Buying recommendation for printing seamless reliefs

[mickymuis]

Hello,

While researching several 3d printer options over the past days, I found this forum and I'd like to ask you more experienced printer users some advice. I'm planning to make large reliefs, dimensions say 50x50 cm and up, and I'm exploring the possibility of using a 3d printer to do so. My idea was to cut the relief into several smaller square tiles of 15-20 cm each and then glue them on a board to make larger works. The key element is of course, that the printing is accurate enough to make these tiles fit seamlessly together. Of course a little sanding wouldn't hurt.

As this is my first 3d printer, I would like to keep the price down as much as possible. Also, I'm limited to the printers I can order here in the Netherlands (for example, Printrbots are not available here, or at least very expensive). So I made a shortlist of printers that fit my budget and are capable enough (by my knowledge). I would greatly appreciate any comments regarding these printers and my application. Of course, suggestions for other printers are also welcome.

- Hello BEE Prusa i3 Kit
Pros: This one has dual extruders, .02 mm resolution AND a metal hotend (I believe).
Cons: I doesn't look very robust or stable, but I could be wrong
Price is € 640,-

- Wanhao Duplicator i3
Pros: Looks really sturdy, price is very low
Cons: Only .1mm resolution, PTFE liner in the hot-end (is this easy to replace??)
Price is €395,- for the V1 and €495,- for the V2: Is the V2 worth the extra 100??

- Velleman K8400
Pros: .05 resolution
Cons: Price, no heated bed, questionable build quality
Price: €695,-

As you can see I really tend towards the two Prusa's, however, I may be overseeing things due to my lack of experience.

Thanks in advance for any help!

[awerby]

This hardly seems "seamless", since you'd be gluing panels together edge to edge. If you really want to produce large reliefs, why not use a CNC router rather than 3D printing?

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

[mickymuis]

This hardly seems "seamless", since you'd be gluing panels together edge to edge. If you really want to produce large reliefs, why not use a CNC router rather than 3D printing?

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

First of all, it is indeed not really `seamless', however, I simply meant that the pieces should fit reasonable well together without obvious deformation/warping.
I have considered a CNC machine, but that would be much more expensive. Also, the noise level would be too high to operate it inside a house. I know that some 3D printers can be augmented with a drill/router/dremel, but that still imposes the same limit on the work area.

[3dex ltd]

You can definitely do what you want with a 3D printer and with good accuracy so it all fits together well. You may need to finish your prints off with some sanding and filing though to make sure they fit truly seamlessly.

The printers you discuss seem to be good choices. So many people love the prusa i3 but there are many other printers out there if you're not quite sure about the i3. Whatever printer you go for there is (usually!) a large amount of people who have already been there and done that so have the experience to help you out if you strike difficulty.

[mickymuis]

Thank you.
I'm still thinking about what resolution I would require. Most printers do no more than 0.1mm, but there are quite a few that go down as much as 0.02mm, the HelloBEE for example. However, I also read that 0.1mm is really the practical limit due to the exessive amount of time it costs to print higher resolutions. Is that correct?

[curious aardvark]

you'll need a hot bed - and ideally an enclosed printbed.
For this project abs will be best.

Vapour smoothed abs will not only hide any joins but smooth the the whole piece and make it look a lot more professional. And save you having to do a lot of sanding.

Resolution wise - yeah 0.1mm is about as good as it gets.
Bear in mind that the diameter of the bead is the actual determiner of final resolution. So think 0.4mm width rather than 0.1mm height.
You can realistically go down to 0.2mm nozzle diameter - but printing with such a small nozzle can be difficult.

Have a look at some abs before and after pictures that have been acetone vapour smoothed.
And pm sebastien - he's the abs king :-)
You'll need to make a large container. Bassna - made one for a multi-part giant tyrannasaur head - check that out as well :-)

As far as enclosing the bed on the wanhao i3, which is probably your best bet to start with - a large cardboard box seems to be all you actually need. Maybe with a see thru window inserted - laminate pouch and tape, would do the job :-)

[mickymuis]

The polished ABS looks really amazing, thanks for the tip! I've been looking at some other types on filement as well and the Woodfill and Bronzefill caught my attention. Would it be possible to use these filements with either of the Prusas?
My initial idea, however, was to put primer over the print and paint on it with traditional oil paints. Or perhaps thick coats of acrylics, if that would stick better. Does anyone have experience with painting 3d prints? Of course, I will just have to try it once I have the printer. Just curious though...

[curious aardvark]

personally I'd avoid the bronzefill - try and get hold of reprappertech's metallic filaments instead. basically they look exactly like the metals without having to smooth, sand and polish after printing.
They also do flexible metallic filament. I've got a sample roll of the flexible copper that just looks exactly like a roll of thick copper wire.
http://www.reprappertech.com/3d-prin...al-series.html

If you're going to paint stuff most people seem to use spray paint. I think most paints stick to prints.
Not something I'd ever do - but I did print an astronaut for a mate who painted it with standard model paints. Looks great :-)

ALso polymaker do a wood effect filament that doesn't actually contain wood - but looks like it does.
So no crap build up on your nozzle from the charred wood. Isn't brittle or absorbant and prints just as easily as ordinary pla.
http://www.polymaker.com/shop/polywood/

[djprinter]

I'd be wary of using ABS, the warping/shrinkage will make it hard to perfectly line up panels. I'd print with PLA and then brush it over with wood filler or something similar to smooth it out.

[curious aardvark]

I'm not a fan of abs.
But you can vapour smooth/glue it.

But if there's an easier way that avoids acetone, that would probably be better :-)