Hi,

Firstly, Im totally new to the 3d printing world and have never even seen one in the flesh let alone used one......

I work for an engineering / machining company who produce limited quantity one offs & prototypes to several Oil service companies large and small.

On a couple of occasions we have experienced issues with quality of threads that have to be cut manually due to the limited number of units ( CNC not cost effective )
usually bespoke sized stubb ACME threads for which hard gauges are not readily available ( and if they were the cost would again be prohibitive )

I have been asked to look into the possibility of buying a 3d printer that is capable of printing out relatively simple plastic cylinders or tubes with either external or internal threads "cut" into them that could be used to check thread quality before shipping the parts

Concerns would be the final printed tolerance of thread profile shape & "roundness" of the final part

Is this totally ridiculous or is it feasible ?

I have a budget of around $5k to spend on hardware & consumables to start with and print area would probably have to be at least 8x8x8" but bigger the better..

So far I have narrowed it down ( based purely on searching the internet ) to Luzbot Taz 4 , Ultimaker 2 Extnd or Makerbot 5th gen ( last one is potentially a little small )

I realize the TAZ is opensource and the software is iffy, the Ultimaker looks like it has better quality outputs but limited material selections and some clogging issues & the makerbot appears to be the "industry standard" but potentially slow output

Id really appreciate some feedback from someone with actual hands on experience

Thanks,

SS