1 Topic by Serin (edited by Serin 2013-08-13 03:34:31)

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Topic: Jumping into the printed world

Hey guys,

I've been slowly thinking more and more about jumping into the printing world, as it seems my little endeavour into game/movie prop making could benefit.
so I figured this would be a good place to start asking some questions about the Soli products ect ect.

I was first looking at the makerbot rep2, but the prices for getting one in Australia seem a little overboard...
So it seems I'm left with a choice between a Soli 2 or 3.

It seems that a lot of users pretty much instantly rip the guts out of their machines and replace with better quality designs.
This creates somewhat of an issue for me as I lack the knowledge and most of the know-how needed to source and replace said parts.
Admittedly... my technical knowledge doesn't extend much past building guitars or gaming pc's.

So I ask you all this: How much does it cost, roughly, to replace the dodgy parts and where the hell do I get said parts from?
Oh, and which out of the Soli's would you all recommend?


Many thanks, kind forumites

This is a crowd funding thing that I'm running: http://www.gofundme.com/bvi140 It's for pretty selfish reasons tongue

2 Reply by MolecularConcept

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Re: Jumping into the printed world

if you can build computers and guitars you can work on a printer. its pretty easy stuff and the people on the forums here and the IRC are pretty helpfull and patient with noobs ( i gues they have to be ALOT of us are n00bs  lol) you might not want to BUILD your very first printer tho, i didnt want to build one so i bought an assembled. 

what model depends on what you want to do and what your budget is! id say go for the SD3  but i have one and havent used the entire bed yet! but for 799 for 8in cubed its a great deal.

my sd3 is still "stock"  all my mods are simple things glass plate, filament guide enclosure. i think thats the way alot of people are doing it till something breaks.

3 Reply by Gomisan

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Re: Jumping into the printed world

Great to see a question like that from another Australian. Mine arrived last week and I'm really happy with it (SD3). It's taking a little tweaking, but nothing I didn't expect, and certainly not a 'teardown'.

I've calibrated the belts and the filament extrusion, and made a small guide for the filament.

There are other mods I want to do, but slowly and as I learn more about things.

This is an excellent printer right out of the box, and after a LOT of research I think it's the best value in Australia, specially if you want the bigger build area.

Otherwise maybe an Up! Mini, which costs about the same by the time it's shipped, but can be bought locally.

Anyway, I'm happy to answer questions, and some of the other major players here are also Australian, so you're in good company.

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4 Reply by Gomisan

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Re: Jumping into the printed world

oh and expenses...

I've spent about $100 on filament (sourced in Australia which saves a LOT in shipping costs!)
I've bought a few tools and stuff, digital calipers, a pressure guage etc. Maybe another $60.
I bought some corrugated board at Bunnings to make an enclosure, another $20.

I am sure that like any other hobby the little bits and pieces will add up over time, but that is to be expected.

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5 Reply by cckens (edited by cckens 2013-08-13 04:37:52)

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Re: Jumping into the printed world

It's a good place to start if you're not keen on building a machine.  You may, down the road, decide that you have enough knowledge to build one of your own, but definitely consider the SD.

The tinkerers will try to fix what isn't broken just because they can.  You don't have to.  Mine is mostly stock.  Glass ged top, thumbscrews for leveling.  The extruder mount is Lawsy's Mk4 as my jigsaw (acrylic mount) cracked to pieces relatively early on.  The electronics are stock for most repraps, so everything you need to know to make it function is out in the wilds of the internet.  Some basic mechanical knowledge is all that's required for maintenance and calibration... don't sweat it.  Learn about it before you have to modify.  You don't have to mod it, but I would print the replacements that are available, just in case.

6 Reply by Serin

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Re: Jumping into the printed world

Danke comrades!

Most informative.
I suppose most of the youtube clips I've seen have been relatively negative... It's not like people jump on their soapbox when something works.
That said, I do want to be able to count on things not breaking or exploding, so I do want to be able to replace most of the parts not long after purchase.


Definitely not afraid of building my own, just haven't done anything on this technical scale before.
Speaking of, I've just stumbled across the MendelMax 2 kit... Oh boy, it certainly looks like a solid platform.

Gom,
Indeed! Aussies, always pushing the envelope! big_smile
Since calibrating have you experienced any issues with the belt? I've noted that several users replace them due to the 'square-ness' of the teeth.
Also, got a link to that filament source? If we're allowed to post links here that is.


Cheers guys

This is a crowd funding thing that I'm running: http://www.gofundme.com/bvi140 It's for pretty selfish reasons tongue

7 Reply by Gomisan (edited by Gomisan 2013-08-13 05:12:09)

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Re: Jumping into the printed world

The link is posted elsewhere.. but I don't think there are any restrictions on mentioning it here. I'm not affiliated with them in anyway, but I was impressed by their customer service.

http://www.3dprintergear.com.au/Default.asp

I haven't had any issues with the belts that would make me run out and spend money on them yet. I 'may' in the future upgrade the belts and gears, but its not a priority.

I really think the community here is what sold me this printer, a great bunch of really helpful people.

The buy and sell area has some Australian supplier links for various things too.

Gomisan's Website

8 Reply by Serin

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Re: Jumping into the printed world

Hey guys,

Wondering...
My Soli has apparently hit Australian shores, but haven't heard any news since monday.
Does anyone know who USPS uses to deliver in Australia?

Danke

This is a crowd funding thing that I'm running: http://www.gofundme.com/bvi140 It's for pretty selfish reasons tongue

9 Reply by adrian (edited by adrian 2013-11-06 09:59:20)

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Re: Jumping into the printed world

Serin wrote:

Hey guys,

Wondering...
My Soli has apparently hit Australian shores, but haven't heard any news since monday.
Does anyone know who USPS uses to deliver in Australia?

Danke

AusPost - USPS is national mail carrier just like say Royal Mail - so its just passed to the respective national mail carrier - in this case, AustPost, once it clears customs.

Its 99.9% tied up in customs clearance. If it arrived monday, it'll have been the late monday flight, and only hit customs v.late. Expect it to have cleared today or late yesterday, and be delivered tomorrow or friday.

You can only track it via the USPS site though, AustPost wont help you there as its 'invisible' to their tracking system... `

10 Reply by Serin

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Re: Jumping into the printed world

Ahhh! Excellent!
Thanks Adrian.

This is a crowd funding thing that I'm running: http://www.gofundme.com/bvi140 It's for pretty selfish reasons tongue

11 Reply by diyengineer

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Re: Jumping into the printed world

Don't have to rip the guts out at all. Works great as is. Once you get better 3d modeling and printing you can always upgrade down the road!

12 Reply by fadilee

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Re: Jumping into the printed world

Don't be scared. Mine is just like how I purchased it with some additions (I didn't replace anything). I added stuff like a glass bed  and side walls but the SD3 works fine the way it is shipped.

13 Reply by Gomisan

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Re: Jumping into the printed world

Mine printed almost right out of the box when it arrived here in Adelaide, one axis had come out of alignment probably due to getting bounced around from the USA to here. I was printing within a few minutes though after I'd done a basic calibration.

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