Yay, I'm a 3D Printer guy now! It cost me a whole dollar to order that figure stand up above, and it should be done and ready for pick-up tomorrow. I'm gonna need to ask the Computer Lab guys if ZBrush or whatever can be installed on them.

Thanks for the advice guys.

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I picked up the figure stand yday, but y'all get pics today:




There are obvious banding effects that my camera doesn't capture. I understand the MechaNauts guy uses acetone to smooth out the texture, and I may try that in future prints. I chose this one due to the baseplate looking keen, like a transporter pad and I'll monkey with it to see how well this plastic 'works' as custom fodder.

Unfortunately, the library computers only have 2Gb RAM, half what's needed to properly run a CAD program. However the guy said TinkerCAD runs online so I may be able to monkey stuff up with that both there and on my tablet.

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Cool. TinkerCAD is indeed online and good for hobbyist designing. You might be interested in SculptGL, as well -- it's an online blob forming app, similar to sculpting with clay. It's handy if you want more organic items.

Gratzi, Mark!

Looking at the NASA 3DP offerings, I'm definitely going to be burning a lot of those satellites and landers out. My library can only print stl files, tho. How do I convert the other formats to stl?

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Look into software like Meshlab. There are also online sites to do it.

Browsing the NASA builds I see the NIH also has a library:
https://3dprint.nih.gov/discover

I could see virus models being cool additions to a mad scientist's lab, or even making the Sinestro Corps'man' Despotellis.

I think the CYGNSS
https://nasa3d.arc.nasa.gov/detail/cygnss
is gonna be my next project, although I wanna see if I can add a hollow interior to save money and mass.

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Is there a JC page on Thingiverse or whatnot? We should have a place where we can easily share our prints.

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So I'm looking into getting into this for a hobby extension. Currently eyeballing the XYZ daVinci Jr. on Amazon for 200 bucks. Anybody here can shine some light on the Jr vs Pro?

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Look at the Amazon reviews for sure. The full line of XYZ is ok, but of course low end. They're good for processing parts that you'll be doing multiples of and knowing you have post work to do. Read some forums with people posting negatives and positives such as this:

https://www.3dhubs.com/talk/thread/no-n ... yzprinters

There are lot of people that hate the XYZ printers but an equal amount who get some nice prints from them. I don't have one. I ended up going different routes. I have a Robo R1, a Robo C2, a UP!, Duplicator 4S, and Flux. I also got one of those Tiko printers but haven't even bothered to try it after getting it. I was one of the lucky ones on that and got a printer before they went bankrupt. That's one thing I think I would recommend to anyone these days is stay away from funding sites to get a printer. You wait far too long and lately most never delver.

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I have a DaVinci Pro and really like it. A lot of the complaints on the Jr stem from it using their cartridge system for filament, so you're stuck with their brand and it's pricey compared to others and not as good as some.

The pro lets you use whatever filament you want, including their cartridges or the inserts for the cartridges, which are a good bit cheaper, especially on sale days. Some of the other models can use the refills, but I'm not sure on that Jr.

As long as you run the calibration every few prints to make sure the bed is level, you can get some great prints with it. Of the printers I've had, have now, or worked with, this one is more consistent than pretty much any but the prosumer ones. If you're wanting a cheap one to wet your toes, I think you'll be happy with it.

I was checking out the pro today on Amazon and I'm liking what I see. I might have to branch out into doing some work for others to justify the cost though.

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That is a possibility. I've done various one-off stuff for people over the years, so you can definitely find people if you want to, especially if you can do any design work, too.

That's why I ended up with several printers. There are still so many people out there that want what 3D printing can offer, but they don't want to go through the learning curve to do it themselves.

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I think I may go with the Einstart 3D now. The price is right and I've got the background in g coding on fanuc controls from my machining career.

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This topic is top notch. I have been looking into a 3d Printer. there seems to be several folks using them. Which 3d printers are suggested for the 1:18 scale.
Do we have a gallery of products created by different printers.?

Thanks for this topic.. It has not only cleared up some questions, But has given me a lot more..

K1

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