Good 3D printer for engineering office application?

Howdy folks,

Our engineering facility is looking to add a 3D printer to speed up design development. We recently took ownership of a Makerbot Z18 ($7000+ with the MakerCare Package), which worked pretty well for about a month before we started getting horrible print quality, leading up to a fatal extrusion mechanism jam. With the machine offline and a two week lead time for getting replacement extruders, we're seriously considering returning the Z18. It just isn't measuring up to what we need it to do.

The question I've got is: what would be a good replacement?

Forget about price, friends.

Our office deals with high speed cable assemblies, as well as the testing equipment to measure their performance. Print volumes range from items the size of a micro-USB overmold to Arduino / electronics enclosures, up to a maximum of around 10" x 10" x 10" (larger is better if we need to print a wire harness guide).

Since we will be attaching PCBs and other electronics to the printed parts, we'd need consistent print quality and a material that we can work with in a machine shop. By that I mean something we can drill into, or create threaded holes with a tap, and install thread-forming screws into without fear of the print breaking or splintering. (My guess is that would be ABS?)

Above all the 3D printer must be reliable, or at least very easy to service / maintain (which the Makerbot Z18 is NOT).

One of the directors in the building has said the reliability should be "like working with a photocopier: you set it up and calibrate it, then push GO and walk away."

My personal knowledge of 3D printers is limited to the hobbyist level, so I was thinking Ultimaker, SeeMeCNC's delta units, and others. But I'm not an expert user.

That's why I'm here!

Can y'all help our engineers out?

you really need to get away from the z18 and all the other hobby/prosumer level printers and look into a stratasys or 3dsystems printer. exprensive....yes but it will give you want you want. desktop and hobby level printers are exactly that.a hobby. they can be finicky and you need to know what you are doing as well as everyone else in the office.

Probably a uPrint machine, at least.

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Originally Posted by jimc

you really need to get away from the z18 and all the other hobby/prosumer level printers and look into a stratasys or 3dsystems printer. exprensive....yes but it will give you want you want. desktop and hobby level printers are exactly that.a hobby. they can be finicky and you need to know what you are doing as well as everyone else in the office.

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Thanks for the tips on Stratasys and 3DSystems. We're looking at the Objet 260V from Stratasys and the Projet 3500HD from 3DSystems.

In the event upper management nixes the idea of investing in a Stratasys or 3DSystems printer like those listed above, is there a recommended hobby/prosumer level printer that is known for its reliability, or at least ease of maintenance?

Regards,

http://www.fusion3design.com

probably one of the best printers going right now.

Plus, you might Wana take a look at taulmans nylon "bridge" filaments, as far as i know Its durable, and realiable and can be drilled with out any further problems, cheers

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Originally Posted by jimc

http://www.fusion3design.com

probably one of the best printers going right now.

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Really Jim? I don't know much about it but it looks like a bigger makerbot for $10,000?

Its nothing like anything makerbot. The f306 is around $3k. That is a really well engineered printer. No cantilevered bed. Its a triple screw z axis, core xy. There is very little around the net on it. There isnt any other printer currently on the market with a setup like that. There may be some up and coming, who knows but right now this is it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jimc

Its nothing like anything makerbot. The f306 is around $3k. That is a really well engineered printer. No cantilevered bed. Its a triple screw z axis, core xy. There is very little around the net on it. There isnt any other printer currently on the market with a setup like that. There may be some up and coming, who knows but right now this is it.

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@Jimc: Do you have any first-hand experience with the F306? How many on this board own one, and do they recommend it?

You are correct, there isn't much about it on the Net. Looks like it's a recent launch from Fusion3. I like that it is made of aluminum extrusion, and all the key components are exposed. We'd have to fabricate an enclosure for it if we do much heated bed printing.

Regards,

there is someone on the board that has one. i cant for the life of me remember who it was. honestly the best thing you could do is contact them. the owner's name is chris. i wouldnt attempt to answer questions about his machine. he would give you the most accurate info. i can tell you for the electronics the printer is using the rambo board which is a great controller. i do have one of those in my own machine. the firmware is marlin so its all open source stuff. my machine runs marlin as well. the hot end is an e3d. so... that part of it is all running proven parts. what makes it great is the mechanical aspect of it. its built rock solid. regular Hbot designs and cantilevered beds are all prone to ringing and resonance marks in the print. some cantilevered designs are fine if they are kept small but you wanted something a bit larger. the bed is supported on triple leadscrews. there are some pics there of prints. you dont see any resonance marks and each layer is perfectly aligned with the one under it which is the result of the z-axis design. corexy motion is becoming more popular now. corexy bots are popping up here and there. thats just another added plus to get clean resonance free prints. the f306 doesnt use belts either which i was a little iffy on but after talking with chris about the drive setup i was pretty convinced it was as good or better than belts. take a look at the closeup pic on his site of the purple make mag torture test. that a small part too but it is a nice closeup shot where you can see how good that z-axis design is. only drawback to the printer really is what you mentioned.... its not enclosed. i would like to see an enclosure but that can be made and not a deal breaker for me. the hardware on that machine is where its at. not to mention build size.

You mentioned : Above all the 3D printer must be reliable. Then why not see if you have any local supplier. See what they offer, what service they can give you? Most 3D printers in the same price class mostly have the same performance, but service, that is another issue!