Printable View
I was wondering what the least expensive way there would be for someone to get a complete 3D printer or kit, with all of the parts necessary to assemble and begin printing. Something available now, not a Kickstarter project that hasn't begun shipping.
I know that the Printrbot Simple kit runs about $350. The Peachy Printer purports to be a mere $100, but I'm not sure they're shipping yet. Is there anything else out there that can beat the Printrbot price?
-Crawford
Not that I know of. Printrbot just updated the wooden Simple a few days ago. It looks like they fixed many of the issues that the printer had and added automatic bed leveling.
The retail Peachy hasn't shipped, but the beta test printers have shipped two waves so far, and the beta testers are quite open with their results so far...
I have a feeling that a lot of people will get a Peachy for the challenge of it, but not as their only 3D printer. Currently it's more of an art than a science, but the results (even the failures) have a glass smooth look I've not seen with other printed parts outside of postprocessing with an acetone bath.
Also, the Super Early Bird Special on the MOD-t is $149... At the time I'm typing over 300 of their 500 Super Early Birds are gone already, and they launched less than an hour ago.
Even so, the retail price they're talking about is $249. If the MOD-t halfway lives up to expectations, it'll be a game changer in the FFF market.
There seems to be a number of issues with 3D printer "vaporware." It seems like there's a new 3D printer on Kickstarter and Indiegogo every few days, but check in a few months down the road, and there are delayed shipments and upset contributors. I'm always suspicious of claims regarding price and performance for printers that aren't commercially available yet.
-Crawford
The better thing to look at rather than price is delivery date. Does it have the same year in it that you see on your clock? Then it's going to make some people upset.
People in general have no way of even imagining the waves of complication that one runs into between the point of starting a business and manufacturing a physical product in any significant quantity. Instead, people are used to Kickstarters for video games or short films, things that require no self-built mass manufacture. They look at a timeline of six months to make a factory line and they think that looks legit (and I mean the people making the time line, too) when it's flat out impossible.
It's a catch 22. 3D printers with a realistic timeline get very little attention with investors flocking to the ones that promise to deliver at an almost physically impossible speed. Therefore there is an unending stream of dissapointment and broken promises from the entire market segment. And there always will be.
The MOD-t is right at the limit of how fast a time frame I'll consider legit. Ten months, and that's only because they're working with an already established manufacturer instead of trying to make their own assembly line.
The QU-BD OneUp is $200, but the company is super unreliable.
One lesson I've learned already is that you can have it fast, you can have it cheap, and you can have it good, but almost all the time you can only have two of those three.
It seems as thought there are newer cheaper kits coming on the market daily. New Matter's MOD-t 3D printer almost makes it pointless to buy a kit, when you can buy an assembled printer for $250. There are even kits now for SLA printers (minus projector) for $300.
Not a very popular one but a basic truth indeed.Quote:
Originally Posted by SimianSteam
And sometimes you can't even get one.Quote:
Originally Posted by SimianSteam
Especially if you blindly believe someone who promises all three.Quote:
Originally Posted by Compro01
Well, now it is clear :
http://3dprint.com/9005/kickstarter-3d-printers/
I have also been looking for a cheap printer/kit. it seems they are either not worth getting, having waiting times or aren't shipping yet. I saw the phoenix printer, it cost somewhere between 350-400 usd but has a 12 week waiting time. I have also seen the replikeo prusa i3 for about 350 usd but between the shipping fees and poor packaging it just doesn't seem to be worth the hassle. then the qu-bd oneup and twoup look nice but I see to many reports of them "sitting" on your money, basically you have to fight them for months until they ship it.
the only one that I can really consider buying that will ship soon is the 3d stuffmaker or wait and hope for the cobblebot. the stuffmaker really doesn't look bad at all, good print size, around 500 usd, ships fast. the only big downside is I'm not sure what software it is compatible with.
Don't mean to self promote, but our KIT printer comes in at $495 usd, and is a complete and easy kit,
You can use a coupon code for this board "3DP" to get 10% our KIT printer if you would like,
http://portabee3dprinter.com/shop/po...it-uassembled/
Ok, thanks!
- Daniel
One note about your Portabee page, the GO version makes it very clear how it can fold up, but the KIT could probably use some pics of how well it folds up / travels :)
Pretty sure that the Peachy blows all of these out of the water, price wise... Granted, the Peachy isn't so much a printer as it is a core printer component (the rest of the printer being very easy to DIY).
Still, when they go up for sale, it'll be hard to beat $99 for a UV laser projector.
There is a guy named Ollie Wright trying to develop a website (www.buildit.com) that teaches people to build their own 3D printers. He needs funding and only has 15 days left to get the money check it out http://kck.st/1oENaSh
1. The Peachy deal is not for a complete printer kit.
2. We just put together a Printerbot Simple Makers Edition, fast build and worked first time. If someone is looking for a complete, inexpensive, easy, small printer kit, take a look at this one.
Attachment 1962
True, and I said as much, still, the kits the beta testers have put together to finish out the printer are still coming out in the $20 to $80 range, not including the core Peachy itself. Of course the beta testers have shown just how challenging the Peachy can be (though that has likely changed, the latest software update looks pretty good.) All in all, I've pretty much looked at the Peachy in the same light as a RepRap. By the time you've gotten it to make useful things, you could probably have made those things some other way with less effort. But you have bragging rights to having made a 3D printer yourself.Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnA136
Oh yeah. On the price to quality curve, it's pretty hard to beat the Printrbot Simple. For what is actually in-stock available right now, I'm pretty sure it's the winner.Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnA136
CraftBot is a Crowdfunding campaign I believe is on the right track, and they promise delivery in August/September. The company behind has been established since 2008 and they've been working on their 3D printer for a couple of years, and is now getting ready to ship as soon as the indiegogo campaign ends in August. They seem to be very professional and are communicating a lot with the community, and providing regular updates on the progress. Of course nothing is sure with crowdfunding, but I believe this could be a very nice 3D printer if you are willing to wait until september.
http://igg.me/p/849894/x/2407196