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Old 07-11-2017, 09:57 AM
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jenchris (Jennifer)
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3d printers

As of yesterday, there's still 3 of them at Aldi in Beenleigh.
$299
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Old 08-11-2017, 07:59 AM
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worth it for the patient tinkerer, but these are not plug and play for beginners.
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Old 08-11-2017, 08:06 AM
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Well, 3D printing means tinkering.
Plug&play units could cost n*10k$...
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Old 08-11-2017, 08:12 AM
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quite a few at my local aldi -im now thinking there'll be some mark downs
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Old 08-11-2017, 10:28 AM
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10 units at Aldi Majura Park ACT, and not selling any time soon by the look of it
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Old 08-11-2017, 11:21 AM
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Has anyone got a review on it?
Assume it's the $299 model?
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Old 08-11-2017, 11:30 AM
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Bo seems ot be a re-branded wanhao i3 mini duplicator, google reviews of it
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Old 08-11-2017, 12:39 PM
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thanks Daniel,
looks like a good unit with a good price.
Bo
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Old 08-11-2017, 02:45 PM
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just got one - thanks for the tip.
no idea of quality (reviews seem OK), but has to be worth a punt at $300.

edit: opened it up - it is this one https://cocoonproducts.com.au/
looks surprisingly solid and came with a complete set of bits and bobs - very impressed so far, but I guess the proof will be in the pudding when it tries to print something

Last edited by Shiraz; 08-11-2017 at 08:21 PM.
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Old 13-11-2017, 03:42 PM
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Do you use UP! software for rendering the jobs to the 3D Printer?
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Old 27-11-2017, 11:12 AM
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Just bought a Cetus 3d Extended Mk II 3D printer (US$399) arived in four days, goes together just fine. Its a very well engineered product with well machined metal rails. I also have a delta printer that came doa and never printed and the first Aldi printer which was temperamental to use and very difficult to maintain (high maintenance needed). The Cetus just bloody well works and maintaining will be easy and minimal, changing nozzles or removing to unclog (if it does) is dead easy and it comes with three nozzles sizes so theres no dodgy feeder to get jammed, or heat blocks and fans to remove to service like the Cocoon Create. For someone with only one working arm this is very easy. The Cetus on default settings has been printing around the clock all weekend just fine with my old cocoon filament (every Cetus owner says the same, its very tolerant of any brand of PLA filaments) the cocoon needed constant fine tuning to get its own filament printing and I never got it to print any other brand successfully. The Cetus is compact but solid , the plate is unheated but printing with raft everything I've done so far is perfect and easy to remove and easy to stick to its bed.

Calibration is easy via software instead of tiny hard to reach screws, there are no essential mods you need to do first it will work fine out of the box.That said its X arm doesnt lock to the vertical Z rail when power is off and being heavy can drop easily landing on the print bed with the end of the nozzle. Its something I knew from reading reviews and as I wasn't powering off it hasn't been any problem for me to place a piece of packing foam on the printer next to the bed to catch it anyway in case it fell (I'm designing an addon I can print to catch it too if I forget the foam). Really not a big deal, worst case you damage a nozzle, just unscrew and replace buying replacements is easy .

Print quality with its standard Normal setting and pre-installed 0.4mm nozzle its better than I could ever get from my Cocoon create even after months of tweaking and testing. I get a tiny bit of stringing so the default temp is a little high for the cocoon filament and I'll play with setting to fix that this week. Haven't used Simplify3D yet just the Cetus software. Btw this is a tethered printer doesn't have a card slot but its supposed to have wifi and ios app but i havent tried that out.

All in all this is what an entry level 3D printer should be, dead easy to use and more prints less waste. Was well worth getting and and I am so happy , way more than when I got my first cocoon which worked but only barely and needed constant care and attention. The Cetus may not look like much but when you feel the well machined and oils rails this just feels like something more at home in a machinists shop than something sitting on a milk crate on the loungeroom floor where mine is. I bought directly from the Cetus website, chose the Australian model and it came from an Aussie location , correct power supply etc.

I can't recommend this highly enough for anyone looking at getting a 3D printer. Hope I can say the same in 6 months time.
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Old 27-11-2017, 04:02 PM
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Some relatively cheap ($399NZ) 3D printers have appeared over here. Thought about buying one but to be honest not sure what I'd actually use it for. All very well for tinkering but in reality I'd like to be using it for something useful. All the Thingiverse stuff I've seen is cheap junk like phone covers and similar, nothing of any real use.
This is the beast in question btw.

https://www.jaycar.co.nz/duinotech-m...aign=HCNZDec17

With a 90 x 90 x 90 print cube it seemed big enough to be useful but what for ?
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Old 29-11-2017, 02:30 PM
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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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Old 29-11-2017, 05:20 PM
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Heck Sil, no argument, I'm not seeing junk and I'm not complaining. I'd quite like one to play with but still not sure what I'd specifically use it to make. The other factor is whether I'd be capable of learning the 3D modelling software enough to make real use of it.

I guess I'm being rather practical about it all. I have a Lathe\Mill downstairs and confess I haven't used it as much as I expected to. We have a serious colour printer ( Photo quality ) at home as well which gets minimal use. The parts I need making need to be very rigid so metal is normally the only answer

With a 90 x 90 x 90 work space and what looks to be quite a solid frame setup it looks to be capable of creating something useful but I can't think of anything specific to my requirements.
Hence my question, I was actually trying to justify buying one.

