Newbie looking for best 3d printer!

[SloppyJostler]

I want to print full heads from graphics what printer would be best suited for this task? I want ti print in color possibly can anybody point me in the right direction? many thanks in advance.

[richardphat]

What is your budget, because it's really easy to show you in the wrong direction by only assuming. And you need to define more specifically what you want to do...

[awerby]

Full heads from graphics? Have you found a good way of doing that? It's possible to print in color, but the printers that do that aren't exactly cheap...

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

[DavidS]

What is a "Full Head"?

What do you mean by print in color? Two colors, more? Would you mind changing filament mid print to get color?

You need to provide enough information to make an answer possible.

[printgeek]

Like human heads/busts?

[SloppyJostler]

Like human heads/busts?

Ithink like this yes, I am not sure what my budget is until I know that the printer I want to buy can do the job, I was told that I would have to paint the print once it is done to give it detail ect. Thanks for the reply's have any of you guys heard of a Focus l8 single extruder printer? if so can this printer do the job? or a Wanhoa ds5 large build?

[SloppyJostler]

What is a "Full Head"?

What do you mean by print in color? Two colors, more? Would you mind changing filament mid print to get color?

You need to provide enough information to make an answer possible.

So you can change the colors mid print to make this happen without painting? I assume you would need many filament colors?

[DavidS]

So you can change the colors mid print to make this happen without painting? I assume you would need many filament colors?

Very limited. If you want good detail the best way is to paint it after done.

Getting the pause points exact is difficult, and you do not want to pause for long. Some times some of the pigment from the previous filament bleeds into the next loaded for a while. And you do not want to do so more than a few times per print (that is my experience so far anyway).

[SloppyJostler]

Very limited. If you want good detail the best way is to paint it after done.

Getting the pause points exact is difficult, and you do not want to pause for long. Some times some of the pigment from the previous filament bleeds into the next loaded for a while. And you do not want to do so more than a few times per print (that is my experience so far anyway).

What wuould be best material to use for this? and what would be best printer to buy which can support say not only stl file but x3d ect and all kinds of different materials like rubber flex?

[DavidS]

What wuould be best material to use for this? and what would be best printer to buy which can support say not only stl file but x3d ect and all kinds of different materials like rubber flex?

Well first off:
No 3D printer I know of supports any form of 3D model format (not StL, X3D, OBj, etc). They all use G-Code or something similar, that is output from a slicer program that reads in the model and outputs the command language for the printer.

So you want a slicer program that supports more formats. There are a couple that support both StL and WaveFront (.OBJ). Though the best way about it is to convert the model you are working from into a StL format, most 3D modelers support exporting to StL (including Blender, which it sounds like you may be using). There are also command line tools for converting from one 3D model format to another.

As to the printer to use:
I ask you what is the maximum size you will need to print (x, y, z all three ways)?

As to material:
I see no reason it would make a huge difference for your application, so long as the printer you use does well with the material you use.

As to budget:
There are 3D printers that cost as little as $250, and some that cost upwards of $400,000.00, so I do believe that having some idea of your budget is important, at least a range.