What 3D printer should I get if I’m willing to spend around $500, and want to be able to print ABS and PLA?
I would like to have it capable of printing things such as
And be able to have the “LEGO” part show up
I’ve considered the Da Vinci, since it can get Repetier loaded onto it, but I’ve also considered just building one (I’ve built PCs before, and worked on phones… should be within my skill level).
What do you recommend?
Interlocking lego pieces are one of the hardest things to print. FYI
.002mm tolerances…
@Camerin_hahn So there is no 3D printer within my price range that can print that accurately?
What printers could get the closest to that accuracy but yet are around $500?
You can’t print that level of detail using an extrusion (FDM) printer, as the narrowest line of filament is about 0.5mm, and the writing is much smaller than that.
You might be able to print it with a resin-based printer (DLP or laser) but those cost way more than $500. And the resulting pieces are soft/fragile.
And even if you ignore the writing, the “snap” of Lego requires extremely precise control over tolerances, to the point where even industrial injection molding isn’t generally good enough - it took companies many years to work out how to copy Lego even badly.
If you give up on printing lego’s that snap together, the Printrbot Simple is a very nice little 3D printer in your price range. They sell kits, or for a bit more they sell a complete assembled printer that’s metal, which will give better results (and be more durable).
@Laird_Popkin Are you a Printrbot owner?
I’ve seen that the printbed size is a bit small on the Printrbot Simple
I don’t own a Printrbot - I have a Makerbot Replicator (original model), and a QU-BD TwoUp. But I’ve got several friends who own Printrbot Simples who are very happy, and I’ve met the guy who started Printrbot a few times, and he’s a really nice, professional guy. QU-BD never really delivered on the TwoUp - it’s still missing parts that they haven’t finished / shipped - so I can’t recommend them as a vendor.
Yes, the print bed on the really low end printers is small. That’s one way that they keep the price down - a smaller print area means you can get away with a less precise design and lower cost parts. But since you’re only trying to print lego’s, print area shouldn’t be a concern.
There’s no printer that does what you want. So the question is whether you really need that (and shouldn’t buy a 3D printer) or whether you want a printer, and can compromise some aspect. For example, you can get a decent small-format printer for around $500, you can get a better, medium-format printer for $1,000, and an even better, larger area printer for $2K. And I’d recommend a different printer and vendor at each level. But you can’t print the lego part that you want (i.e. the lettering) on any of them.
So if you want lego’s for under $500, I’d recommend buying them from Lego in bulk. You can get a relatively good deal at the Lego store if you buy the “fill a cup with legos”. You can even pick out the color and shape!
@Laird_Popkin It is disappointing that Legos (at that size) can’t be printed, but I have other things that I want to print.
Phone cases and tablet cases, for example.
I considered trying to get some friends to pitch in and get a FlashForge (a Makerbot clone), but we thought it would be possible to do all the printing we want on the cheaper printers…
Do you know of any Robo 3D owners, Phoenix printer (I forgot the exact name of it) owners, or Asterid printer owners?
I’m curious to see if they’re worth the money.
@Mathilda_Young I own a printrbot simple. It is a great little machine. Mine is 3 revisions old. this weekend i did 27 hours of printing, it ended up costing me about $1 in total material and energy spent.
I have only seen a few people (less than 5) post pictures and videos of working legos duplicates that work, It is just not an easy thing to do.
Phone cases are doable,
Tablet mounts and accessories are doable (tablet cases are pretty big)
Things that i have printed and do print
Cookie cutters
small brackets
vases
small fixtures
filter adapters
lithophanes
Lens covers/caps
small busts
small project boxes
key chains
parts for printers
Yep, if you don’t need the tiny Lego writing any FDM printer, if well calibrated, can print blocks that stack. Snapping together is iffy.
FlashForge is a great deal. Basically a Replicator, but cheap shipped from China. I think the wooden model is $7-800. You might want to visit a local maker group to see printers in action, if you haven’t already, and to try some test prints.
Yep, if you don’t need the tiny Lego writing any FDM printer, if well calibrated, can print blocks that stack. Snapping together is iffy.
