Is this printer worth it?

I make replica props, and am very experienced with printers, laser cutters, routers ect. I have gotten a few friends to print some things for me, and it is time for me to get a 3D printer of my own.

I know nothing about 3D printing, but I have been watching this printer for a while. It is within my budget, and sounds to be decent quality. I would like to go ahead and place an order for one, but before I do, I would like to get a few opinons from you guys who are more experienced.

Is this printer worth getting? I have seen quite a few threads about problems. A friend of mine has a Replicator 2, and has not had any problems with his. But it is much smaller, and outside of my price range.

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

My friend has a replicator 2 and he's had a swarm of issues with his. Sounds like your friend got lucky. My friend has spent around $500 on upgrades to get to consistent printings. That's on top of the high entry point.


The major benefit of the RoBo 3D is the size. I wanted something that could print around 10" and few in the market can do it, let alone the price range.

From my standpoint it's an excellent printer for the value. I've gotten probably 1-200 hours on mine in the first month, and it's been printing very rigid and high quality parts.

Some things to keep in mind.

• 3d Printing is not plug and play yet. Only the best of the best printers are close to this yet. The current household market is still a very much hobbyist and tinkerer market. If you're not comfortable with the idea of having to tweak your printer then 3D printing in general probably isn't right for you.

• The RoBo 3D is a rep rap style printer meaning you'll need to calibrate your Z axis height. Generally this will be consistent between prints but micro adjustments might be needed in some cases. It's relatively trivial to adjust this. Just use a piece of paper or a $15 dial indicator if you want more precision.

• Embrace modding. 3D printers have a lot of expensive parts and sometimes corners needed to be cut to get that price to an affordable level. There are certain mods you'll want to perform to improve the quality of your printer. These are generally low cost but high value upgrades. Things like being able to adjust the build platform or upgrading to a new hot end.The stock hot end only goes to 230C which is not adequate enough for some materials. It's good for ABS and PLA but not nylons and other such materials. A common upgrade is the E3D hot end.

With that said there's been quite a few users who have kept their printer completely stock and are getting good prints. Though like all things, with the right operator it can be made even better. And with around $100 worth of upgrades you can easily make the RoBo of a quality that rivals the Replicator 2.

If you're looking to make a Mjölnir suit, few printers would be a better choice, and none at this price range

 

Thank you both for the responses. I was not aware that printers are not plug and play. I don't mind tinkering and tweaking as I go, as long as it is not difficult to learn. I'm used to having to adjust the z axis on all of my other machines between jobs. I will probably only stick with PLA and ABS for now, but I will most likely want to upgrade a few other parts, if it will make it run better. If there is anything else I should know, please feel free to chime in.

 

The tweaking really isn't hard it's just a matter of patience. Sometimes it can take a few tries to get something working. You just have to remember it's all a learning experience and once you make it to the other side you'll be like "Man I can't believe I ever struggled with this"

If it helps your level of confidence you can watch the entire assembly video on youtube. Watching that will tell you every little bit there is to know about the printer so when it arrives assembled you'll be able to quickly understand how everything works.

Most complicated skill you need to get the printer up and running is the ability to use a screw driver.

And as Mark said you'll want to do a once over when it arrives as things can wiggle loose in transit.

 

Some tools will come in handy. Many of which you probably already have. One I didn't but found very useful is a 90 degree ratcheting screwdriver. You don't want it too big. This is primarily for adjusting the Z axis home stop screw. Because of the hood you can't easily get in there and put down pressure in order to adjust this screw (at least without stripping it). The 90 degree screwdriver helps tremendously.

 

Alright then. I guess I will go ahead and place an order for one.

 

Was it a good buy?

 

Nophead's Mendel 90 (http://forums.reprap.org/read.php?94,196585) is the best printer under 1k. If you don't mind putting a printer together from scratch (which gives you a much better understanding of how they work) that is definitely the way to go.

The R1 is a great buy for the money and comes put together. With a few upgrades it is an exceptional printer. Below are two prints I did right after pulling the printer out of the box and leveling the print bed. After those two prints I added an E3D hotend and a few upgrades the R1 printed itself (and an LCD controller, but that doesn't effect print accuracy or speed) and I am absolutely happy with my printer.

http://imgur.com/JvxtKT9
http://imgur.com/rdTqiNM

 

I agree the M90 is a good quality printer but for build volume its a little bit on the short side. its only 200mm(7") in all three axis. I looked at this printer before buying my R3D and was going to jump then I found the R3D and fell in love. I haven't got my R3D printer yet, but it will be here this Thursday, and I am sure I will have to mess around with it to get it to my expectations but with this community anything is possible.

 

I am using the stock Robo and it's working. All issues can be solved without upgrading parts. Upgrading is a techy thing. Cool to do and boast about the latest greatest but it's not necessary with the Robo. You just need to read all the solutions on the forum and find what works for you. Get to know the printer and what it needs.

Also I have found that the software and the object you are printing has a lot to do with success or failure. Repetier 0.90d works producing smooth prints, but repetier0.90f makes a stringy mess.


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I am using the stock Robo and it's working. All issues can be solved without upgrading parts. Upgrading is a techy thing. Cool to do and boast about the latest greatest but it's not necessary with the Robo. You just need to read all the solutions on the forum and find what works for you. Get to know the printer and what it needs.

Also I have found that the software and the object you are printing has a lot to do with success or failure. Repetier 0.90d works producing smooth prints, but repetier0.90f makes a stringy mess.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk