This was just PM'ed to me. I asked the author if it was okay to repost it here because it has a lot of valuable input. They didn't want their name published though because they work for a Stratasys reseller.
Dale
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Saw your thread about 3D printers and wanted to chime in. I work at a Stratasys reseller, and even though my job is not directly related to the printers I go out of my way to use them and learn as much about them as I can, so I have a fair amount of experience with them.
The Objet printers are straight-up amazing, but I can’t recommend any of them for an FRC-level project - they’re just too expensive. All the smaller units have serious limitations (number and types of materials) until you get to the Connex machines, and then you’re talking 100’s of thousands of dollars.
The Dimensions I’m somewhat torn on. They’re getting old, and the Fortus line is much more reliable. What I would recommend, though, is the uPrint:
http://www.stratasys.com/3d-printers...ries/uprint-se. It’s a real workhorse - fast, simple, decent build size, very reliable, and MIGHT be within an FRC-range budget.
The Fortus printers are really top-notch. They have by far the least down-time of any printer in our lab, and consistently produce great parts, but they’re almost certainly out of an FRC team’s price range.
The higher up the line of printers you go, you also get better and better software for processing print jobs. The Mojo uses a program that gives little control past orientation and placement, but the Dimensions and uPrint use a program called Catalyst, which also lets you determine slice height and infill. The Fortus line gives you access to software called Insight, which gives full control over every contour and raster on every layer. However, the Objet lines uses software called Objet Studio, and it’s pretty poor.
I’ve worked a fair amount with hobby-level printers (Makerbot and the like) before working here and I own an old Printrbot, and it’s been eye-opening to see the difference in capability that crossing the ~10K threshold opens up. But nowadays that there are so many good options in the hobby-level space (like most of the recommendations in this thread) that I wouldn’t recommend any of the Stratasys machines beyond the Mojo and possibly uPrint to an FRC team.
Again, my job doesn’t work too directly with the printers, so this is just opinions what I’ve developed from using them whenever I get the chance - you should take it with a grain of salt. I didn’t want to post it publicly, but I figured it was worth sharing my experience with you directly. Evan Hochstein (mentioned in the thread) can probably give you much more accurate insight into the Stratasys world.
Thanks for starting this thread! I’ve learned a lot from people’s recommendations.