Buying my first 3D printer. Australia. On a budget but looking for good quality

Hi guys.

So I'm in need for a 3D printer. (engineering prototypes IC engine pistons infact) So they need to be somewhat dimensionally accurate.

I'm really not interested in spending thousands for an elegant brand name machine. Something practical, high quality prints, reliable, good customer support and not a rip off. Tall order eh

So I originally was looking at an aluminium Prusa i3 from Geeetech. Though I think the moving table (y axis) isn't ideal for speed and accuracy. Also I think they're just using generic threaded rod for z axis which are coupled to the stepper motor visa grub screws. I'm pretty sure these will induce x axis wobble.

http://www.geeetech.com/geeetech-alu...kit-p-944.html

So I then started to consider the MeCreator 2. Not a bad price. table only moves in the z plane... however I don't think I'm a fan of how much its cantilevered. Plus the vertical guide rails look rather close which I don't think is the brightest idea.

http://www.geeetech.com/mecreator-2-...ter-p-999.html

I contacted their sales team via email... I can't say its been the best experience. Quite a bit of miss communication and they just seemed a bit pushy for me to make a purchase. (they actually sent me a paypal invoice when I was just making a general inquiry!)

So for that kind of price, are there any better alternatives? If I can save on cost, I'm happy to build a kit and I'm not fussed at all if I have to do some soldering. Maybe a shopping list of all the best bits so I don't waste my time with poor quality kits?

Cheers

I would recommend a FLSun 3Dprinter its under than $300 usd & comes w/ auto leveling,
Thats 1 of the best deals for tight budgets
The disadvantage is the bed temp which goes up 2 100c which is best for PLA rather than ABS or HIPs

Sorry but i dont think that kind of design is suitable for my purposes. It might be a good deal for those who don't need fine dimensional tolerances... but I can see that there will be a lot of play in those pivot joints as they wear over time.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KoroKoro

Sorry but i dont think that kind of design is suitable for my purposes. It might be a good deal for those who don't need fine dimensional tolerances... but I can see that there will be a lot of play in those pivot joints as they wear over time.

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•then im out

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KoroKoro

however I don't think I'm a fan of how much its cantilevered. Plus the vertical guide rails look rather close which I don't think is the brightest idea.

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The whole cantilever thing is given far too much attention. The bed is trammed to be parallel to the XY axis; it really doesn't matter if the arms aren't perpendicular to the rods. The prints themselves are very light and not enough to make make the bed droop.

That said I prefer the setup where the the extruder carriage does the X & Z movements and the bed the Y movement. I have seen this setup on many CNC machines and consider it to be the better option provided the bed runs on fix rods beneath the it.

It would help to know what your budget actually is.

If you need precision, you have to pay for it.

Have a look at Tech2c on you tube.He,s just built a core xy,which might suit you better,seeing as you can buy the frame material in oz.
Though I don,t know how much accuracy you,re going to get from even the best 3d printer,I doubt it would be good enough for something as critical as a piston.
You might be better off with a small lathe.

and probably best to avoid geetech - they don't get consistent reviews.

I would have thought by now that there would be native australian manufacturers.

Anything where you don't have to pay international postage and import tax and can actually get hold of the manufacturers - is always a good idea :-)

Some indication of budget would be good.

my budget is around 650~700 AUD delivered... so I might start looking at local over priced ones.

Locally, I can get a Da Vinci 1.0 for $699
http://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/o...ter-mmdvin1jnr

Though on specs alone... the Geeetech MeCreator2 for $568 delivered seems like the better deal.

I have searched online, and I couldn't find anything in Sydney. There was an importer in QLD whos gone out of business and a guy in VIC who just on sells the expensive stuff.