EDIT:
Bit of a rider here. I work at a company that sells serious 3D printers to jewellers, prototyping manufacturers etc and is expanding the business market in that area considerably with industrial quality units. Their idea of a cheap entry level 3D printer is about $5000 and they go up into the $100,000 bracket or more. So I am not unaware of their capabilities but also aware of the amount of work needed to turn out accurate and reliable components. I supply the big computers the designers need to do the design work so I know what is required.
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Old 03-12-2017, 06:29 PM
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@Sil, thanks for the heads up on that, just ordered one.
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Old 05-12-2017, 04:14 PM
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We have the Prusa i3 Mk2, and upgraded it to multi-material. Just ordered the new version, the Mk3, and an upgrade kit for the Mk2 but won't be here until next year.

Very good printers but supply is a bit short. Worth the wait though.
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Old 07-12-2017, 12:07 PM
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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. Two rocket halves about 1.5 inch thick and 11in long is a challenge to print vertically as the wobble when it gets to the top can cause failures. My Cetus just continues to amaze me. Going to throw metal filament at it tonight

@Zero There are tons of great free options for modelling objects to print and cnc mill etc. I use TinkerCAD and Lightwave 3D (not free but I've been using for years), AutoDesk has a bunch of stuff "free" to "students and enthusiasts" so you can check them out anytime fore yourself, you dont get modelling software with 3D printers, usually you get a "slicer" program which takes your built 3D model and outputs the commands to control the printer to build it.

BTW the Cetus has print volume of 180mm x 180mm x 280mm (I got extended version which prints higher).

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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Old 08-12-2017, 02:25 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sil View Post
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.
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 View Post
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.
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.

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Originally Posted by sil View Post
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.
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.
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Old 08-12-2017, 09:19 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sil View Post
@Zero There are tons of great free options for modelling objects to print and cnc mill etc. I use TinkerCAD and Lightwave 3D (not free but I've been using for years), AutoDesk has a bunch of stuff "free" to "students and enthusiasts" so you can check them out anytime fore yourself, you dont get modelling software with 3D printers, usually you get a "slicer" program which takes your built 3D model and outputs the commands to control the printer to build it.

.
Hi Sil,
Been checking those out but I still don't see anything I'd want to print. My interest is in building new components for scopes , bikes etc. Most of the stuff I see is just another variation on a phone holder or some wee sculpted critter.
I need to get my head around using 3D design software to build eg Scope truss brackets or focuser components. I don't do model planes, rockets, robotics, drones or whatever so no desire to go there. I want stuff I can actually use and cannot be fabricated easily any other way. At present the Lathe\mill manages most of this.
But I'll keep looking and checking just to see if something changes my mind.. Must be a good reason somewhere. If and when then I'll be in like Flynn..
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Old 11-12-2017, 01:41 PM
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zero

I agree most printables site are full of variations of useless crap, but there are really well designed models (not just good looking) out there and I'm learning heaps just from examining the models to see where they've used curves instead of sharp corners to provide a structurally stronger region that can take more strain. being able to basically prototype myself at home gives me a better appreciation for well engineered parts. It may not be too applicable to metal working but wood workers could benefit too as using a filament printer you are laying down in layers, get the temperature wrong and the layers dont stick together so well plus the layers themselves provide a weak plane for force vectors just like wood grain direction matters in structural constructions.

I'm yet to make good use of the printer for astronomy. I made a part that keeps my telephoto zoom lense at full extension as its prone to shorten itself from its weight when tilted upwards. I just started printing rubber filament yesterday and its great, I'm going to make a larger diameter focus wheel to fit over my existing one for a bit better focus control. You can print out bahtinov masks, mounting parts for lasers and finder scopes, clipon frames to add cooling fans and keep cables tidy etc.

Granted these can all be done other ways and mostly once done are there forever. Printed plastic is not really suitable for precision and load bearing that mounts can require. but even something silly like glow in the dark filament to make clip on bands to put on the bottom of your tripod legs is a simple and useful thing you can easily knock out. Its up to your imagination really and if you're a diy kind of person.

I'd love to have a lathe and oxy set too but now with one hand metal isn't practical for me. Hey you could print sacrificial plastic parts for working on metal maybe? Guide rings on parts when lathe turning, bright colour plastic under/inside a metal part to make it easy to know you've drilled/milled through? corner angle brackets to hold pieces it position so you can spot weld in position, or even just print a design in plastic to test fit before commiting to cncing a block of metal.

Plus you could build a replacement for that damn little plastic thing holding your power tool handle together that you cant but a replacement for without buying a whole assembly. A 3D printer and some design skills is just handy for those nuisance repairs around the home where glues may not be appropriate but you need to get something decent in place, maybe make a brace for a cracking part to reinforce it?

Its just another tool in the workshop basically and for those interested I've seen many buy a cheap 3d printer and just have nothing but troubles getting anything to print reliably but finally we are starting to see them emerge under the $1k mark.

plus decorate the xmas tree with printed crap and print gifts when you cant be bothered to buy

All this advice is for anyone to mull over if they are tinkerers in any way, btw. I'm just so happy my new printer just prints every filament I throw at it, even the old stuff I thought had gone "off".
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