Anyone used Flash Forge 3D printer?
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Lucie deLaBruere
Nov 18, 2016, 10:11:52 AM11/18/16
to K-12 Fab Labs and Makerspaces
Has anyone used this one yet? Curious about whether it would work in a small school maker lab or is more of a personal printer?
woodshopcowboy .
Nov 18, 2016, 11:23:11 AM11/18/16
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I have a similar, cheaper replicator clone for home use. It works quite will for the price point (sub-400) but not rock solid reliable. I'm forty hours in with no major malfunctions or breakdowns. I have been able to successfully transport it with no mechanical mess ups or issues also. Overall I'm pleased.
It works great as a personal printer, but reliability is what I want in the classroom. I'm unconvinced but hopeful at the moment.
PW
On Fri, Nov 18, 2016 at 10:11 AM, Lucie deLaBruere <ldela...@gmail.com> wrote:
Has anyone used this one yet? Curious about whether it would work in a small school maker lab or is more of a personal printer?
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Sharon Guillory
Nov 19, 2016, 11:00:59 AM11/19/16
to K-12 Fab Labs and Makerspaces
I got a Flashforge creator pro 2 years ago as a donation. It's had its issues, like every other consumer grade printer, but overall its been a good experience. I purchased 2 more (the new model) in September and have run the three a lot in the last couple of months. The best part about the dual extruder is not the printing in two colors at once, which is hit or miss, but having a choice of two filament colors on each printer. This eliminates a lot of filament changes and/or whining about colors.
Some folks say the second extruder is in the way and can drag over prints, but I've found that keeping the nozzles wiped eliminates that issue. When doing a dual color print, you need to be really careful about temperature, since the nozzles are both hot and the one not extruding can drool on the print if it's too hot. We print on 1/4" borosilicate glass (ABS) with purple disappearing glue - we get the big sticks, and this speeds up the time between prints, as we just take out the glass and put in another prepared one. The ABS does stink though, so if you don't have good ventilation, it's a bad, headachey scene. Painters tape works great with PLA, and we can use the glass plates for that as well.
Sharon
Joseph Chiu
Nov 19, 2016, 7:28:53 PM11/19/16
to k-12-fablabs
We sell the FFCP and also an upgraded FFCP "Vpro" bundle.
The FFCP is the only "workhorse" rated printer under $1,000. That made the 3Dhubs printer ratings report that just came out.
It is a good machine for the classroom. It's print volume is slightly smaller than what is common these days, but it's still plenty big for most purposes!
On Nov 18, 2016 7:11 AM, "Lucie deLaBruere" <ldela...@gmail.com> wrote:
Has anyone used this one yet? Curious about whether it would work in a small school maker lab or is more of a personal printer?
Jason Mickelson
Nov 20, 2016, 1:28:14 PM11/20/16
to K-12 Fab Labs and Makerspaces
Last year I inherited the first gen plywood Flashforge with metal heated plate. Ran only PLA on one extruder and it was reliable for months before weather changed. Quality was good. The enclosure should help with temp flux in your room. We saw a big change in PLA sticking in winter on Flashforge and Makerbot Rep 2. Calibrating the plate with super tight thumb screws became a huge headache and time suck. We are using MOD-t printers this year. What we sacrifice in print quality is more than made up for in ease of use and using a web print queue with eight printers. And I definitely don't miss calibrating plates or prying off prints. We spend way more time designing and iterating and less time fixing the machines. Wifi stability has been a pain though.
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