PinrtrBot Metal Plus or Lulzbot Taz 5?

[Wolfie]

I am looking my self. I checked out the TAZ5. 12X12x!2 build area and quality open source, but it uses the larger filament.
Here's something I found out. Solidoodle has a new printer called the Workbench with 12X12X12 work area, self leveling table and it looks good. Here's the catch. They are all tied up in shipping containers due to the strike. Amazon has them on auto notification when they come in. Take a look. Frank

There is a 1.75 extruder head in their download files. You can print the parts and convert the Taz to 1.75mm fliament. I have not done so as I am perfectly happy with 3mm.

And, another good reason to buy American Shipping from Colorado isn't an issue

[Joinc]

You should watch this review before you snag the TAZ. In fact you should watch the 3 part series. The guys are funny and they "dump" on Makerbot. They couldn't get the Makerbot gen 5 to print at all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc3uwKHf4tI

The TAZ may not be able to print ABS as well as you think since it is an open platforms. ABS needs to be warm. Also the TAZ does not have that much of an upgrade in quality versus a FF creator x PRO or PowerSpec Pro. I have both a PowerSpec Pro and a Ultimaker 2 and the quality is close. The Ultimaker may get a slight edge in PLA at a price of being a slow printer, but it cant print ABS to save it's life. I am in the process of upgrading the Ulti 2 with enclosures so it will print ABS without warping. I have only had minimal warping with the PowerSpec.

Regards----

[dunginhawk]

i already bought a prusa i3v 12" kit.. should be here mid week... ill certainly post my experience with it

[Joinc]

Nice!

Interesting info about motor voltages with long prints.
http://youtu.be/FULOrCEccPk

[fuziontech]

I just came to the same conclusion. Was looking at the Taz 5 and decided on the 12" Prusa i3v from makerfarm. Cannot beat the price and the community seems to be great surrounding it. To top it off there are so many opportunities for modifying with cheap parts!

[Sam3DProjects]

I know its more than you want to spend, but Fusion3 has 12x12x12, heated bed and dual extruders for under $5k. Even at that price, best printer for the $

[russr]

Older thread, but anyone used the Mankati Fullscale XT? I think it's a 10" X 10" X 12". Prices seem to range - I think about $2,500. Looks like it has the filament advance on the back-panel, lighter printhead, etc.

Then again, I am new to all this, so what the heck do I know!



russ

[Wolfie]

You should watch this review before you snag the TAZ. In fact you should watch the 3 part series. The guys are funny and they "dump" on Makerbot. They couldn't get the Makerbot gen 5 to print at all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc3uwKHf4tI

The TAZ may not be able to print ABS as well as you think since it is an open platforms. ABS needs to be warm. Also the TAZ does not have that much of an upgrade in quality versus a FF creator x PRO or PowerSpec Pro. I have both a PowerSpec Pro and a Ultimaker 2 and the quality is close. The Ultimaker may get a slight edge in PLA at a price of being a slow printer, but it cant print ABS to save it's life. I am in the process of upgrading the Ulti 2 with enclosures so it will print ABS without warping. I have only had minimal warping with the PowerSpec.

Regards----

Solved by $4 piece of bulk fleece from Joann's Fabrics. For longer builds, I simply lay the piece of fleece over the top of the frame. Its an instant enclosure and does not get in the way of anything. I run a RasPi camera to monitor it so I don't need to see through it. No expensive acrylic needed.

Older thread, but anyone used the Mankati Fullscale XT? I think it's a 10" X 10" X 12". Prices seem to range - I think about $2,500. Looks like it has the filament advance on the back-panel, lighter printhead, etc.

Then again, I am new to all this, so what the heck do I know!



russ

I can't really speak aout that specific printer, only what I have and know. So I can give you a bit on the Taz 5 and you can judge from there.

I have had my Taz5 for a while now. I think I was one of the earliest to receive mine. I ordered a Taz4 the day before the 5 was announced. Folks over at MakerGeeks got me the Taz5 instead.

I have ran into a few problems. Nothing earth shattering but still there.

First, the build plate. How do I put this. Its almost TOO stickty. Its got a PEI sheet on it and I have a hell of a time getting large surface area prints off. HARD time. To the point I actually lifted a piece off the PEI. If I do a large print, I MUST remove it at 60c. (ABS) If I let it cool to room temp, I am not getting it off without damaging the PEI. Upside is I have never needed blue tape, hair spray or glue sticks

Their new hot end is a modded Hexagon. Its not the same Hexagon from reprap discount. They changed it slightly and it has a shorter heat sink. Not entirely sure of the ramifications of that for heat dissipation as I am not a thermodynamic engineer. But gut feeling tells me its less efficient with less cooling. Another fault with this is that you simply can't get more AO Hexagon hot ends. Supply isn't there. Its not in their store and AFAIK, thats the only source. They simply don't have enough stock available to sell. They have stock to repair, replace and sell new units. But I want extra hot ends to experiment with.

Their FlexiStruder, FlexiDualie and their Dualie extruders all use the very old Budda hot end. And use it fanless. Its impossible to print any of the metal filaments with a fanless Budda. I am talking CopperFil, BronzeFil and BrassFil. I never could get anything but the smallest print done using a Budda on my FelexiDualie. I scrapped the whole head and won't use it anymore. Waste of money other than stripping it of the steppers and hardware for use on other projects.

The tiny cooling fan (little 5v squirrelcage) is freaking noisy. Solved that with a side mounted 30mm fan and duct I designed. And I increased the airflow over the cooling fins by about 3x.

Sometimes brittle filament snaps at the top of the extruder body. I solved that too with a feed tube support.

Other than those issues, the machine has been a joy to work with. Its printed ABS just fine. I rarely use PLA simply because its can't be vapor smoothed safely in a home environment. I have printed PLA but not a lot.

Here are some of my solutions:

Side Mounted 30/40mm Hexagon cooling fan:
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:766633

Feed Tube Support:
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:766614


I have since converted over to using the E3D v6 hot ends on the Taz. Conversion is extremely easy. You can use the existing extruder body and print a mounting plate (or use your aluminum one from your hex) and print my spacer shims:
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:818601

And for the E3D, you will need an extended fan shroud:
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:819103


All in all, I am not sorry I got it. It is a good machine as purchased. Minor annoyances. I suspect I would find annoyances with just about any machine. None have been insurmountable to the point of making me want a different printer.