Best or Cheapest Specs for a 3D Printing Project

[Marm]

Haven't heard much good about the davinci. Mixed reviews at best.

Keep meaning to write a review of mine, but since it's the only printer I've ever used, I don't have a good point of view.

[Wolfie]

Keep meaning to write a review of mine, but since it's the only printer I've ever used, I don't have a good point of view.

No, you have a perfectly good point of view. Its just limited

[curious aardvark]

Yep, so is it any good ?

[Marm]

Davinci 1.0:

It's not bad. As I mentioned, I'm at 200+ hours, with only minor mechanical issues; loose connections, extruder jams, bed leveling, etc. Once you learn how to work with the software package that seems to want to work against you, it's ok. But even starting out, most of the things I want to print would be ok. I know what the printer can and can't do, so I design to those limitations.

The proprietary nature of the filament is a real pain, as it limits you to the manufacturers filament. It is medium grade at best, and you cannot (until the refilling upgrade) change type of filaments. The lack of gcode control would be infuriating for some one used to adjusting gcode. As the temps are hard coded (but can be changed using an Arduino, available 3rd party or DIY), you have to run filament that meets those specs (210c extruder, 90c hotbed I believe). Supposedly PLA is out of the question as it constantly jams the extruder, regardless of temp settings. The proprietary firmware and software both report back to the manufacturer, so if it reports you using a flashed chip, they can remotely lock your printer. Firewalling the software and printer avoids this problem.

It is easy to setup, pretty much plug and play. The menu system on the printer is not bad, usually is intuitive, but easily learned if not. The software is the same, a few hiccups but easily learned. A fairly large build volume (8x8x8 / 200x200x200) made this a fairly easy choice over the similarly priced PrintrBot (with 1/8 th the build volume). Since everything but the CAD software is provided, you can start printing from STL's the day you get it. The way to software is written, the file is transmitted to and stored on the printer for printing. I have read about people losing their USB connection for whatever reason (Printer or PC's fault) and still being able to print by storing the file on the SD card and transferring it to the printer, and printing it as one of the demo's. The fully enclosed machine is pretty nice on the eye candy scale, and in my environment, helps keep the temps steady, as where I work has a bit of draft from the heater.

Would I buy one again? No, as I'm planning on doing a custom DIY build of a larger print volume with more control. I will be using the Davinci to help fabricate a good portion of those parts though. Would I recommend one to somebody who is familiar with 3d Printing and wants the flexibility of a more open source machine? Nope. But I would recommend it for the person who wants a printer, for whatever reason, but doesn't want to invest a lot of time or money in getting it to run right. It worked well right out of the box, and still does for the most part. It's great for a hobbyist who wants to make parts for RC models, or trains, or whatever. Just like any other tool in their shop, it's just a tool, not the focus of their shop.

[CTC-USA]

Just the parts alone cost about $375.

No housing, no frame, no extras.

Biggies being the Stepper Motors/Drivers/Motherboard/Rods/Power Supply.