FlashForge is a great deal. Basically a Replicator, but cheap shipped from China. I think the wooden model is $7-800. You might want to visit a local maker group to see printers in action, if you haven’t already, and to try some test prints.
I’ve so far only seen two Replicator 2s in action, and I got to see how the unit worked.
I’m considering getting the Peachy Printer once it is available, since it seems like it may be able to have the writing.
@Camerin_hahn has there been anything that you haven’t been able to build?
Did you get the assembled printer, or did you buy a kit?
@Laird_Popkin Have you printed in both ABS and PLA, or just PLA?
I’m curious about if it’s worth being able to print ABS or not for some simple prototyping and tool making
The only thing I can think of that would work is a printer with one of @Jerrill_Johnson nozzles. He goes down to 0.10 mm width. That’s probably the smallest you’ll ever get on a FDM. I wonder if he tried Legos on it. You’ll still need an extremely well calibrated machine, and print really slowly.
@Stephanie_A Thanks for the mention. The inset on the lettering is 0.40 mm wide, so a 0.20 mm or 0.15 mm nozzle may work to get the lettering detail. The trick is going to be the bridging on the underside of the part. It’s really hard with the smaller nozzles. One thought is to print the piece in two parts and glue them together before futzing around with the bridging too much to see if you can get the interlocking parts just right.
I have the original Replicator, which can print with just about anything - heated print bed, two extruders, all-metal hot end. So ABS, PLA, Nylon, PETT, etc. Comparing ABS and PLA, it’s generally the case that ABS is more durable and resilient, while PLA is more brittle. So the ABS holds up to use better, but PLA looks sharper. That being said, some PLA formulations have gotten almost as good as ABS. And if you need durable, Nylon and PETT are fantastic - I print dishwasher parts in Nylon, and they hold up for six months of brutal abuse, and printing parts for a few cents sure beats buying $400 part assemblies!
@Stephanie_A interesting idea using 0.1mm nozzles. You are right that would probably be able to do the writing. Very slowly. With dual extruders, some folks are using a ‘fat’ nozzle for speed printing the interior, and a ‘narrow’ nozzle for exterior for the sharp resolution. That might be a good way to go, though not for $500.
You should be able to print them upside down with supports.
@Stephanie_A to get them to interlock you have to have a smooth top.
@Mathilda_Young what ever printer you are looking at -10 mm from each side (x-y) that is your usable print volume. I purchased a kit, I also upgraded my simple to the xl kit later. (I am a builder who builds IKEA stuff without instructions, and I design and test electronics for a living, I can’t give a fair assessment of how easy/hard it is).
There are things that I can’t print due to size limitations, but print quality has not been a complaint of mine. You do need to know that the printrbot simple is made to print pla, if you print I. Pla your parts will warp if left I temperatures exceeding 110F (hot car on a hot day). Snap together fittings are difficult, but I have made a few, box lids are a challenge ( I make deck boxes for magic the gathering).
Going I you need to know prints are not always going to succeed, they are not quick, there is allot of settings you need to play with… I am not trying to scare you away, I just want you to have realistic expectations with respect to what you are getting…
For reference a quarter sized thing will take something like 5 minutes, a wallet sized thing is about 1.5 hours, a base ball sized thing is like 5 hours… all of these times vary dramatically based upon quality settings and machine
@Jerrill_Johnson Are major changes to a design necessary when printing with a small nozzle?
I don’t know much about the printer’s software, so would that have a huge impact on my ability to use the smaller nozzle?
I guess that part won’t be available for long anyway. Some companies don’t like their trademark being abused.
@bob_cousins you mean that Lego block? I had created the text part just to see how close to the real deal it could get… And then to see if it could print
Printing with a small nozzle is just like the larger one, from a software perspective - you just configure in the smaller nozzle size into the software, and it generates more lines of plastic to lay down, closer together with less plastic. The smaller the nozzle, the more precisely calibrated your printer needs to be, though, and the longer the print will take. The plastic volume extruded is based on the cross section of the nozzle, so going from 0.4mm to 0.1mm gives you ¼ squared = 1/16th as much plastic extrusion, so your prints will take 16x as long. Ouch! But that might be fine for printing one amazing part for display or casting.