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Originally Posted by sil
My Cetus has rarely been off, churning out faultless prints reliably. Exactly what my Cocoon never was. Finished the top half of the Falcon 9 rocket on it yesterday.
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The Cocoon's/Wanhao's are good for a start but you generally need to throw in a few extra $$$ and print off a couple of mods to get the best out of them. However once done, they are great workhorses. I got one back in May and it hasn't missed a beat. It was running 24/7 for two months when I first got it. Now it gets used about 2-3 times a week. Essential upgrades are the all metal hot end and snail fan with Diii cooler (improves speed, quality and consistency of prints). Other notable upgrades are a glass bed and thicker carriage plate (the original one warps too much).
Quote:
Originally Posted by sil
There's a lot of good reports about the Creality CR 10 3D printer too, very reliable etc. Can be had for around $500 too. So it looks like reliable quality prints are starting to become the norm at the low end, well around $500 mark, rather than just being a bunch of parts to tinker with we're approaching a consumer product that does what it says on the tin.
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I second that. The CR 10's look like a great buy. I probably would have gotten one because of the bigger build volume but at the time I got the Cocoon I didn't know much about printers and the CR-10's were still fairly new and hadn't really been put to the test. You're right 3D printers are improving and the prices are dropping fast.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sil
where you see junk others see replacement parts manufacturers will charge and arm and a leg to sell you. I've been building 3D models for the CG industry since the late 80s so for me a 3D printer is a no brainer for DIYers. If you see no use then dont complain, dont buy one either its obviously not for you.
The cheap 3D printers (of which there are many) can be hit and miss if they even work at all and suit the purchasers purpose. Like buying a cheap garbage telescope can put people off the hobby completely so can buying an unreliable 3D printer. I was merely offering my opinion on one I think is well worth buying for those who want to get started.
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Well said. They're not for everyone but if you use a little imagination you'll always find things to make. Today I made some replacement buttons for a friend's bike computer. Saved them from having to buy a new one which I'm told would be a couple of hundred dollars. Time it took to design was about 20 minutes. Total cost for materials was about 2 cents. So I charged them $100 just kidding.
I never thought I'd make toys or decorations with my printer. However when Halloween arrived I thought what a great opportunity to use the luminance filament I had laying around. So I made a whole heap of glow in the dark decorations and toys for the kids who Trick or Treated. I put them into the lolly bags that I gave them and they loved it. Glow in the dark bats, spiders, skeletons, witches, pumpkins and lots more.
If you like to make things, then they are a nice thing to have.