Acquiring a 3D Printer?

[ImMoMo]

Hello everyone,

Firstly, I apologize in advance if this post is in the incorrect sub-forum. I felt it was the most appropriate to post my question in.

So, has anyone had any luck in asking or contacting a company in regards to donating a 3D printer to the their team?

I'm trying to obtain a 3D printer for my team, before the start of the 2017 FRC season - so I thought I would attempt alternative, more direct route.

Thank you so much!

[carpedav000]

You might try contacting FormLabs, I've heard some good things about them

[troy_dietz]

Originally Posted by carpedav000

You might try contacting FormLabs, I've heard some good things about them

A SLA printer probably isn't the best option for robotics applications (in our "robots"). FDM/FFF is the way to go 99.9% of the time (SLS being the .1%) if you intend to create functional parts in a reasonable amount of time with decent strength and low operating costs.

https://all3dp.com/types-of-3d-print...ogy-explained/

[carpedav000]

Originally Posted by troy_dietz

A SLA printer probably isn't the best option for robotics applications (in our "robots"). FDM/FFF is the way to go 99.9% of the time (SLS being the .1%) if you intend to create functional parts in a reasonable amount of time with decent strength and low operating costs.

https://all3dp.com/types-of-3d-print...ogy-explained/

Actually, SLA printers produce very strong and accurate parts (I have a sample from formlabs that is extremely accurate and has survived multiple stress tests)

[troy_dietz]

Originally Posted by carpedav000

Actually, SLA printers produce very strong and accurate parts (I have a sample from formlabs that is extremely accurate and has survived multiple stress tests)

But how long did it take to print, how much post processing was required, and how much did the resin cost? 1 liter of resin costs over $150.
In the long term, you also have to factor in the cost of the resin trays ($60 each) which degrade faster than normal print surfaces.

[MrBasse]

Originally Posted by carpedav000

Actually, SLA printers produce very strong and accurate parts (I have a sample from formlabs that is extremely accurate and has survived multiple stress tests)

I have a formlabs printer in my classroom. It makes a lovely paperweight. Out of 60 prints, I had 3 successful jobs. There were so many occlusions and failures I couldn't believe it. Their customer service is near nonexistent. Overall it was the biggest waste of $4k I've every been involved in. Beyond that, the materials are a mess and the end prints are super brittle.

I would stick with FDM all the way.

[marshall]

Originally Posted by MrBasse

I have a formlabs printer in my classroom. It makes a lovely paperweight. Out of 60 prints, I had 3 successful jobs. There were so many occlusions and failures I couldn't believe it. Their customer service is near nonexistent. Overall it was the biggest waste of $4k I've every been involved in. Beyond that, the materials are a mess and the end prints are super brittle.

I would stick with FDM all the way.

Ouch. I saw their printers at Maker Faire NYC a couple years ago. Good but not great is how I would describe them.

[jgerstein]

Originally Posted by ImMoMo

So, has anyone had any luck in asking or contacting a company in regards to donating a 3D printer to the their team?

1257 was fortunate with Formlabs and a Form1+, but it helped that Max Lobovsky, the CEO and cofounder, was one of our founding members. Among other uses, we used it to get very smooth wheels for the lift on our elevator in 2015.

Originally Posted by Cothron Theiss

Do you know of any specific teams that use SLS? I know 3824 had a few parts made on an ARCAM machine via EBM for their 2013 bot. It might be interesting to find all the teams that use methods of additive manufacturing other than FDM.

So far, we've only used FDM and SLA parts on our robot. However, this year we may have SLS and/or DMLS access through a sponsor.

I'd also say that there are some FDM variants that are beyond what people think of in that context. In particular, the Markforged printers are FDM, but produce remarkably strong parts - the primary material for a Markforged printer is nylon with continous lengths of carbon fiber as reinforcement.

[Munchskull]

Originally Posted by jgerstein

So far, we've only used FDM and SLA parts on our robot. However, this year we may have SLS and/or DMLS access through a sponsor.

