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DeVisioN's avatar
DeVisioN
Honored Guest
11 years ago

Under 1000$ 3D Printer choice

I need some help from people who have some good understanding of 3D printers. I want to put some of my prototype boards in case and 3D-printing it will be the easiest option. I have an access to a university's 3D printer, but you have to sign up for it 2 weeks upfront and printing quality is very low even for a prototype. So I decided to invest in my own 3D printer. I know little about them, as I was always just giving STL files and received a model day after. Can someone give me advice on the best bang for the buck 3D printer under 1k$? I will be printing on it often, so filament price is also considered (if it differs between printers). Thanks!

2 Replies

  • grumble's avatar
    grumble
    Honored Guest
    11 years ago
    This is a good place to start:

    http://www.3ders.org/pricecompare/3dprinters/

    There are a ton of printers under $1000. The prices have really been coming down lately, and the build volumes going up. My first printer was a MakerBot replicator 2 which was $2300 at the time. You can get them refurb' for $1600 from Makerbot I think. The second printer I got was the GMAX from gCreate. It was a kit that had to be put together and it was $1400 for a dual extruder but its open design has allowed me to rebuild it from a 18x18x9 build volume to a 18x18x23 at the moment. You can really build it as big as you want. The next printer I ordered was the Cobblebot on Kickstarter. At the time of the kickstarter you could get their 15x15x15 for $299. They are still fulfilling orders but after I would imagine that same $299 from KS would be under $1000 retail.

    I guess my whole point of this was to show that there are a lot of options and prices continue to drop as I type this.
  • reBoot185's avatar
    reBoot185
    Honored Guest
    11 years ago
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/XYZprinting-da-Vinci-1-0-FFF-Fused-Filament-Fabrication-3D-Printer-/301380777265?pt=COMP_Printers&hash=item462bb1b531

    woo!

    there is also the printrBot on amazon if you want something to.. convert as it were into something like

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYqBxEAtXZA which seems to do some sort of cement nozzle.. yeah a water hose and a nozzle and some cement and a little computer aiming and you print houses...

    cement is a broad term..

    so.. next

    why not send people a nice phone and a 3d printer so we can have useful development kits where wanted in place of these aimed at being dainty