Bulk RepRap ABS plastic order

[Joe Kerman]

I will soon be placing an order with a plastic extrusion house for bulk 3mm ABS filament.  I would very much like to include Sector67, PS:1, and Milwaukee Makerspace in on the deal, at cost.  I will not be placing the order for several weeks yet, but wanted to get the details to you guys about pricing.  If anyone wants filament for a personal reprap, I will be charging a $5/spool markup, but you could still get your plastic delivered when we arrange dropoff of the bulk order.  I am in the Chicago area every few weeks, and Im sure delivery to Milwaukee wouldnt be a big deal.

I am 99% sure that this plastic is the same plastic house that MakerGear uses. (Rick said his plastic house is in ohio, and the red is a spot on match for makergear red) Sector has had great results with the colors so far. (except black, at the moment, cannot recommend black until they can explain what dye they are using). 

All plastic is delivered on 5lb cardboard spools.  Minimum order is 2 spools of any single color, which shouldn't be a problem with the group order.  Custom colors are available for $25/order fee, and a 2 week process of sending a color sample (photo or object)  to their lab. I am trying to find out if they will color match with digital color data from one of those fancy machines (ps:one has access to one).  Since its an outsourced process, I can provide contact information for you to send samples to before we place the order.



White and Natural 5lb spools are $44

Glow in the dark (white/cream) 5lb spools are $55

Red, Green, and Blue, or any other color 5lb spool are $49/ ( I have only personally seen the "red" )

Custom colors (besides red, green, and blue) are $25 per order, any quantity. and use the color spool rate.

Plastic for personal use has an additional $5/spool fee, So I can spend more time doing this, and less time getting a "real job" :)

1.75mm filament is available for around $7/spool additional, and counts as a separate product for all minimum orders. (this is why im focusing on 3mm at the moment)

Shipping cost is included in this price. Lead time is between 2-8 weeks, depending on their resin supply.

If we can somehow get to a 200lb order, there is an additional $0.50/lb discount, but i'm not counting on that.


I can take payment via check (preferred, damn credit card fees!) or via google checkout, if you dont mind paying the 3% credit card fees.

I will set a tentative date to place the order of November 14th. Once your space has finalized an order, please respond to me off list(s)



I hope to not cause too much mailing list spam by blasting this to four lists, but what better way to bring Milwaukee, Madison, and Chicago together a little bit more than rallying around discount rate plastic?  If this goes well, I hope we will be able to band together to save a few bucks on similar projects in the future.

[Joe Kerman]

There seems to be quite a bit of interest in trying to assemble some sort of color variety pack. Respooling sounds like no fun, but is possible http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPMDk2EAtp4 (going from spool->spool is /so/ much better than open-loop->spool)

Please note if you would be interested in a 5lb spool of "misc" colors, if available. And I will see what sort of pack we could make.

[Pete Prodoehl]

Sign me up for a "misc" spool!

Pete

[Joe Kerman]

I got a color sample pack from the plastics factory today. Will try to get a lightbox shot sometime, but pictured are "red"  and "green" (which do /not/ require a custom color fee), "glow in the dark", and "pink"

http://flic.kr/p/aABEi6

And a better picture of the "red"

http://flic.kr/p/adHNeQ

not pictured is "white" But I think you can figure out what that looks like :) And I have sofar not seen what their interpretation of "blue" is.

On Tue, Oct 25, 2011 at 2:43 PM, Joe Kerman <jke...@gmail.com> wrote: