3D Printer Advice

[thefro526]

I've been using 3D printed parts on robots since ~2007/2008 or so and they're definitely neat. That being said, what you plan on using the printer for will define what kind of printer you're looking for.

Realistically, if you're just looking for something that can make light load parts like spacers, sensor mounts and things of that nature, you can get away with just about any 'Hobbiest +' level 3D printer like Makerbot's Replicator2. Most people that 3D print rarely ever need anything more than that, especially if it's something that's not being used that often.

If you think that it's going to see a lot of use in terms of volume (not size of parts, but number of them) it's worth looking into something like a Dimension Uprint. It's basically the same technology from Dimension's Larger Printers in a smaller package. There are some weird quirks to the machine, but all in all, it's pretty good. It might be a bit out of the price range though, IIRC, the prices went up last fall, so now a Uprint is 12-15k depending on what package you want/need.

Honestly though, considering that you've got 10k or so to spend, I'd get a Makerbot and a bunch of material. That'd set you back right around $3k or so, which leaves you $7k to invest elsewhere. The real problem with looking at 3D printers on a limited budget is that you can't have it all. You'll either sacrifice reliability, quality or parts throughput to get something in that range.