Pls recommend a 3d Printer for dimension height 2.5 meters

[zedar2015]

HI Forum folks,
I am creating a garden den and a doggie kennel. Do you all know any printer in N America that can do dimensions of 2.5 meters width, depth and height ?

Thanks!

Zedar

[adamfilip]

what exactly do you want to print?
what is your budget?
what material do you want to print with?

[zedar2015]

HI Adam,
Let's keep budget out for the time being and focus on the available technology :-)
Material-wise, it has to be strong to hold up the den without cracking mid-point. I wonder if there are filaments mixture of metal and synthetic non toxic?

Thz

[ssayer]

Hah! Let's keep reality out of the picture too. What you're speculating on will be extremely expensive...

[zedar2015]

Yes, I know it's not a hobby. (-: I am hoping order by bulks will spread out the costs. Anyway, they print buildings in China.

[soofle616]

Yes they do, out of concrete....

[adamfilip]

The design of the structure you are trying to print, is more important then the printer itself
your design needs to be optimized to the process.

[zedar2015]

YEs, Adam. I agree totally and I am working on it with my industrial designer. Pls feel free to comment...like if u have done a den- / kennel-like structure that uses double-layer walls (den only), a solid layer meshed with a flexi patterned wall: I know there the allowances that you need to consider otherwise, the thing will run out of shape during printing. But I am also wanting to experiment with materials as in mixture of metal+hard bioresin filaments. I am also worried about curvatures (since not all walls are flat and straight) and how the inner lining will sit properly with outer lining.

Understandably, in miniatures, like figurines, a lot of curved and spherical what have you different contours but as it is small, it will not break off easily. With something larger at 2.5 meter. That's different. I am not wanting to design the den with many intricate lock-in parts as I want to test for tensile strength. I mean, I don't want to develop a lego version. But a proper 'building' structural integrity.

Thankz

[awerby]

Is the idea to build a better kennel or whatever, or to figure out a new way to use a 3D printer? The dimensions are larger than 3D printers usually are, although something could probably be cobbled together if need be, and price were no object. But it would be very slow to print something like that at the resolutions we usually use, so while you might be able to print a prototype or master, it would be impractical to produce them this way in any quantity.

One approach I saw being used successfully was to use the printer to produce a mold, in numerous parts, that bolted together. While each mold section was fairly small, the piece that was produced from it was pretty large.

Of course, if you didn't need to use a 3D printer for this, you could make a positive master some other way, such as CNC carving, and make a mold from that.

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

[3dkarma]

You might contact Local Motors, who produce the Strati car on a BAAM (Big Area Additive Manufacturing) printer. 3DPrint.com also have an article on one produced by Cincinnati Inc. http://3dprint.com/6512/baam-3d-printer/