anyone 3d printing?

anyone 3d printing? i see them going cheap now, 200 bucks buys one now.

i know theres no metal for flashlights? but, my other hobby wants to make housings?

can i finish machine the parts?

http://www.gearbest.com/3d-printers-3d-printer-kits/pp_293805.html

Yep, I’ve been running a Folgertech 2020 i3 for about 9 months now. There was just recently a thread about 3d-printed lights, I posted mine in there: 3D printed 18650 light, playing with the idea. - #12 by tterev3

I’ve been using my MakerFarm 12” Prusa I3v off and on for over a year now. I haven’t made any flashlight stuff with mine, but I guess some low power options would work with the filament options available. Maybe you could make the battery tube/switch/driver housings with it and use aluminum for heat sinking. They are definitely great for prototyping stuff and I think you can even cast using a lost PLA casting technique. (Gonna have to go to google for that one) I paid just over $700 for mine, so it’s intriguing to see how the prices have come down as the parts and technology becomes more widely available.

I’ve had a Kossel Clear for over 3 years, and I have a second Metal Delta in the final build stages right now.

Just keep in mind, you get what you pay for. Also, the kits take some serious dedication to build, tune, fix, and enjoy.

I question the durability and longevity of that gearbest special

I saw one guy on Youtube made a cap for a variable resistor, the kind with a small brass knob you turn. It was a good idea.

be careful with the acrylic part, it sometime messes up your print

A great thing to 3D print for flashlights are centering rings, you can get them exactly how you need and not have to worry about sanding them ect.

Anyone wanting to start 3d print on a budget should look at the Anet A8, it’s the first budget model that is actually of very good quality and doesn’t require lots of upgrades and tuning, tremendous bang for your buck.

Edit: there have apparently been reported fires with this printer so QC might be sketchy, beware.

I own a Wanhao i3 V2.1 for a few weeks now, and I’m really pleased with it !

I bought the GB A8 Prusa i3 3D printer when they had a flash sale over the holidays (just today it was lowered to $170 + shpg). I too was surprised at how low 3D printers had come down. Was expecting to pay $1500-2500 for a 3D printer, it seemed like a really good deal for $215 including shipping and 2 rolls of ABS filament. Thought the A8 would be a no lose situation for an introduction to 3D printing.

Unfortunately the purchase turned into one of those Chinese vendor stories we are all too familiar with. My mistake on waiting three weeks for first ticket on why the kit had not shipped yet. Apparently standard shipping charges were not an option (after the fact) so it was suggested that an additional $19.26 would get things moving by DHL. After not replying for a day, got another email suggesting $1.03 would get DHL delivery…. really? So a week later got the filament, and a week after that got the A8. So five weeks, which isn’t exactly terrible. Flash sale items seem to be slow, whether it is anticipation of the product, or reality?

With paying attention to the youtube videos,the build of the kit was going along nicely. Hit a snag when couldn’t find the six small acrylic pieces to hold the X-axis belt. Ticket number two, and now the parts are on order. Not wanting to wait another 4-6 weeks for the parts, I went ahead and hand fabbed the belt capture pieces from some misc. aluminum stock. The build continues!

Not wanting to point fingers at anyone in particular, just real world experience. GB has handled the tickets quickly and professionally, it is what it is.

There may be questions as to what power supply is being shipped, as the description doesn’t really say. Mine came with a 240W (12V, 20A) supply. The kit appears to be dropped shipped from Anet.

I would recommend the Wanhao i3 v2.1 as well (also known as Monoprice Maker Select 3D Printer v2 in USA, and Cocoon Create 3D Printer in Australia), as it comes more or less ready to print from the factory and it doesn’t have plastic parts as many of the cheaper ones do.

Trust me when I say that there is enough frustration getting started with 3d printing without having to spend hours on building them… I’d also recommend starting with a roll of PLA, as it’s the easiest plastic to print.

This is a good resource for upgrades for the Wanhao. It might be pre-built, but still lots of work to get it to print better…

https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/46fxz0/my_maker_select_duplicator_i3_mod_documentation/

If I knew it was something I’m going to use a lot and was willing to spend more money on, I’d go for the Prusa official version (Josef Prusa designed the i3 model most cheap printers are based on), the mk2 release is very popular for good reasons:

http://shop.prusa3d.com/en/3d-printers/59-original-prusa-i3-mk2-kit.html

Links, or attribution, to the cause of the fires? Have new, or updated, versions fixed the problem?

Currently playing with the idea, im fairly close to print out the first test pieces:

Oh yeah, another item that has been invaluable for me are these Battery trays. They are great and allow me to keep all my cell organized and safe. If you look through my account I have them in a few sizes and you can customize them for whatever you want.

Just be careful to not make the tolerances too tight or it can be hard to get the cells in and out. I found that ~18.75mm works well for most 18650 cells. It holds them in place while still being easy to insert and remove them.

I have a few more then this printed off now but you get the idea. Works great for AA and other “normal” batteries as well.

That was on reddit , had to do mainly with the power supply side of things, weak fan and sketchy connections, mosfets on the driver board might be too weak on some units, also connection to the heated bed, and the hot end might melt it’s support or something like that.

O.K. will keep an eye on the power supply and heater bed, Thanks! Hopefully, the newer? 240W supply will handle things. There were previous report(s) that the heated bed wouldn’t get hot enough for abs?, and hence the upgrade to the newer power supply.

GB support says there is a new method now employed to secure the x-axis belt for GB (Anet) A8, so in effect, I wasn’t missing parts after all :slight_smile: .

This photo is a work of art