The Vector 3 3D Printer and Education

[Brian_Krassenstein]

London publisher Eaglemoss teamed up with experienced London designer Sebastian Conran for a comprehensive package to be offered to schools that offers up to six 3D printers for each learning institution, and a course for teachers to present to students, along with design ideas for 3D design and 3D printing with the Vector 3, featuring the sleek and elegant trademark design of Conran. The 3D printer was developed with the Eaglemoss partworks program which allows for the user to assemble the 3D printer, with parts also available also on a weekly installment program. For more details about this package, check out the full article: http://3dprint.com/38353/vector-3-assemble-in-schools/


Below is a photo of the Vector 3's components:

[curious aardvark]

I believe this is the machine currently being 'offered' for £700 through a 100 issue magazine partwork that takes 2 years before you have a printer. And over 1 year before you get the electronics.

I can't help wondering whether they designed it with extra parts to stretch out the magazine run.

The article doesn't say whether the printer is available in the short term to schools or whether they too will have to wait for 2 years before they can print anything.
Either way you have to feel that cheaper and faster options are available.

[brbubba]

I'm skeptical of any advert that states easy to assemble when talking about a 3d printer, ha ha.

[curious aardvark]

yeah but you get a whole week to fit each bit and 2 years to make the entire thing. On that timescale, it's got to be easy :-)

[Kreator01]

I have subscribed to this, and gone for the part works route though from April 2015 you can buy the complete printer for £699.00.
http://www.3dprinter-collection.com/

http://www.3dprinter-collection.com/buynow.aspx

Deagostini also are doing one over 12 months at £69.00 a month. http://www.model-space.com/gb/build-...d-printer.html

The Vector 3d one has a heated bed, the Deagostini one does NOT!

[Ghosty]

The Vector 3d one has a heated bed, the Deagostini one does NOT!

like you i have subscribed to this, as CA can testify i already have a working 3d printer (yes im greedy i want 2), the vector also has a removable print bed, meaning it can be swapped for glass or the ninja flex bed.

and while it does take a while to complete, as i said i already have a 3d printer so im not gonna miss anything, the advantage is i will have built this one from parts so i will know whats what and where it goes and what it does, at the moment im sort of guessing at the bits and hoping it works, lol

the other thing the vector offers is proper tutorials in 3d design (using sketchup) this for me would set me back £1500 for a course, so i look at it a different way, i paying £649 for the sketchup course and getting a printer for free. plus i can pay monthly.... cant do that with the course i looked at.

as for the quality of the printer i guess only time will tell... im upto issue 11 and have a completly assembled z axis including the stepper and test board (which later becomes the led control board).

[brbubba]

the other thing the vector offers is proper tutorials in 3d design (using sketchup) this for me would set me back £1500 for a course, so i look at it a different way, i paying £649 for the sketchup course and getting a printer for free. plus i can pay monthly.... cant do that with the course i looked at.

as for the quality of the printer i guess only time will tell... im upto issue 11 and have a completly assembled z axis including the stepper and test board (which later becomes the led control board).

I would highly recommend learning Inventor over Sketchup. Autodesk offers all of their products for students, you don't even need a .edu email address to sign up. There are tons of online resources and it's very easy to learn and much more powerful than Sketchup.

[raysspl]

Anyone have feedback after extensive use of this 3dp?

[Kreator01]

the other thing the vector offers is proper tutorials in 3d design (using sketchup) this for me would set me back £1500 for a course, so i look at it a different way, i paying £649 for the sketchup course and getting a printer for free. plus i can pay monthly.... cant do that with the course i looked at.

I use a 3D program called Anim8or ( Been using it since 2006 )a 3D Modelling and Animation package and find that to be pretty good ( it will export good STL files, in either binary or ASCII) and is pretty simple to use.

My latest 3D Model waiting to be printed When I have finished the Build!

[curious aardvark]

Look for £699 you can buy some seriously nice machines that haven't been designed specificially to have lots more parts than necessary to pad the print run out.

And as far as design tutorials go - there's an entire internet out there stuffed to the gills with free software and videos and tutorials showing you how to use it.

In the uk - and these prices are all delivered inc p&P
£400 currently gets you a ready built dual extruder with heated bed and 22x15x15 cm build volume.
£300 gets you an iprusa kit with 270x200x170 build volume. I've seen them as low as £268 complete with lcd screen.
£363 will get you a reprap richrap delta kit with lcd and an e3d hotend.

£693 will get you a full on 3d photocopier in the shape of the Da Vinci 1.0 AiO desktop 3d printer and scanner all-in-one.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Da-Vinci-1...item1c4d6519aa
And yes you can hack the cartridges.

Basically you're paying £700 for - what is essentially - a very similiar printer to the new matter mod-t. Currently aiming to go to retail at the £250 mark and most likely available before you've built your vector 3.

Why on earth would anyone go for the vector 3 ?
I mean in all seriousness - why ?