I got my Christmas present early: a MP Select Mini 3D Printer from Monoprice: http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=15365
They were on sale for $180 on Black Friday, and so far I’ve been very impressed with the print quality. After reading the review on Hackaday, I was convinced to try one: http://hackaday.com/2016/06/13/review-monoprice-mp-select-mini-3d-printer
I’ve kept it busy printing custom little LED sculptures. 
More pics and videos: https://goo.gl/photos/F2LRV7gRGQWKkrPe6
Is this your first 3D printer? Just thinking these could really benefit from a quick acetone vapor bath for a smooth, glossy finish.
Yeah, it’s my first 3D printer, and I’m a total noob at it. 
I sanded the Fibonacci hemisphere a bit, but it’s still rough. It’s PLA, so acetone won’t work on it, will it? I thought about trying XTC-3D.
Luckyyyyy. Let me know when you start taking orders!
@Jason_Coon Oh, yeah, PLA don’t work with acetone. I’ve not personally used XTC cuz it seems rather pricey for the little stuff I’ve done. What I have used though is just Krylon clear coat spray. It’s pretty effective for a glossy look. Wanna go next level? Krylon Mirror Finish.
By chance this hit my mail box yesterday https://rigid.ink/blogs/news/how-to-smooth-pla-to-a-mirror-finish#content
Does your day have more then 24 hours? 
Another nifty project Jason.
And congrats on getting the 3d printer. A new rabbit hole of fun and learning.
I love the light ball !!
Awesome projects as always. Excited to see what else you come up with. I have really been interested in getting one but was concerned about the light diffusion. Looks like you get some striation? I have a buddy that just showed me how you can make silicone molds from the 3d arts and then create cased silicone molds of the pieces to smooth them out, make them flexible and control the light diffusion!
Thanks for the feedback and tips, everyone! I still have a lot to learn. The “natural” PLA I bought is very nicely translucent. I’m working on improving my first layer, which I think is what’s causing some of the striation issues. Also, the translucency allows you to see the infill (internal support structure). I’m working on using different infill patterns to improve the look. I definitely should have spent more time sanding on them, will definitely try that next time.
Granted, this is the first and only 3D printer I’ve had, but for the price I’ve been very happy with it. Seems like a great first 3D printer.
Next up, I’m going to try printing some internal structures that won’t be seen, as they’ll be completely hidden inside diffusion layers. I’ll keep you all posted!
It’s immensely difficult NOT to get striations because that’s how 3D printing works unless you’ve got one of those fancier printers that print from goo. I use white ABS almost exclusively for my projects and for LED specific stuff, I just very the wall thickness to let out different amounts of light.
The globe in the vid below has a wall thickness of ~2mm. I think it let’s a perfect amount of light out at the expense of some fragility. I wanted to give this a bath, but it was too large for the vessel I was using at the time. That shall be remedied before I use it again. Planning to go more “crystal growth” than “Crystal ball” for the next iteration anyway. I like facets.
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This video has me so excited to get my 3D printer! This is exactly what I wanted to do with it (well, one of the things anyway =).
In a few weeks a package containing an original Prusa i3 MK2 kit should arrive at my house. I can’t wait!
@Jason_Coon , if and when you start printing on glass, Dimafix is excellent. It makes my life so much easier.
http://www.dimafix.com/