I'd also say that there are some FDM variants that are beyond what people think of in that context. In particular, the Markforged printers are FDM, but produce remarkably strong parts - the primary material for a Markforged printer is nylon with continous lengths of carbon fiber as reinforcement.

In regards to SLS printers they are absolutely amazing. One of our mentors who works at HP was able to throw in our drive train spacers to his print in a nylon SLS printer and it was incredible the tolerances it held. The only down sides are the price to run one of those things and the 24 hour cool down time that the parts need in order to return to room temperature.

[pilleya]

Our school has a few Formlabs SLA printers (1 and 1+). They can produce very good parts, but there is a fair bit of upkeep that is required. I haven’t used them for robot parts, but I have used them to produce small precision parts for F1 In Schools. They seem fairly reliable, and the Design and Technology Department use them as part of their curriculum in which they are used to produce probably around 80-100ish parts per year. That said I probably wouldn’t recommend an SLA printer to a team just wanting to make a few parts here and there.

An FDM printer is going to be quicker, easier and cheaper to run for the style of parts that FRC teams commonly make.

[Kevin Sevcik]

Since this has turned into a 3D printer recommendation thread...

57 won a Makergear M2 in the printer lottery a couple years back, and it's been pretty reliable with good, fast support. Makergear has been diligently but quietly rolling out upgrades over the years that make it even better. The latest revision is supposed to be solid enough that it pretty much never needs bed levelling, which is saying something. I've had to turn the team's back over to the school for various reasons, and went ahead an purchased my own in kit form. They also occasionally have lightly used or refurbished machines for a discount.

I highly recommend splurging the $150 for Simplify3D for the M2 or for any printer supported by S3D. The presets and support generation make it much easier to get successful prints.

[marshall]

Originally Posted by Kevin Sevcik

I highly recommend splurging the $150 for Simplify3D

OMG YES! If anyone from FIRST is paying attention then get Simplify3D added to the Virtual KOP please! It's amazing software.

[MrBasse]

Originally Posted by marshall

Ouch. I saw their printers at Maker Faire NYC a couple years ago. Good but not great is how I would describe them.

It's a super cool technology, but when every job fails and they tell you that the solution is to buy the new model I'll look elsewhere. We did make a really cool RSL holder that was clear and put an LED ring in it to work as an inocator. That was fun at least. But it took 7 tries to get it to print...

[Brandon Holley]

Originally Posted by MrBasse

I have a formlabs printer in my classroom. It makes a lovely paperweight. Out of 60 prints, I had 3 successful jobs. There were so many occlusions and failures I couldn't believe it. Their customer service is near nonexistent. Overall it was the biggest waste of $4k I've every been involved in. Beyond that, the materials are a mess and the end prints are super brittle.

I would stick with FDM all the way.

A Form1, Form1+ or Form2? While I've certainly had my fair share of challenges with my Form1+ in the office, I have a MUCH higher success rate than you are describing. It took some fine tuning and researching, but there are plenty of little tricks that make a big difference.


Just like anything it is a tradeoff. I have seen many budget-friendly FDM printers that are awful - terrible print quality, break downs, jams, you name it. 3D printing is very dynamic marketplace right now, and for consumers that means a lot of potential landmines out there.

-Brando

[MrBasse]

Originally Posted by Brandon Holley

A Form1, Form1+ or Form2? While I've certainly had my fair share of challenges with my Form1+ in the office, I have a MUCH higher success rate than you are describing. It took some fine tuning and researching, but there are plenty of little tricks that make a big difference.


Just like anything it is a tradeoff. I have seen many budget-friendly FDM printers that are awful - terrible print quality, break downs, jams, you name it. 3D printing is very dynamic marketplace right now, and for consumers that means a lot of potential landmines out there.

-Brando

It's a Form1+. I messed with it for about 6 months testing everyday. The big problem was that a failure destroyed the print trays so continuing with it actually cost more than our Stratasys Uprint machine. And as most that 3d print know, stratasys is anything but cheap for consumables...