How large of a printer should I get?

[bluecreative]

I have been toying around with the idea of purchasing a 3D printer for a while now. I recently spoke with a contractor who builds houses, and suggested that he offer a 3D model of the house made from the blueprint to show his clients so they could really visualize what their new home would look like and how the rooms would be arranged.

I've been considering the MakerBot Replicator 2 for a while now, but I'm wondering if that will be large enough to print the houses in an appropriate size. The other option I suppose would be to print out sections of the house separately and somehow attach them afterwards.

I have ZERO experience with 3D printing, but I have used Cinema 4D quite a bit so that part of it would be an easy transition. I would appreciate any feedback on this, whether it sounds like it could be a profitable service to offer, or if I'm going about this the wrong way etc.

Thanks,

[Brian_Krassenstein]

Do you have any idea how large the models will be on average? That information would allow us to give you a good recommendation.

[old man emu]

I've seen architectural models of houses printed on desk top 3D printers. They were quite presentable. At the moment, the largest common print bed is 8" x 8" (240 mm x 240 mm) and the print height is usually the same. You can figure out from those sizes what scale you could print the model at. Just for safety, limit your plan view size to 7.5" x 7.5" so you know it will fit on the printer bed. If you want to print out 52-room mansions for movie stars, you will have to print modules.

Old Man Emu

[bluecreative]

The houses wouldn't be mansions as far as I know, but they would be high end and larger than the average house. I really don't have a specific size, but larger than your usual ranch style home, with higher ceilings as well.

The Makerbot Replicator 2 has a bed of 11.2" L x 6" W x 6.1" T. This seems like a great printer, and at a nice value as well so I'm considering purchasing this one, but I'm not sure if you take a larger house and scale it down to 11", if it will be large enough to get a feel for what it will look like finished. But at the same time, you want it small enough so people will keep it afterwards, and not be too large that it would be in the way.

Here's a couple of photos from the houses this contractor has built.

IMG_4140.jpgIMG_4164.jpgIMG_4187.jpg

[old man emu]

With a bed length of 11.2" (~285 mm) and width of 6" ( ~152 mm) you could print a building with a length of up to 12.7" (~320 mm) if you aligned the long axis of the building to the diagonal of the print bed.

OME

[bluecreative]

Good thinking...I didn't even think about going diagonal. I'm looking at the Makerbot Replicator 5th Generation, and the Makerbot Replicator 2. I'm having some problems understanding what the difference is between them. It appears as though the Makerbot Replicator 2 can print larger, yet it's less expensive.

[ralphzoontjens]

I'd also look at min. layer height and accuracy since for architectural models you'd probably want the objects to look as smooth as possible. It will also help in creating accurate connector elements in case you want to print a model in modules. 100 microns may still be a bit too rough, you may want to compare how it looks next to one printed with 50 or 75 microns layer height. I have heard some negative experiences with the Makerbot printers. I know that Ultimakers are quite accurate, but also the Helix printer showed some impressive results with 100 micron layers and a resolution of 4(!) microns. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...on-3d-printing

Creating a printed piece out of multiple elements will not be a problem if you smartly work away the seams. Some pin-hole connections or LEGO-style snap connectors may do the trick. Count on at least 0.1mm deviation so you'd probably not want to stack too many separate pieces since then the total tolerance cumulatively increases. For your application it seems that a print volume of 8" cubed will work fine. It seems to me also that you should be able to find some business, especially if you can provide not only the 3d printing service but specialize more in the service of architectural modeling, using 3d printing only where that is the rationally justifiable optimal option.

[bluecreative]

Thanks for the reply. I did order a sample from makerbot but they said that it would take 3 weeks to get here. That helix looks really nice, and would be a great solution for what I would need too. It is a bit more expensive but would provide a better product so that's worth something too.

It would be difficult to price this kind of service. Obviously the material wouldn't cost that much, but the time it takes to do the 3D work would add up quickly, and I would want to be able to recoup my costs from the purchase of the printer, especially if I get the helix which is quite a bit more expensive. It seems like with large architectural projects and custom built homes, there would be a decent budget built in to where I could charge enough to make some money at it.

[CNCKing.com]

The only issue with larger prints is that more can go wrong the longer the printer is making the model - I've had prints take 12 hours and on the 11th... you guessed it... material warps or unsticks from the platform and an expensive chunk of useless PLA finds its way in the garden. This has been my experience with "consumer" 3D printers... industrial machines are far better though and more accurate so this isn't as much of an issue.

Jon

[bluecreative]

The only issue with larger prints is that more can go wrong the longer the printer is making the model - I've had prints take 12 hours and on the 11th... you guessed it... material warps or unsticks from the platform and an expensive chunk of useless PLA finds its way in the garden. This has been my experience with "consumer" 3D printers... industrial machines are far better though and more accurate so this isn't as much of an issue.

Jon

Interesting point Jon. Would you consider the helix an industrial printer or would that be considered a 'prosumer' product?

I want a good product, but I'd like a relatively affordable one as well since I would be just starting in this industry and I'm not sure how busy it would really be. You always hope you can bring in enough to make a profit but you never truly know until you try.

That being said, you want to be putting out a quality product as well, especially in the beginning. The challenge is finding that balance where you have a good machine at an affordable price that will bring in the business you want.