$200 3d printer

[David Kavanagh]

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/new-matter-mod-t-3d-printing-for-everyone

Has anybody given this some thought? My concerns are that it only prints PLA and the print area and resolution aren't awesome. Anybody with a printer think printing PLA only is a problem?

David

[Brian Boucheron]

I only print PLA and don't find it to be an issue. I'm not sure what
the claims for ABS are, but I imagine people feel it's stronger than
PLA. I don't have any durability issues with my printed parts, and
enjoy the fact that PLA doesn't smell terrible when you print it, and
it doesn't have as many warping issues as ABS.

Print resolution on that unit seems pretty typical. 4mm nozzle is
normal, .2 or .3mm layer height is good, and I imagine they'll get
good settings for .1mm rolled out. I usually print at .3 even though I
could go finer... I'm printing more structural than aesthetic parts.

Print area is personal preference really. Seems pretty decent for the
price... lots of these low cost printers have a tiny little print bed
and this one doesn't seem too bad.

My main concern would be if you have to use their software, or if
you'd be able to use any bits and pieces of the standard open source
toolchain.

-b.

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[David Kavanagh]

Thanks, Brian. They say they can take STL files as well as their own format, so I assume that opens it up to a more traditional tool-chain. Seems like they must convert to gcode on the printer. 

[D. Joe]

Well, the $200 level is sold out, anyway. So, one question now is, how
is this for a $300 printer ;-)

The heated bed on the Huxley Pro at the space hasn't heated for . . . a
while. So, PLA has been the de facto material for that.

That said, Skip seems to really like printing with ABS on his Printrbot
"MacGyverbot". As I understand it, the things that appeal to him is its
ability to be solvent polished or solvent welded. This strengthens parts by
smooshing the layers together a bit. You can join new parts or repair old
parts. But it does have a bit of a stink--doesn't really get me at first,
but it sneaks up on you if you sit for a while near the printer, or it has
been churning away for a while and you walk up to it.

One thing I like about the mod-t page is their comparison of printers:

https://images.indiegogo.com/file_attachments/598142/files/20140522154944-3D_Printer_Comparison_Table.png?1400798984

In particular, the materials costs are revealing to see laid out this way.

This also highlights for me that the M3D Micro might be nice, once it's
actually available.

I'm a bit shy of the crowdfunding approach. I signed up for updates on
the Mu Thermal Camera and it still hasn't come together yet. We'll see.

One printer is notable for its absence from this comparison, the MakiBox:

https://store.makibox.com

They've got the usual big make-'em-as-orders-come-in 6 week lead time.
Also, I haven't scoured the various forums and such to find out how it is
doing in practice.

But at least they've actually shipped a $200 printer, and that counts for a
lot in my eyes.

--
Joe

--
Joe On ceding power to tech companies: http://xkcd.com/1118/
man screen | grep -A2 weird
A weird imagination is most useful to gain full advantage of
all the features.

[David Kavanagh]

Yea, I missed the $200, so I'll sit back and wait again. I even had spousal approval, which counts for a lot. I'm also waiting on the Mu Thermal Camera, but it's getting close it seems! Can't wait to receive mine!

The M3D Micro does look decent. small print area, but other specs are positive. I still wonder, what's the least I spend to build a printer.. someday, I'll research that.. but volume buying and mass production will probably beat that.