I will be adopting the FabLab as a warden and I wanted to get some feeling for what is working and what we could change.
I’d like the area to be more “user friendly” with laminated instructions to remind folks about how to do things. (laser and 3D printer).
I’m thinking it would be great to have at least one more 3D printer online. Perhaps one of the ones Ryan spoke of that are in the sub $500 range. It should lean more toward easy to use. My understanding is that the Gigabot is a pain to use and has some “issues”.
I’d like to inventory the available filament and setup a proper storage setup with desiccant.
Brad, I am reviewing a sub $500 range printer as we speak. Build volume of 300x300x300 ish range, 1.75mm filament, flexible build plate, filament sensor, the spec on it are good.I can get you a link to that If it turns out worth it.
Can people who use the Ultimaker let us know by replying here? My initial thoughts were that it doesn’t see much use, because people tend to print at home. I’ve heard from a few people though that the machine is more active than I think.
I’m simply wondering if adding more printers is a good use of funds. It might be great to have a few machines at the ready, calibrated for different materials and print quality levels. It might also be that they’d go largely unused.
For those who do print at the hive, what are your usual materials and part sizes?
I used the Ultimaker the other day really just to try it out. I have several projects coming up that will require printing small parts. The largest thing I have thought of printing is a four gang switch plate.
As soon to be new member, I can expect that I will be using the Fablab and 3D and laser on a semi regular basis for what that is worth. Creating small figurines and gadgets for my kids.
Thanks for the conversation. I don’t think we are in the need of a stable of Ultimakers, but I would like to get at least one more printer.
One of the quality clones Ryan spoke of might be a good one.
I have the MicroCenter I3 Duplicator Plus clone at home and it seems to work well (after some setup/tweaking). The one thing I dislike is the lack of automatic bed leveling.
I don’t mind assembling a kit, in fact that can be half the fun.
I’ll propose a vote for $500 to get another printer in another thread.
Feel free to comment in either thread on suggestions.
Brad, I like the idea of getting another printer, but let’s look at something alittle bigger, I’d like to see a cr10s4 or s5, which is above the $500 range you propose.
Kevin if you are speaking about the gigabot, that printer has more issues than not. I dont even know when the last time we had it running smoothly was.
My understanding (based on second hand claims) is that all it would take to get it running is someone with 3d printing experience giving it a good once-over. Seems like the more appropriate option vs. buying another large format printer.
I’d be happy to give it a good once-over if I could get a solid list of what’s been done to it. But I’ve been led to believe some unorthodox style modifications have been made.
If need be I will, but there may have been a rhyme or reason for it, which if I dont know I would likely avoid. Last thing I want is to have to put up a vote to fix something that is already fixed in some other method.
Perhaps documenting the way it should be in order to work properly on the wiki would be a good idea once it’s fixed? I get the impression that lack of documentation of its current state is a stumbling block.
-D
you can always slap information on there with a note that it needs words gooder made on it, then throw a notice up on slack or the mailing list.
Someone can then tidy up the wiki part.
If the information is there and just needs formatting and editing, that takes the whole project from 1 Herculean task, into 2 manageable tasks for multiple people.
I periodically look at the wiki’s recent changes and come by to edit and wikiïfy various pages. Go ahead and put up anything on any page and I would be delighted to format it.
Last I remember, from the open house, it was working on octoprint. Not sure if they ever got the heated bed finished. I feel like there had been some issues with the bed being uneven and prints failing due to the warping. Ryan would really be the one to chime in iirc
