New to 3-D printing - Equipment questions and recommendations.

Hello everyone. I have done my preliminary research on 3-D printing, I'm familiar with all of the basics but I have a few questions I was hoping someone could help me with. Thanks for any help in advance!

1. Let's say want to print a 1 inch CUBE from ABS filament. Is it possible for most 3-D printers to print multiple quantity of the same cube on the output tray in one job? I do not want to have to print such a small object one object at a time. I would rather print a batch of 20 then start the next job. Is this possible? Do I need a specific model of 3-D printer?

2. Other than a few individual prototypes I would like my 3-D printer to be as robust as possible so that I may print high quantities of small plastic PVC items (think at least quantity 1000). Is there a 3-D printer best suited to this purpose? Excellent precision characteristics are also of the utmost importance!

3. I am also looking to purchase a 3-D scanner. Of the available units on the market for less than $5000 what is the favorite around these parts?

Thanks again!

oRIDDLERo

1. almost any printer can print as many prints of the same part that will fit on he build plate. You just "multiply" the items in the slicer before slicing.
2. most printers today are pretty dependable, but most print primarily in ABS and PLA, I have not seen any PVC Printers. Generally speaking, they are not really designed as mass production...more of a modeling and prototype thing. There are many more economical ways of producing thousands of one item.
3. there are many new scanners just coming onto the market. You would have to have an idea of what the item is and how large it is to choose the appropriate type.

Thank you for your quick reply =]

1. Awesome =]

2. I meant to say ABS not PVC sorry about that. I am interested in using a 3-D printer mainly for prototyping, replicating and perhaps some initial production in quantities ~500 to test market demand on small plastic products. Doing some of the initial production to test the market will allow me to decide whether or not to go forward with mass production using injection molding or other more cost/time efficient manufacturing methods.

3. The scanners are really what made me make the decision to jump into 3-D printing. I'm familiar with many graphic applications and have always wanted to learn auto CAD, but the fear of not becoming effective quickly enough with auto CAD has always been a hindrance to my decision. I imagine modifying a model that was scanned in with a 3-D scanner is a lot easier than creating a model from scratch. I am less intimidated by manipulating a 3D scanned model than creating one.

What would be your choice of consumer 3-D printer based on my intentions? Do you have any good tips on up and coming 3-D scanners?

We just bought a 3D Sense scanner but that does not seem to be too good on c=small objects. Reading mixed reviews on the MakerBot scanner. I am sure in the next month or so all the people who have just bought the new scanners that have entered the markets since September will be posting reviews.