Quote Originally Posted by hootie View Post
I am completely new to the world of 3d printing as it exists today. I used to be a plastics product designer for all sorts of products. But in those days... we spent thousands for SLA models. That was the only way to get some kind of part to see, touch, and feel.

Now... I am designing product for myself at home. They will ultimately end up machined aluminum parts, so I want to print using ABS for the strength. I just ordered a Makerbot Desktop and a Makerbot Mini. i ordered only ABS material. Is there anything I should know up front so I don't waste too much time printing crap?
I know there's a lot of trepidation in some of the 3D printing community about using ABS. Some of those concerns, especially about emissions, have yet to be hashed out completely but may turn into real concerns. The concerns about it's printability always seems to be blown out of proportion.

If you learn how to design keeping the characteristics of the material you are using (this part took me the longest time to learn, and I'm still learning) in mind, and you use the correct tool (printer) for the job and get that tool dialed in, you will not have a problem.

For my design/use; ABS is superior to standard PLA in almost every way. I find myself always coming back to ABS. So I did the same exact thing you did, and I'm so glad I did, I love ABS, and it's very cheap to boot.

I think your only possible mistake was in purchasing from Makerbot.