If one were looking for a three-dimensional printer with a minimum resolution of at most 100 microns (0.1mm) and a vertical build envelope of at least 7.5 inches (191mm) and that required a minimum of construction/assembly (specifically, no soldering), what would folks recommend?
Dunno about the printer, but if you need soldering done give me a yell. I was once a cert’ed 2M (micro-miniature) repair tech.
Why do i get the feeling someone is looking for a Mag-O-Matic 3000?
With accuracy like that, you’re probably looking at a PolyJet printer, like those made by OBJET. http://objet.com/ Fair warning: the PolyJet technology uses UV-curing resins, that become increasingly brittle with age.
That said, they are terrific for highly accurate prototypes, and are not plagued with the grotesque stair-stepping inherent in SLA, SLS, or FDM-fabricated parts.
If you need additional information, please feel free to shoot me an e-mail.
–Malachi
@ oldradartech: I keep forgetting that some of my friends have mad skillz
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@ dave w: Whlie I wish that were the case, the honest truth is the printers folks like DefCad are using are somewhere in the neighborhood of $250,000 a pop, and that is just not going to happen. There was a video (now private, for some reason) of a Rostock printer knocking out an AR mag, though, which gives me hope.
@ Malachi: I may be misunderstanding what I am reading (entirely possible), but I think 100 microns is largely considered to be the standard for consumer-grade printers these days – the Makerbot and most Mendels are capable of it, if I believe what they are telling me… Is the reality different from the claims?
And, yeah, SLA definitely seems to be the next generation of printing, but damn it is expensive. The Form1 looked like it was going to tone that down for consumers, but apparently 3D Systems objects to something in their design?
http://www.solidoodle.com Can print at the resolution you want, but only has a 6x6x6 build area. Only costs about $500 though. The RepRap has some models available that are a good bit larger, I believe, but cost a bit more and require more significant assembly.
Just came across this one, the CubeX http://cubify.com/cubex/index.aspx?tb_cubex_learn Multicolor printing, and a roughly 10x10x10 inch build area, for $2500. Max resolution is only .125, not sure if that’s close enough to .1 for you.
So the SoliDoodle sorely tempted me with its apparently obscenely durable build quality and quite acceptable price, but its envelope is a bit small for my intended purposes – printing on the diagonal is always an option, but can complicate things.
And the CubeX is out of my price range, unfortunately. Plus they appear to take proprietary material cartridges, which is just silly these days.
I did not want to color anyone’s initial responses, but I have been looking at the Bukobot, Ditto, Rostock Max, and DeltaMaker, all with their respective good and bad sides… Still not sure which way to jump, as there is not a lot of information about affordable printers with that size build area.
Linoge: my concern with any 3D Printer that can be had for under five figures is not the accuracy of a single layer, but the ability of the linear stages to hold that accuracy reliably as parts are built up in the Z-axis. Despite the remarkable advances made in low-cost anti-backlash mechanisms, a $2K FDM (Filament Deposition Modeling) machine is not going to have anywhere near the repeatability and reliability of a $30K version, and this R&R is only going to get worse as the linear stages begin to wear.
Now, if what you are intending to build needs to be accurate in the X-Y axis at key points, but not so much in the Z, then any one of the machines you mention above will probably serve you quite well. It is also quite possible that one could get “pretty good” accuracy in the Z-axis with regular maintenance and recalibration. (Your Mileage May Vary, of course)
(And yes, I’ll readily admit that having both a Dimension es1200 FDM Machine, and an OBJET Eden500V at work has spoiled me rotten…)
–Malachi
@ Joshua: Turns out I was unfairly maligning Solidoodle – they now have an 8″x8″x8″ version as well, for $800 assembled.
@ Malachi: Unfortunately, the honest-to-God truth is that a five-figure printer is simply not going to happen. Hell, a four-figure printer may or may not happen, depending on just how long I am giving up on purchasing firearms/ammunition. At this point, I can kind of rationalize a sub-$1,500 printer because I have raised a fair percentage of that through shirt and patch sales, because I figure a few little things I could make I could also end up selling (assuming they work right, which, from what I am reading, they should… whatever that is worth), and because the utility of making doodads I design is just awesome.
But that is because that kind of pricing is still in the “toy” range, though definitely at the upper bound.
But dropping what amounts to be a car’s price on something that I have no business built around and no real ideas for doing so? Heh.
I understand that these tabletop machines will never even come close to comparing with honest-to-God industry machines… but that is kind of like saying an off-the-rack 10/22 is not going to be able to shoot as accurately at range as a Barrett M98 firing a custom load. They serve different purposes, and, at this point, I am just trying to maximize what little money I can convince myself (and, more importantly, the Holder of the Check Book) might be worthwhile.