Narrow the field down please

[PickyBiker]

I have been wanting to get into 3D printing for a couple years and now seems like a good time to do it. Today, there are lots of sub $1000.00 (in fact too many) and it would be nice if I could get some ideas on maybe the best 2 or 3 to evaluate.

Here is what I would like to find:

Under $1000
8 x 8 x 8 work piece or larger
Turnkey from a single vendor. (The CAD, GCode generator, and system need to work seamlessly together. This one is important to me, see below for why)
Company with a good reputation for solid products and service

What I don't need:

Poor vendor support
Newest technology just for the sake of it being new... It must be proven. The upcoming Cube 3 looks nice but it isn't yet proven
A system from one vendor and then the gcode and design app from others. The last time I tried to use a CNC router from one vendor with sketchup, I needed a converter to output files from Sketchup that my gcode generator could understand. It was way problematic and almost not worth the trouble. There was a nice software solution but it was over $600.

Any suggestions on the top 2 or 3 systems is appreciated.

Thanks for any help!

[Davo]

Wow, when you find that, let us all know.

[PickyBiker]

Wow, when you find that, let us all know.

Is the problem a turnkey solution or something else?

[old man emu]

In regards to software, you will have to accept that CAD and CAM software which is combined in one package tends to be for CNC operations, where material is REMOVED from a block. With 3D printing, the CAM software has to work out how to ADD material, so packages of CAD and CAM are rare.

The investigation process you should follow is to determine which CAM software looks good to you, and then find out what file types it will import (best choice is *.stl). Then look at CAD software that will export file types that the CAM software will import.

The microprocessor that runs your printer will happily accept Gcode from any 3D CAM software.

I'm using Slic3r as my CAM software and it is producing good Gcode. Since it is Open Source, it is (1) Free and (2) Always being improved. There are other free 3D CAM software programs you can explore.

Old Man Emu

[Davo]

Is the problem a turnkey solution or something else?

The problem is all those pluses, none of those minuses, for that price. I don't think you'll find it.

[PickyBiker]

In regards to software, you will have to accept that CAD and CAM software which is combined in one package tends to be for CNC operations, where material is REMOVED from a block. With 3D printing, the CAM software has to work out how to ADD material, so packages of CAD and CAM are rare.

The investigation process you should follow is to determine which CAM software looks good to you, and then find out what file types it will import (best choice is *.stl). Then look at CAD software that will export file types that the CAM software will import.

The microprocessor that runs your printer will happily accept Gcode from any 3D CAM software.

I'm using Slic3r as my CAM software and it is producing good Gcode. Since it is Open Source, it is (1) Free and (2) Always being improved. There are other free 3D CAM software programs you can explore.

Old Man Emu

Great information. I'll take your advice and work out the CAM equation first.

Just as an aside, with so much free CAD and CAM software out there, it would seem that some industrious 3d printer company could work out some kind of package that has been tested end to end and isn't expensive.

[old man emu]

Don't be so reliant on commercial organisations to produce everything you need. Go look at Reprapwiki and see how people are helping each other without thought of commercial gain. Open Source has been the fertilizer that has made 3D printing for first-timers grow.

OME