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I'm really new to 3d Printing, and am looking for a printer that is very user friendly. I'm not a tech expert by any means, but I love the idea of being able to print 3D objects. Are there any 3D printers on the market that really make the entire process very simple? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
Maggie
MAKE magazine voted the Cube 3D printer (http://cubify.com/cube/) the easiest to use. I personally have used it a few times and must say it is pretty easy. Basically once you get used to them, most 3D printers are pretty easy to use from my experience.
Makerbot and Cubify are the 2 major ones. Cubify is produced by 3D Systems, and Makerbot by Stratasys, both NASDAQ traded companies. They are both known for their ease to use, quality, as well as priced at a decent amount for what you get.
MAKE also tested the pp3dp UP, and IMHO it's the overall easiest regarding hard- and software, great support structure generation, and quality is good, too!
http://makezine.com/review/make-ulti...inia-h-series/
They had the PDF issue and review online for free for a while, not anymore it seems. Perhaps you can find the review somewhere.
I have tried Printrbot LC, Reprap Mendel and the UP, all Reprap based devices will give you more freedom but the software is not as smooth, and thus results are not as constant - the slicing is just as important as the printer's hardware reliability.
I had no clue about 3D printers when I bought it, and it worked from the start, even with complex and tiny models.
Either of the 2 machine made by the big boys, 3D Systems, Cubify or Makerbot (Stratasys) would be the best bet. They have made these printers for the mainstream consumer, not just the DIY'ers out there. I have used both, and prefer Makerbot slightly over Cubify for ease.
Well i would go with a Cubify printer if you want it simple,
But to be honest if you wanna 3D print you should learn as you build one,
If you wanna make errors and fix them and get a great printer for a low price, and be able to tweak your printer? I would suggest a makerfarm prusa i3.
No doubt, with the capitalization those guys have they have the most polished, professional hardware and (even more importantly) software. I attended a webinar last week for Makerbot resellers, and learned that HALF of their staff work on the software side.Quote:
Originally Posted by redrick
The hardware itself is fairly mature - i was designing 2D high speed pen plotters over 25 years ago that had more advanced hardware capabilities than what you see in most of these reprap open source designs. The real difference is how sophisticated the software has become, and how software engineers have been able to use more powerful tools as the price of computing power has become more affordable.
As far as the Cube versus the Replicator 2, the Cube costs less, is slower, has a smaller build volume and their proprietary cartridges for their filament cost about 3X the going rate. But they are over 40% less costly than the Rep 2, so you get what you pay for. My Type A machines have a much bigger build volume for a price point part way between the Cube and the Rep 2, but the speed and build quality isn't as good as my Rep 2s. So there is (almost) always a trade off between price and some other attribute.
I would guess it would be either the MakerBot or the Cube. Both these printers are ready to go out of the box and are made for everyday use by consumers. The Cube seems to be a little more simplistic to me, but the MakerBot Replicator seems to look a lot nicer.