As for tolerances, something +/- 0.3mm would be adequate. For anything finer I would modify with hand tools anyway. Things like bore size, pin size etc aren't that critical. However the oddly shaped dome on top (3D contours) need to be somewhat accurate. Its just for a starting point as I can modify with hand tools. Piston to valve clearance at this stage is not critical, as that will be set exactly on the mill when its in metal. Unfortunately without a lathe and a cnc mill, it would be too hard to make a prototype out of metal.

I haven't had the best experience buying electronics from china as they tend to be made absurdly cheap. I've previously bought stuff that broke within a few days of normal use... and was more expensive to ship back (at my expense too) so thats left a bad taste in my mouth... Unfortunately, there isn't much option where I live.

Though I guess you get what you pay for... but still $700 isn't chump change.

p.s. Sebastian, your axis confuse me haha. i much prefer using the metric system where Z axis is up/down. Is this going to stuff up my models? I intend to draw in Autodesk Inventor... I have the CAM addon, though this is for reductive machining... And the G-code is probably not going to work with the printer. Though I really like the idea of fitting a dremel with a carbide burr for some plastic CNC machining... but I'm not sure if the cantilever bed type would be ideal for this... which is also why I found that aluminium geetech one attractive... though again, I don't like those wonky threaded rods.

Thoughts?

Though with some modification, could a better lead screw system be made to eliminate wobble?

$497 AUD delivered with the "better" MK8 extruder.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Reprap-3d...wAAOSwGotWqHYu

If the bed is light weight enough, higher feed rates wont be a problem? This is supposed to be the advantage of the raising bed style, yeah?

For the price and materials, it seems pretty tempting... though I don't have any idea about its electronics and controls. I'm guessing at that price, it has the cheapest + nastiest arduino knock offs.

I'm just worried I've overlooked something important. For that kind of money, its a lot to waste on potential junk.

Found this interesting comment. (i guess I wasn't wrong about that tripod style design).

Quote: "flexible shaft? why? Printer can handle Dremel without problems. Precision is suck, due to bad Geeetech 3D printer design."

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1266600/#comments

I have a long flexible shaft too. Perhaps it could be possible with the ally getech? Though I'm still worried that the "precision is suck".

Thoughts?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KoroKoro

... I have a long flexible shaft too...

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*quietly leaves thread*

How big of a printer do you need? What kind of materials will you be working with?

sebastian, dont act like you dont have one

http://www.micromark.com/RS/SR/Product/50352_R.jpg

this prototype i am needing is only 50 x 50 x 50. Though who knows what I'll be printing in the future. The prototype will just be made from ABS plastic, though for when I print other parts which need strength, this carbon fibre filament sounds good.
The alloy max size of 200 x 200 x 180 sounds useful. Since this will open many more avenues, I could be printing PCBs, stuff for RC hobby... so many possibilities. I'd hate to find that I need 50mm more.

Anything else I should consider before buying this?
http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/wbwAAO...Yu/s-l1600.jpg

If you look at this one:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/free...b-4eb0efa5a4a3

It has proper lead screws,rather than the threaded rod on the ebay one.It has an acrylic frame,and though some people don,t like them,mine has been perfectly fine for 2 years.
Close to $500au seems rather a lot for that ebay job.It,s still coming from China,so if you cut out the middleman,you,ll save a coupla hundred bucks.The alloy frame is perhaps an advantage,but the z-axis allthread rods aren't.
As for the electronics,almost ALL of that type of stuff is now made in China,Korea,or Malaysia.Their quality levels have risen rapidly,adding reliability,and I predict the prices will catch up sooner or later.
I would shy away from anything with a Melzi control board,mine burned out the bed heater after about a months use.But that is just my personal opinion,for what it's worth.

