Pledge Drive: 3D Printer

Discussions on anything related to the evolving idea of Saskatoon's first "makerspace". What is a makerspace to you? What should it be called? What's the charter?
Kaldonis
Posts: 348
Joined: Wed Jan 12, 2011 3:29 pm

Pledge Drive: 3D Printer

Post by Kaldonis »

I figured it was about time we do one of these. I know a lot of people in the group are eager to get into 3D printing, so here is your chance to make it happen. Reply to this thread with the amount of money you are willing to pledge towards buying a 3D printer for Saskatoon TechWorks. The organization can possibly throw in some money too once we get close. I'll keep the top post updated with our running total. We can also use this thread to debate which printer we want. Our target is probably around $2500, but again - TechWorks might be able to chip in once we get close.

Possibilities so far:
Solidoodle 3 MendelMax 2 Beta Cubify Cube 3D
  • Image
  • http://cubify.com/cube/store.aspx
  • Plastic Jet Printing (PJP) - not sure exactly how this differs from FDM
  • $1399
  • Fully assembled
  • Print envelope: 140x140x140 (2744cm^3)
  • Min layer height: 0.2mm
  • Nozzle diameter: ?
  • Wireless or USB printing
LulzBot AO-101 Ultimaker Makerbot Replicator 2
  • Image
  • http://makerbot.com/replicator2
  • Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM)
  • $2199
  • Fully assembled
  • Print envelope: 285x153x155 (6759cm^3)
  • Min layer height: 0.1mm
  • Nozzle diameter: 0.4mm
  • SD or USB printing
  • Biggest user community
Makerbot Replicator 2X
  • Image
  • http://store.makerbot.com/replicator2x.html
  • Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM)
  • $2799
  • Fully assembled
  • Print envelope: 246x152x155 (5796cm^3)
  • Min layer height: 0.1mm
  • Nozzle diameter: 0.4mm
  • SD or USB printing
  • Biggest user community
  • Dual extrusion
B9 Creator
  • Image
  • http://shop.b9creator.com/?pn=B9Creator+-+KIT&p=621&c=1
  • DLP liquid resin based
  • $2495 (+ cost of projector)
  • DIY Kit
  • Print envelope: 77x102x203 (1594cm^3)
  • Min layer height: 0.05mm
  • Requires PC (or something else to drive the projector)
  • Expensive material ($84/kg vs ~$50/kg for FDM)
I'll kick off the pledges with $100.

Pledges so far: $922

Kaldonis - $100
RevEng - $50
FingerTech - $50
Spectrum Raffle - $522
icars - $100
epoch19 - $100
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JamesCooper
Posts: 164
Joined: Tue Jan 11, 2011 11:46 pm

Re: Pledge Drive: 3D Printer

Post by JamesCooper »

I'll pledge $50.
Kaldonis
Posts: 348
Joined: Wed Jan 12, 2011 3:29 pm

Re: Pledge Drive: 3D Printer

Post by Kaldonis »

Been reading a bit about other 3d printers, the Solidoodle 3 sounds quite promising for the price: http://store.solidoodle.com/index.php?r ... duct_id=79. It boasts a bigger overall print area than the Replicator 2, layer height of 100 microns and detail size of about 300 microns.
Kaldonis
Posts: 348
Joined: Wed Jan 12, 2011 3:29 pm

Re: Pledge Drive: 3D Printer

Post by Kaldonis »

So maybe there isn't as much interest in a 3d printer as I thought? :sadface:
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DigitalOSH
Posts: 435
Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2010 10:03 pm

Re: Pledge Drive: 3D Printer

Post by DigitalOSH »

i'd be more interested in pledging towards a group reprap build
Kaldonis
Posts: 348
Joined: Wed Jan 12, 2011 3:29 pm

Re: Pledge Drive: 3D Printer

Post by Kaldonis »

DigitalOSH wrote:i'd be more interested in pledging towards a group reprap build
I just can't see that happening... We were talking about this in the channel the other day and I think we arrived at around $500/unit as the cost for this. We might be able to get enough pledges to build a single reprap as a group though. :P

I agree that the experience of a group build would be great, but I would still want a good quality printer even if we did one. For example, the minimum feature size on a reprap mendel is 2mm and even the cheapest one I linked above (the Solidoodle, $800) boasts .11mm resolution (i.e. about 20x better than the mendel).
FingerTech
Posts: 319
Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2010 10:58 pm
Location: Saskatoon, SK.
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Re: Pledge Drive: 3D Printer

Post by FingerTech »

Sometimes I forget to check the forum for weeks. :P
I'll pledge $50 towards a good 3D printer.
Kaldonis
Posts: 348
Joined: Wed Jan 12, 2011 3:29 pm

Re: Pledge Drive: 3D Printer

Post by Kaldonis »

Our raffle at Spectrum brought in another $522, bringing our total up to $722. I think we're getting to the point where we should start discussing which printer we want.
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thesaxmachine
Posts: 233
Joined: Tue Dec 07, 2010 11:31 pm

Re: Pledge Drive: 3D Printer

Post by thesaxmachine »

OTB working is top on my list.
Kaldonis
Posts: 348
Joined: Wed Jan 12, 2011 3:29 pm

Re: Pledge Drive: 3D Printer

Post by Kaldonis »

thesaxmachine wrote:OTB working is top on my list.
Seconded. I'd prefer one that we don't have to assemble ourselves as that's just opportunity for us to screw it up. I do understand that adjustments will likely be necessary on any machine we buy though, pre-assembled or not.
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