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Posted: 1/30/2021 10:00:57 PM EDT
Anyone here in the south have the equipment and dabble in printing?
Link Posted: 2/2/2021 11:49:02 PM EDT
[#1]
I have a couple printers.  I've built some fun stuff with them, mostly other people's designs, some of my own.  You looking into buying one?
Link Posted: 2/3/2021 12:03:08 AM EDT
[#2]
Been kicking around the idea but know nothing about them or programming.  On top of that , im computer illiterate.  What do you know about these?
https://lasvegas.craigslist.org/sys/d/las-vegas-dreamer-3d-printer/7258050578.html

I know it's not high end and for beginners but that about sums me up.
Just don't want to throw  200 at a total turd.
Link Posted: 2/3/2021 12:21:23 AM EDT
[#3]
Never heard of that brand.  Can't really give an opinion on that one, I'll have to look it up.  If it's an older design, though, I'd probably pass.  One of the most widely used brands for people looking to get into it is Creality.  For the same money, they work good, and have lots of support.  Lots of tutorial videos on Youtube on how to set up and calibrate them if dimensions matter, like say if you need a few holes in precise locations for reasons.    I have two Creality machines, an Ender 3, and a CR-10.  Bought both lightly used for about $130 each.  The Ender 3 has a 200x200mm build plate, and the CR-10 has a 300x300mm plate.  Some of the off brand printers might require proprietary software to generate your gcode, but most use open source software like Cura, Slic3r, Prusaslicer, etc.
Link Posted: 2/3/2021 1:01:54 AM EDT
[#4]
Ok, took a look at it.  It's made by Flashforge, they've been around for a while.  This machine has it's merits, it's enclosed, and has dual extruders.  The downside is the build volume is considered small compared to most of the printers these days.  It doesn't have auto bed leveling, but neither do the non-Pro versions of the Creality printers.  You can add bed leveling easy enough, if you're up for learning how to flash firmware.  I did, but it took me a few days, I bricked it the first time I tried.  That was an annoying week.  This Dreamer printer, being enclosed, is good for building small stuff from ABS filaments, and being dual extruder, you can do 2 colored prints without changing filaments midway through.  I've done it before, one of my designs on Thingiverse features dual colors.  ABS is stronger than the standard PLA filament, but can be a pain to work with if your printer isn't enclosed, because temperature fluctuations can cause warping while it's printing.  An enclosed design keeps heat in, and helps eliminate warping.

Looks like it might actually be a decent machine to start with.  The downside is, it probably isn't open source on the code that runs it, so it may not be easy to modify or repair it yourself, if needed.  The open source printers I have, most everything you'd want to upgrade on them is cheap, between $10-40 usually for extruders, hotends, mainboards, displays, etc.  Still, a higher end machine like that shouldn't need tinkering, it should just work.
Link Posted: 2/3/2021 3:56:33 PM EDT
[#5]
Here's what i gathered from what you said.  
The unit looks like it might be a decent one and I'm probably to stupid to figure out how to actually use it.  My money would be better kept in my pocket.
Link Posted: 2/3/2021 4:19:20 PM EDT
[#6]
$179 and works.

https://www.voxelab3dp.com/product/7

Voxlab Aquila - Ender 3 pro v2 clone.


Link Posted: 2/3/2021 4:39:53 PM EDT
[#7]
Link Posted: 2/3/2021 7:29:58 PM EDT
[#8]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/15404/Wfp7qiaq60ysg-1809334.gif

We could barely both work and control a 1 man auger....we ain't that bright.


View Quote


At least i was smart enough to figure out the broken throttle  and frozen dirt with large rocks and the auger being a total POS wasn't our fault. Still beat the hell out of doing it with a shovel.
Link Posted: 2/3/2021 8:05:50 PM EDT
[#9]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Here's what i gathered from what you said.  
The unit looks like it might be a decent one and I'm probably to stupid to figure out how to actually use it.  My money would be better kept in my pocket.
View Quote



No, I figured it out, took a few months of tinkering with it.  If I can do it, I'm sure just about anyone can.  The thing is, if you don't have hours of free time, you probably won't enjoy the learning curve.
Link Posted: 2/3/2021 8:24:06 PM EDT
[#10]
The free time isn't the problem.  Lack of space and patience is the problem.
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