A personal tip, try to buy from Amazon, something like the WanHao? https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-Sel...s_6066127011_3

Their buyer protection programs are off the charts. Selling there is a pain in the arse but you are protected 100%

perhaps the threaded rod wont be a deal breaker. Looks like I can upgrade that part without too much hassle. square acme threads look pretty easy to get.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/8mm-T8-Tr...RHJRXEacuJH3fQ

The 1mm pitch, 1mm lead with support bearings on each end looks ideal :)

I dunno about thinner steel frames (that front plate looks like its only 0.9 or 1.2mm) ... 6mm ally still looks quite sturdy.

also, just wondering... for cnc side of things, do people replace those belts with acme threads too? those belts look quite stretchy

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KoroKoro

sebastian, dont act like you dont have one

http://www.micromark.com/RS/SR/Product/50352_R.jpg

this prototype i am needing is only 50 x 50 x 50. Though who knows what I'll be printing in the future. The prototype will just be made from ABS plastic, though for when I print other parts which need strength, this carbon fibre filament sounds good.
The alloy max size of 200 x 200 x 180 sounds useful. Since this will open many more avenues, I could be printing PCBs, stuff for RC hobby... so many possibilities. I'd hate to find that I need 50mm more.

Anything else I should consider before buying this?
http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/wbwAAO...Yu/s-l1600.jpg

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That won't be suitable for ABS, unless you make a hood that completely covers the entire printer and that'll be a pain to heat and keep hot.

So just a hood? I dont think that will be difficult. I have many clear 50L tubs that could do the job. Though as a more permanent solution would be nice to keep it protected from dust and cats. I'm not so worried about swarf. Or is it more an issue of heating wattage? I thought the part needs to cool do avoid sagging and mushing detail.

https://youtu.be/7LVu3Ir10UQ?t=6m56s

plus abs is crap stuff to work with.

Good pla (emphasis on the 'good' - all pla is NOT the same) is stronger than abs and if you want abs with pla like ease of print then pet-g is your best friend.

basically there is absolutely no reason anyone ever need go anywhere near abs. Apart from masochism :-)

The aluminium fram i3 looks good.

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but still $700 isn't chump change.

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well it's about £400 - which for a good 3d printer is, actually, chump change :-)

This is pretty neat if you want colour: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Geeetech-...UAAOSw0fhXjy0i

With the right software and blue, yellow and red filament - most colours would be doable.

Australian amazon is about as much use as a wombat with osteoporosis in it's arse (look up wombat defensive techniques ;-)

Ah ha - the new wanhao i3: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Wanhao-Du...EAAOSweWVXeGqd
Bloody good bit of kit.
Or the previous 2.1 model for only $515: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/WANHAO-DU...sAAOSwDuJWxvZq

Now that is a bargain !

something a bit bigger that's had some good reviews: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-Tevo-...oAAOSwvg9Xeh~b

this looks pretty decent too: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/large-3D-...sAAOSw0fhXikrS

And of course the old faithful, tried and tested: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Black-Mak...wAAOSwNsdXQ7F2

Can't go far wrong with a makerbot clone. :-)

My 2nd printer and having great prints with it.
http://www.makerfarm.com/index.php/3...gasus-kit.html

$645 USD? thats waaaaay out of budget.

I still think the aluminium getech i3 with a small few upgrades is the best machine

Let me know if you are interested in this:
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/172287756587?...84.m1555.l2649

I can get something worked out for your budget.

This also mesns u curious aardvark
Not all ABS is crap,&i would also like to note some pages back
• you want a open source 3d prnter, its a big reason lulzbot for example is a top choice 4 a lot if ppl, of course the lulzbot is out of your budget, good printer though i have a lulzbot mini&
• also you should get a 3d printer with a good heat temperture so you can use more materials
Not just pla but also certain materials like abs,Hips,etc would b more easy
I would recommend a bed temperture that allows at least 115 degrees Celsius

•yes i now 3d print the objects i design since december 2015 b4 u cerious aardvark mentions that

geetech just don't seem to get good reviews, but a metal frame is always going to be better than acrylic.
Easier to mod, drill etc.

I'd still lean towards the wanhao as they've spent a couple of years ironing out the bugs.