, I can help out.
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I completely agree! The only time I’ve ever had to troubleshoot our prusa was when we used cheap filaments. I only print with prusa brand filaments and never have any issues. I’m sure there are plenty of other good brands too.
 
I bought and Ender 3 S1 two weeks ago. Was much easier than I thought it would be. Made a cover for my Klir roller, a few feeding rings that are smaller than ones that are sold. Just printed a cooling fan shroud using Harry's Aquatics design. Also made several Templates for cutting Filter floss to shape on several filters. It's been fun.
 
I like this YouTube Channel for 3D printer reviews.
He is thorough and seems to know what he is talking about.
He does put extra weight on innovation but still relates it to reliability.
This is a good example of his reviews.

 
Tidal Gardens
So I am a complete rookie here and have no 3D modeling experience or CAD. However I catch my self quite a bit saying, “if I only had a 3D printer I could have made this part or fix this thing”.


so I took the leap and just ordered the Prusa MK3S+ with an enclosure. So I’m gonna dive into this np hopefully figure it out!
 
Mattiejay6 said:
So I am a complete rookie here and have no 3D modeling experience or CAD. However I catch my self quite a bit saying, “if I only had a 3D printer I could have made this part or fix this thing”.


so I took the leap and just ordered the Prusa MK3S+ with an enclosure. So I’m gonna dive into this np hopefully figure it out!
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When I first got my printer I messed around quite a bit with printing stuff I just downloaded. I really started having fun when I downloaded Fusion360 from Autodesk (free with some limitations) and learned how to model stuff. I picked it up pretty quickly watching YouTube videos.
an easier app to pick up that Ive been teaching my kids is TinkerCAD. Its worth checking out - most of the stuff I've designed for this hobby I could have done on TinkerCAD.
 
Avast
Projects with Sam said:
When I first got my printer I messed around quite a bit with printing stuff I just downloaded. I really started having fun when I downloaded Fusion360 from Autodesk (free with some limitations) and learned how to model stuff. I picked it up pretty quickly watching YouTube videos.
an easier app to pick up that Ive been teaching my kids is TinkerCAD. Its worth checking out - most of the stuff I've designed for this hobby I could have done on TinkerCAD.
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i was going to give shapr3D a try. So far the tutorial has been pretty simple with it.
 
Cool; I'm not familiar with it; The webpage looks pretty cool. Do what is comfortable to you and that you can be productive in. That definitely looks more robust then TinkerCAD.
 
Karen00 said:
@Projects with Sam Question for you... I often see 3d printed accessories like nem guards and reef light guards and they look so smooth in the pics. Are most of these filament style printers and the pieces have been polished or are they possibly a different type of printer?
Click to expand...
One trick with FDM prints is to smooth them in an acetone vapor bath which effectively melts the outer surface thus smoothing it.
 
Orphek OR3 reef aquarium LED bar
I just buy the things I need on Etsy from other people that have already created pump covers from 3D printing. All my pumps have them, they look great. Just put one on my Mp60 and the op4 octopus pumps because I’ve lost too many fish to uncovered pumps.
 
Deltec
PeterEde said:
One trick with FDM prints is to smooth them in an acetone vapor bath which effectively melts the outer surface thus smoothing it.
Click to expand...
Wow, thanks for this tip! It's funny because I have been a techie all of my life but there is something about 3D printing that seems like a whole new type of learning curve! LOL I guess that's because most everything I have dealt with in the past has always been 2D. 3D is a whole new world. :-)
 
Karen00 said:
Wow, thanks for this tip! It's funny because I have been a techie all of my life but there is something about 3D printing that seems like a whole new type of learning curve! LOL I guess that's because most everything I have dealt with in the past has always been 2D. 3D is a whole new world. :)
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I got into 3d only a few years ago when I found shapeways very expensive. I downloaded a for home use version of Fusion360 and watched a lot of youtube videos by Lars. Very good teacher.
I have drawn up and printed a lot of stuff. I find it more appealing to draw my own than print other peoples stuff.
But sometimes why bother reinventing the wheel if someone has done a good job already
 

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

  • Yes!

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  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%

  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%

  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%
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