Considering a 3D printer

[Clemsky]

Greetings, I'm considering a 3D printer for my middle school classroom. I've tried sifting through the brand descriptions and all, but I think I'd get better info from this forum. I'm looking to stay around the $1000.00 range for the equipment, non-proprietary spools, and ease of use is a must. It must also be a solid workhorse as there will be 35 prints per week or so. Is this pie-in-the-sky, or does such a machine exist at that price?

Thanks

[ssayer]

If you're looking for 35 prints a week during classroom time off of one printer, I sure hope you realize that they're going to have to be pretty darn small objects that you're printing!

[RAMTechRob]

SeemMeCNC Rostock Max kit or the Delta Orion will work for you.

[Zhall]

It all boils down to if you are trying to print out footballs or chess pieces.

[Clemsky]

Yes, keychains and such. the largest thing to print would be a cell phone case. Any suggestions?

[gg1]

The makerbot mini is a good machine - reliable and its plug and play

[curious aardvark]

flashforge creator. The pro if you can afford it.
Also plug and play.
Minimal maintenance and you can run the thing all day and all night if you want to.

But with the versatility of dual extruders.

And you can knock out some pretty decent sized prints in an hour or less.
0.3 mm and little or no infill.
You'd be surprised just how quick some things will print.

Oh yeah and it makes r2d2 noises while it's printing :-)

[DBFIU]

I think 1000 is a realistic budget to get what you are asking for.

Cant go wrong with a medium sized makerbot.

My friend has a flashforge creator and it has made some of the highest quality prints I have ever seen. Its a little over 1000 though but very easy to use.

[ssayer]

XYZ is releasing the Davinci jr for $250.00 in one month. You could purchase three of these machines. They are reliable and easy to use. I saw it in person at CES in January.

"they are reliable"... That sort of makes me smile.... they aren't even out yet, so there is no history of the device to derive that statement from!

If you're going to say that they are reliable because the 1.0 is reliable, then I'll go from smiling to laughing...

[Crazy_3D_printer]

I think UP mini is the most suitable one