What printer is right for me?

[JohnCab]

thanks for the info printbus. i dont want to put together a kit either....seems like there are too many tweaks that need to be done. is there a manufacture with a good reputation i should be looking for? and what special features should i be willing to pay more for?

[Geoff]

thanks for the info printbus. i dont want to put together a kit either....seems like there are too many tweaks that need to be done. is there a manufacture with a good reputation i should be looking for? and what special features should i be willing to pay more for?

John, honestly the best advice I can give you is to buy something around the $1000 -$1500 mark that is prebuilt, comes with a good years warranty, and often a general clone is better than a brand name. They take any filament, you are not limited, can use any bed type, have a good build area of 22cmx15cm.. and now you can get metal cases as cheap as wooden.

you can have it out of the box and printing within 30 minutes and enjoy the learning process of driving it rather than figuring out why it wont work.

Then - show your students you can build another printer, from this printer - buy a cheap reprap kit for $150 and some rods and you can all build a second, and a third etc...

For about $1000 you can get a very good clone that has easy to replace components and will have you up and running in no time, just Ebay search for "3D Printer Dual"

The dual extrusion will let your students play with combining materials, like carbon fused filament mixed with others to create new structures, it's not just about 2 colours printing at the same time.

Look for one like this, a makerbot clone and you can pretty much choose any of them, they are all fairly direct clones.

clone.JPG

[Papa Steve]

some manufactures have programs to donate machines to schools
never hurts to ask
our neighborhood school was able to get a Lulzbot TAZ by filling out a questionnaire

a comprehensive list of available printers :
http://www.3ders.org/pricecompare/3dprinters/