Build custom models for a fee?

[sijesh]

Does anybody build 3D prototypes of custom models for a fee? I'm a
student and I don't have money to buy makerbot.

[Eric Smith]

Sure, lots of places do that. It's expensive. The results from
commercial printers are generally of higher quality than can be
achieved today with a MakerBot or RepRap, but if you don't need high
resolution and don't mind spending some time on finishing the result,
it wouldn't take much printing before a MakerBot paid for itself.

Here in the bay area, one option is to have stuff printed on a
Stratasys Dimension BST printer at TechShop. They have different
rates for members and nonmembers. There are discounted membership
rates for student. I've used their printer to make a housing and
buttons for a calculator prototype.

One 3D printer service bureau is shapeways. I haven't used them.

[Tox]

Techshop in menlo park may be your best bet at the moment - runs
around $20/cu inch if I recall correctly.
Once the makerbotters catch up with their own personal projects, I
expect that there will be more of a cottage industry of print-to-spec.

Tox

On Tue, Dec 1, 2009 at 3:26 PM, sijesh <m.si...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Does anybody build 3D prototypes of  custom models for a fee? I'm a
> student and I don't have money to buy makerbot.
>

--
Scott Small

[MakerBlock]

I'm hoping to do some print-to-spec work with my MakerBot, that is
once I've finished building, testing, and playing with it. ;)
MakerBlock

On Dec 2, 8:19 am, Tox <scott.sm...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Techshop in menlo park may be your best bet at the moment - runs
> around $20/cu inch if I recall correctly.
> Once the makerbotters catch up with their own personal projects, I
> expect that there will be more of a cottage industry of print-to-spec.
>
> Tox
>

[Eric Smith]

MakerBlock wrote:
> I'm hoping to do some print-to-spec work with my MakerBot, that is
> once I've finished building, testing, and playing with it.  ;)

There seems to be no shortage of people that want printed Mendel
parts. However, it also appears that many of those people don't want
to pay more than materials cost, despite it taking more than 60 hours
to print a full set of parts.

I'm still assembling my MakerBot, and once it's basically working I'll
probably put together a heated build platform, then start printing my
own Mendel parts.

Eric

[MakerBlock]

I was thinking more along the lines of printing custom blocks
compatible with existing commercially available building/construction
sets. I like the idea of RepRap in general and Mendel in specific,
but a MakerBot is just enough for the things I want to build.
MakerBlock