Need hardware advice - Budget $15-$20k setup for High School shop classes

[4dakids]

Hi all,

I'm looking to donate a 3D printing and scanning system to my former high school to help out the kids taking shop classes there. The high school is not particularly well funded, nor in a affluent town. This would likely be the first exposure for many of the kids to the world of 3D printing.

I'm looking for advice from you, the experts, on a complete system that would be appropriate for a classroom/shop setting. I have little to no experience in 3D printing, so I'm hoping you can provide suggestions that would be rugged enough for high school kids use, but robust enough to hopefully open their minds to a new world. The budget, for hardware, software - the whole setup is $15-20K.

Advice?

Thanks!

[curious aardvark]

nice budget for the printers.

Scanning - that's still somewhat iffy under the 20K mark - and a 20k scanner is considered 'affordable' - well by the people who sell them anyway :-)
There don't seem to be any mid range scanners in , say the 2-5k range. Unless anyone else knows otherwise ?

Printer wise you really do have a huge choice.

There are any number of reliable, good sized build volume machine sin the 1-3k range.

Software isn't a big expense. plenty good easy to use design and editing programs for free.
You could do a lot worse than this selection: http://www.123dapp.com/

I would recommend buying simplify3d - and depending on how many and what type of printers you get - you can get cheap multiuse licence.

What I would do if I were you, was to find a good print bureau/seller in your area. Chat to them and get together with them and the head of department at the school to work out a good combination of machinery and software.
It's the sort of job I'd personally love. But alas I'm in england :-)
And there's only so much I could do over the phone and internet.

There ought to be someone in your area.

One word of advice - avoid Makerbot. Anyone recommending 5th gen makerbots can be put on the 'talking out of their arse' list. Find someone else :-)

To get you going.
I'd stick to fdm machines - the resin based machines are still very expensive to run and with small build volumes.

I'd be inclined to get 5 printrbot plus with dual extruders (or an equivalent printer). This is a very reliable machine with a 10x10x10 inch build volume.
I'd also be inclined to get at least one machine with a larger build area.
The wanhao 5s springs to mind: 12" L x 8" W x 23" build volume and only $1800

It might be worth looking for a second hand 3d scanner.

And don't forget to put about $1500 aside for filament and supplies.

I wish someone round here would give me that kind of budget to set up a 3d printing workshop.
I can dream :-)

IF you'd like a chat to help you get a better idea of what you can and can't afford. pm me - I get free calls to the states :-)

[LambdaFF]

Totally agree with CA :
- Simplify 3D is completely worth it.
- I own a Printrbot Metal Plus dual and I love it. http://3dprintboard.com/showthread.p...al-Plus-prints Their support and overall techpubs are good. http://printrbot.com/2015/02/28/asse...us-model-1412/

Perhaps lulzbot would be a just as good alternative ? see if there are users here. People also recommend Flashforge it seems.

[Davo]

4dakids,

Is this something like what you have in mind?

http://www.kdrv.com/news/New_Technol...gh_School.html

Grants Pass, OR has been pretty happy with their Hyrel printers. The print in the video was not their best result. The System 30M shown in that video is $4000 with two heads.

The 90 second video in my signature will give you an idea of what our machines can do. More info at http://hyrel3d.net/

PM me if you have questions.

[curious aardvark]

actually scanner wise the fuel3d scanify looks pretty good.
https://www.fuel-3d.com/meet-scanify/
probably work out around $1500.
Don't think there's currently anything else that comes close for the money.

[JSenior]

actually scanner wise the fuel3d scanify looks pretty good.
https://www.fuel-3d.com/meet-scanify/
probably work out around $1500.
Don't think there's currently anything else that comes close for the money.

Unless they have updated it since the early models, this is one I would stay away from. It can take a pretty single picture, but it's depth cameras are off so you can't take multiple and merge successfully.

Affordable scanners to look at are: David SLS-2/3, Rangevision Smart and Shining 3D EinScan S. Though they are all quite finniky and have a learning curve which may be too much for a school.

With that budget I think I would be looking at a used Artec Eva (probably less than $10k from Europe) (or Creaform GO for slightly more) which are quick, self merging and fun to see and spending the rest on a powerful computer or 2 and any number of FDM 3D Printers that work well out of the box.

[awerby]

I agree about the Fuel3D; I got one, but it doesn't seem capable of capturing depth with any accuracy - everything is flattened considerably. They're promising a software update with better functionality in this regard, but it's not there yet. I've had better luck with the David SLS-3, which captures with good resolution and accuracy, although the detail softens as multiple scans are combined. The inexpensive ($399) Sense scanner doesn't capture much detail, but it's good for whole-body scans, and captures continuously, so the tedious process of aligning, registering and combining separate scans can be avoided.

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

[curious aardvark]

Given that you can design most things from scratch - I wouldn't personally put too much priority on a scanner.

A hyrel would be a good idea - I usually think of that first :-)

[Sebastian Finke]

Scanners are only really worth while for organic shapes, imo. I wouldn't bother scanning a gear, for example. If I were to buy a scanner it would probably be the Sense as it integrates with my design software. Seen it in action at the Cape Town Makerfaire where I had myself scanned.

Software wise... I highly recommend the [URL="http://cubify.com/Products/software"]http://cubify.com/Products/software]Cubify design suite for schools and hobbyists. Specifically Cubify Invent (single parts only) for $50 and Cubify Design (parts, assemblies and technical drawings) for $200.

As far as printers go Printerbot seems to be the go-to starting point for most people. Cheap and simple, although I've heard they do require a bit of tinkering. As CA says, stay away from Makerbot. I'd avoid the Cube too. And anything proprietry is bad imo.

[djprinter]

I would think a CNC laser cutter would be better for a classroom environment, 3d printing is just too slow. Perhaps have one for demonstration purposes, but having enough for every student to use would be cost and space prohibitive.

The glowforge laser cutter might be worth trying out.