High end 3D Printer

[jman841]

I am very new to 3D printing but would like to purchase a high end 3D printer that I can use to develop, design, and test different things for RC Applications. Development of parts for RC Planes, Quads, helicopters, and possibly larger items (within reason).

The items have to be able to withstand some load and impact as is the nature of flying things.

So my questions are, what type of filament would be best for this application? Extreme detail is probably less important, but strength and impact resistance is more important.

What 3D Printers are currently the "Best" on the high end spectrum in terms of print quality, speed, printable size, reliability, ease of use, and versatility.

Which companies/printers are best suited to be adaptable for future technology changes and improvements in 3D Printing. I realize 3D printing is still fairly new technology and expect it to continue to further develop. If going to purchase a higher end 3D Printer I would like for it to be adaptable to utilize future technology advancements as well.

I am doing tons of research but find that asking the people who have experience with a certain subject is a great place to start.


Thank you!

[jman841]

After a little research, it seems that Stratasys is the top of the line in 3D Printing for what I am looking to do. Is there anyone else that directly competes with them or any lower end printers that work as well as the Stratasys printers?

[YYCADM]

it would probably be helpful if you could quantify "high end". Your idea of high end could be completely different from one of the experts here

[jman841]

I spoke with Stratasys today and they are a bit higher price than I was expecting. the 200-500K range.

I am looking for something int he <20K range that can produce working models for UAV use with a durable material that can withstand some light impact and have enough strength to handle the forces of flying and additional weight on them.

What are the best options in this price range?

[richardphat]

3D printing is a very old technology that has been around for 30 years, only the hype of consumer made it known world wide. ABS have more flexibility and has a higher impact resistant than PLA.

More important, will you even use it? I do know people spend their budget for the sake of spending it. If that is the case, don't bother buying a machine. Ask a local store to print for you

[YYCADM]

I have a great deal more experience in the area of UAV's than I do with 3D printing. Again, what sort of parameters are you envisioning? Are you looking at airframes in the sub 1 metre size, fixed wing, multi-rotor? What sort of loads are you looking at for payload, AUW? Prop/motor/esc/sensor packages?

Off the top of my head, I know of no one that is manufacturing airframes with 3D printing...not even for proof of concept. At the very least they are using injection molding; additive manufacturing creates weaker areas at every layer...those will be cumulative the bigger the structure and the greater the load. For design testing, proof of concept testing, etc. you'd gain strength & rigidity coupled with light weight using a vacuum table and forms. You can build a vacuum table for considerably less money, get a decent small 3 axis mill and make your forms with closed cell foam or balsa for that application. It doesn't scale up well in terms of volume, but once you settle on a design you would likely be farming out component production anyway.

I've made a few small non-load bearing multi rotor components for my own aircraft, but although I know next to nothing about 3D printing, I do know that I wouldn't trust a few thousand dollars worth of electronics to a 3D printed arm, especially one built to minimize component weight.

[jman841]

YYCADM,

Thank you for the response. the 3D printer would be used for things like motor mounts, gimbal cases, custom fitted brackets for the electronics, etc. Not part of the actual airframe as I agree, I wouldn't trust it as a support structure.

For UAV Size, we have multiple applications that require different sized UAV's, everything from the 1.5m-3m fixed wing application and the 450-1000 size multirotor with payloads currently ranging from <1KG up to about 3KG and plans for heavier payloads in the future. The main benefit we are looking for with 3D printing is being able to produce the odds and ends that are much more difficult to have produced in a timely manor. It seems that we don't need a crazy expensive 3D printer for this application so I think we are back down to the consumer grade industry for our solution.

The vacuum table sounds perfect and I will most certainly look into that for our proof of concept development.

Thank you

[YYCADM]

I think you will probably be well served for development of things like that by vacuforming, since they will be smooth textured, much like what you will likely be looking for in a final product. That said, the 3D printer is extremely useful for smaller components...the "odds & ends" that you mention are one of the primary reasons I purchased mine.

It's been very helpful making things like transmitter boxes, GoPro mounts, esc mounts, etc but for those a hobby grade is more than adequate.

I'd be most interested in hearing more about your UAV work, though. If it is something you can discuss, I'd be happy to give you an email address

[jman841]

Sure, shoot me a PM with you're email and I would love to pick your brain on your experiences as well. I can not speak about all the details but we can most certainly discuss the basics.

Thank you

[jman841]

After some further research, I am liking the upcoming Ultimaker 2 extended a lot.

Is there anything I should know about this model or be aware of?