3d printer worth it?

[Stonecloak]

they seem kind of cool. Anyone know if they are useful?

[inux94]

If you haven't watched it, I would recommend it

Take Logan's opinions with a mountain of salt though, he's a jack of all trades, master of none.

[k0smos]

I played with makerbot few times , printed some stuff like predator head but wasn't very pleased with time it took to print a relatively small object and quality was average.

[fixx]

they seem kind of cool. Anyone know if they are useful?

Depends on if you gonna use it for anything. Too expensive toys still IMHO for doing one keyring and then forget the thing.

[Deleted]

they seem kind of cool. Anyone know if they are useful?

My father specialises in them. They are bleeding edge right now but will probably define the future. Not worth buying just yet if you ask me, not unless you're interesting in printing prototype stuff.

[Stonecloak]

My father specialises in them. They are bleeding edge right now but will probably define the future. Not worth buying just yet if you ask me, not unless you're interesting in printing prototype stuff.

Yea, after watching some of the video it seems pretty early. Maybe when they get better resolution it will be better down the line.

[mittacc]

Got a k8200 at home which is a DIY-kit. I was really enthusiastic about it when I built it, my imagination was flowing like crazy. Once it was finnished I tried to print some stuff but the prints got loose fro mthe printing bed several times and I hade to configure the pritner for about a month or two before I got a half decent print. It lacks support material which makes complex structures more difficult to construct(the mold can't support itself suring print if it's exposed to too much momentum). Now my imagination with it is almost dead(I can even model my own stuff in SolidWorks if I have to so it's not like I don't find anything useful/fun).

Right now I'm using it as mail storage. . . It was fun building though . . .

So if you want to buy one make sure:
1. Has support material(requires a chemical bath afterwards)
2. Don't buy a DIY-kit if you're not very experienced in mechanics, soldering etc(we're talking about quarter-millimeter precision)
3. Don't go budget

[Vash The Stampede]

3D printer is cool if the technology was cheap and the process was better. The 3D you know and see is just layer hot plastic over and over again. Eventually you get an object that you could use, but nothing complicated, and made of plastic. They do have 3D printers that work with metal and even Carbon Fiber, but the cheap plastic ones are likely what you'll see first.

The problem with 3D printers is what do you plan to do with it? There's only two reasons to own one. First, you do a lot of art. Secondly, you do a lot of building of sorts. So for example maybe you wanna make a doll for art, or make a new battery cover for your cell phone. But the cost of using a 3D printer is just beyond the cost of a simple doll or $5 battery cover. Plus the quality is going to be far worse.

As someone who repairs cars often, this would be amazing to have, but I would need it to print in metal or carbon fiber.

[Raamm]

Depends on the type of 3d Printer your buying now if you plan on opening a metal fabrication shop I imagine a $150,000 one would be a great investment that would pay for itself however; if you plan on printing tiny plastic choking hazards I wouldn't bother until they're really really cheap.

[Deleted]

They are good