Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Had my first play with creating something in AutoCAD and then having a friend print for me. Results in last post here viewtopic.php?f=36&t=41460&p=328464#p328464

I?m now hooked and want my own 3D printer . Anyone else own one and can advise best one at budget end ?

Advice I?ve been given so far

For the printer, you?ll most likely want to get an FDM type (filament deposit) as less fiddly to start with than the resin SLA/DLP types.

The FDM type printer has many filament types/colours and is very versatile - just that the prints have tiny lines on them so finish might need sanding/spraying with paint to have 100% appearance.

Would suggest you go for a machine with a heated print build platform as this allows all types of material to be printed. I think the best place to see the top machines are on youtube - a guy called ?makers muse? - he?s really good at explaining stuff & sure he has a top printers video for different budgets. Printing indoors is ok for most materials as smell not an issue except for ABS or PETG filament types. Nylon tricky to print as need a moisture proof chamber to store it, but best for strength. PLA is great for general use & I use it 90% of the time now as corn starch based. Melts in hot places though (like inside a car in summer) hence nylon option. A good machine will cost from about ?300 upwards. I have a Flashforge Creator Pro (has dual extruders) but a single is fine just aim to get a heated bed type.

The other (resin) machines are amazingly cheap but even so the print quality is almost as good as injection moulding. It?s feasible you could use one for that trim instead if it?s no larger than the machine?s max size. They cost about ?200 on ebay. I use the Anycubic Photon S which is slightly better than the non ?S? type (has an extra fan) but quality great. The resin uses UV light to cure so you need some (cheap) extra items to allow full rinsing & curing like IPA alcohol & a chemist?s magnetic mixing machine &/or sonic cleaner. The resin smell is pretty bad too so not good for using anywhere except a garage/shed unless extraction present. It prints strong & pretty rigid items but could be brittle on longer parts. Heat no issue for car interiors as similar properties to fibreglass resin.

DJW, thanks for this extremely succinct and informative review of 3D printing. I have been considering 3D printing for creating casting masters, so it is extremely helpful!

Nigel

If you are interested in 3D printing and metal casting, this guy on Youtube has some interesting videos.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNC9gj ... MQmp31DnjA

Regards
John

Thanks for the YouTube link, I will give that a good look.

And to get you really inspired, this link gives you an idea of what it now possible.

https://oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topi ... nt-1752201

reb53 wrote:And to get you really inspired, this link gives you an idea of what it now possible.

https://oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topi ... nt-1752201

This guy is extremely impressive, but using a 3D printer to produce moulds and cores for casting is yesterday's technology (according to my son). State of the art 'additive manufacturing' is printing metal components that are fully functional and the finished item themselves using laser sintering techniques.

https://markforged.com/metal-x/

Apparently the 'SuperDraco' engine used in SpaceX's Dragon capsule is 3D printed from Inconel powder.

Hi
I have an Anycubic i3 Mega. Reasons for choice after a lot of investigation :-
1) Heated Bed
2) Reasonable print volume.
3) Doesn't have to have a specific make of filament
4) Bought as a finished item - not kit form
5) Numerous recommendations from a range of sources
6) Affordable

It's been great and worked really quite hard for about a year. I've really enjoyed turning little ideas into reality and its amazing the range of items that can be 'magic-ed up'.

I'm just beginning to wonder if I should move on to a dual head printer. The reason for this is that for more complex prints you need to use 'support material' which is broken away at the end of the print. With a dual head printer the support material can be printed using a soluble filament that can be simply dissolved away.

So far I've managed to do all I want using TinkerCad plus downloading and adapting other peoples work on Thingivers.

Can thoroughly recommend 3d printing as a useful and creative interest.

So finally got around to purchasing a 3D printer. After much research I went for the Creality CR-6SE.

Bought via initial Kickstarter batch, and apart from a few niggles I was made aware of upfront, apart from levelling z axis (5 min job) then it’s been great to use. Now listed on Amazon for around £380 or circa £330 from independents.

The model below is probably a better bet, as more established and prints just as good if not even better. Bargain here at the mo :- https://www.3djake.uk/creality-3d-print ... ender-3-v2

Use free version of Fusion360 for autocad, and free version of slicer with printer. Spools of filament can be had for £15-20 for 1kg spool

Highly recommended hobby