I am looking at purchasing a 3D printer for an engineering design and entrepreneurship class I teach to high school freshmen. I am new to 3D printing but have an engineering background and used to teach a course in digital electronics.
I have searched through the community to look for recommendations and have seen good comments on Ultimaker, Lulzbot, and the Mendel90 kit for someone like me if I were using it personally.
My question is: If you were responsible for the care and maintenance of the printer, were on a limited budget, and had 30+ freshmen that would be using the printer, what would you recommend? (Also, for this class, I may have students using power tools while others are working with the printer so after their initial training they are sort of on their own with it)
Also…I had them using Sketchup last year for their designs, but we couldn’t find a reliable way to export to a file type that the local university’s printer could use. Can you recommend an easy to use and inexpensive design software they could use that will be compatible with the 3D printer.
Thanks in advance for your advice. I am working on writing a grant for the purchase and if I can be specific about the purchase it will help my chances of getting funded.
Ultimaker is my experienced opinion. At my hackerspace, we’re full of very technically inclined people and for the life of me they would constantly break the Prusa Mendel that was on loan. We won a contest through lulzbot, and the mendelmax fared a little better, but a week or so ago a lab member bought an Ultimaker for the lab to use after he got his chops wet on the lulzbot.
It seems like nearly everyone is using the Ultimaker now, due to the fact that there’s not really anything to calibrate. They load a file up in Cura, cura handles updating firmware, software, etc. They just print. They use the damn thing more than they use the lulzbot we won.
I agree totally with @ThantiK Most recently at the University my students built a Prusa Mendel and that has been a nightmare keeping the students from f’ing it up and fixing it when they do. Dont expect students to handle a finicky printer successfully. Come this fall we will be buying an Ultimaker to go along with our new FormLabs Form1.
“export to a file type that the local university’s printer could use” difficult to answer without knowing what that printer is/uses.
Most printers in the community work with STL files, if you want to continue with it, there is a add-on (or whatever it’s called - I don’t use it) for Sketchup which exports to STL. This is the most mentioned https://github.com/NB70/sketchup-dxf-stl-exporter but I also just saw this https://github.com/SketchUp/sketchup-stl
Alternatively, OpenSCAD could be worth looking at for an alternative approach.
If you can export STL then just about any desktop or industrial machine should be able to work with that. STL in sketchup is a little tricky and the files are almost never good out of the box. Try 123D Design?
@Nick_Kloski2 , there is no way suggesting an unreleased, untested machine is ever a good idea when someone wants something tested, reliable, and easy to use.
Also Cura can be used on Repraps as well, and I suggest people use it. You can use slic3r/pronterface/repetierhost, etc if you wish, the Ultimaker uses Marlin as a firmware also so it’s still based on standards.
I’ve also heard very good things about the UP! printer, and obviously the Form1. Downside to the UP! as far as I’m concerned is lack of community involvement, closed source hardware, etc.
@Peter_Parnes MakerBot slit their own throat with the community. They have a reputation for terrible support, shoddy products, terrible bugs in their slicing software (regressions), just all around a do-not-buy.
I teach, and I run 2 or 3 Self-Sourced (not purchased from nophead) Mendel90s in my classroom at any one point in time.
It is not my intention to be arrogant, but really the only reason I can run them as I do is that I really know the ins and outs of the machine, software, electronics etc.
If you aren’t super-experienced then I would recommend the Ultimaker or the Up! printers.
For the load you’re talking about and the knowledge level of the users I regrettably suggest the Makerbot R2X. Say what you will but Makerbot machines are pretty user friendly.
I certainly can not speak from personal experience…but I talked to a freshman high school student this afternoon who is really looking forward to getting to use his schools 3D printer. Perhaps you could contact that school as follows and ask the instructor there what his experience is? http://www.lancastersd.k12.wi.us/high/
Hope that is helpful…and good luck! This is one of the things I hope my tax dollars go for in our schools! (or schools anywhere for that matter, my tax dollars or not)
Thanks for all the good comments and suggestions. Anybody know the lead time for a Hyrel? On their website there is spreadsheet for filling Kickstarter orders and it looks like they are making 5 machines maximum per week with about 50 to make. Plus those ordered through the web. I am guessing it is a long wait?
If you want something in production and works well, you might consider a Solidoodle. As with all tools, it works out of the box, but use and fine tuning improves your output.
Never built or owned a 3D printer but was mighty impressed with 9 @Ultimaker running in real time to @Wimbledon tennis player statistics as the match is played - check out their video.
Hello Lisa,
we are using the “UP mini” 3D-Printer in our school, for teaching the basics in 3D printing and the UP printer is the best gadget we ever bought !
I like this printer, perfect quality for value and the software is so simple almost a shame " so simple "
