
Monoprice now has $400 3D printers - ck2
http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=13861
======
rottyguy
What are the more practical uses of 3D printing at this point? Is it still in
early adopter phase? Are (everyday) users saving any money by having their own
3D printer?

~~~
at-fates-hands
I actually had a friend who went to school for this and uses it for almost
everything. He prints silverware, plates, glasses and other things instead of
going out and buying them.

He prints a lot of other things you probably wouldn't think of. One time the
toilet paper roll holder in his bathroom broke so he just printed a new one.
He also had a lamp in his study break and instead of going out and buying a
new one, he printed a mold of a lamp, then took the wiring out of the old one,
wired it up on the new one and boom! New lamp.

He really made me think there's a ton of uses people would never think of for
3D printing, the stuff he does really opened my eyes.

~~~
exhilaration
One of the comments in this thread says "Filament isn't food-safe" \-- what is
your friend using to print these things?

~~~
LesZedCB
PLA is actually a bioplastic made from veggies and is actually considered food
safe[1]. In fact, many of the plastic cups that you use are made from PLA,
particularly anything clear. They can biodegrade given enough heat. The non-
foodsafe part of 3d printing PLA is the hot end which is not clean, and can
also be cross contaminated from printing other plastics such as ABS which is
oil based.

[1] [http://reprage.com/post/36869678168/is-3d-printed-pla-
food-s...](http://reprage.com/post/36869678168/is-3d-printed-pla-food-safe/)

~~~
kefka
You also have to deal with the FDM void issue. Look closely between the
layers: they cannot be there if you are to consider your product to be food-
grade. Fortuately there are ways to remediate this.

ABS is weak to acetone, so you can make an acetone vapor bath. Look this up
how to do it.

PLA is the nasty one, as the solvent that dissolves it is methyl-ethyl ketone
(MEK). Nastiest stuff I've worked with outside a fume hood. Use a respirator,
gloves, and trash clothing. The stuff dissolves all sorts of polymers. It's
also used as a polymer glue. But tl;dr: Don't use if if you don't have to.

------
michaelmior
The Maker Select[0] is also available for $350.

[0]
[https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=107&cp_id=10724&cs_id...](https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=107&cp_id=10724&cs_id=1072403&p_id=13860&seq=1&format=2)

~~~
LesZedCB
I just received this printer a week or so ago. It's an absolute steal for the
money. Here's a part of a phone car holder I printed last night. It took five
hours with a layer resolution of 0.15mm and a shell of 0.4mm with a 20%
infill.

[http://imgur.com/a/4U9Xz](http://imgur.com/a/4U9Xz)

I think overall it's a great printer! with a printable area of 200x200x190mm
(8x8x7 inches) and a heated bed, it really can't be beat as an entry level
printer.

Edit: here are a few others that I didn't skimp as much on the print settings
with. [http://imgur.com/a/c7IGV](http://imgur.com/a/c7IGV)

~~~
cbgb
FYI: The second imgur link doesn't actually show any pictures. The first one
looks great, though.

~~~
LesZedCB
hmm, works for me in an incognito window. Sorry, I wouldn't know how to fix
that. :(

------
Tepix
I'm waiting for the Tiko 3D printer to arrive that I backed on Kickstarter for
$179. The original delivery was to begin in November, however it's delayed
(surprise!) - however, it sounds as if the delay isn't so bad so I hope to
have it early next year.

The Tiko is at a really sweet price spot. While I've had access to an
Ultimaker printer (around 1000€ when it was purchased), at below $200, even
just occasional printing makes it interesting to have a 3d printer at home.

~~~
sp332
I backed Peachy printer [https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-peachy-
printer-the-fi...](https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-peachy-printer-the-
first-100-3d-printer-scanner#/story) Delivery was estimated July 2014, and I'm
still getting emails from them about how they're getting ready to begin
production.

~~~
Tepix
At least it sounds as if there's still hope.

I quite liked their statement:

“I am sorry that I predicted such early shipping dates in the campaign. I was
completely naive about the shipping dates, and the amount of time required to
really take the Peachy to v1.0. I should have done more research on how long
hardware product development takes, having said that I don’t think research
would have made me wise enough. I know now that getting a grip on how long R&D
takes really requires one to experience it first hand. I do know one thing, I
was dead wrong about our original shipping dates, and I posted those estimated
dates without having the skillset to really estimate them. I’m also glad we
didn’t stick to our estimated shipping dates. When you’re wrong about
something its disastrous to not admit it and just stick with the original
plan. If we had shipped what we had at the original shipping dates we would
have disappointed everyone. The printer didn’t work that well and wasn't
designed to be produced in high volume. Today, after a lot of R&D, we have
something that we can’t wait to send you.”

\- Rylan Grayston

------
ck2
can any experts explain the difference with their low end $350 model?

[http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=13860](http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=13860)

I have no clue what I am looking at in difference other than the $350 one is
open metal frame and the $400 looks like a wooden box. The $400 one was
recently $500 so I assume it is a better value?

~~~
OopsCriticality
A few key differences: the $350 model has a heated build platform, larger
print envelope, but slower print speed. The heated build platform allows one
to use a wider variety of materials---in my experience however, for these
consumer printers it's better to stick to using PLA for anything but small
objects, unless you're specifically designing for FDM. The steel frame should
be an advantage (weight and stiffness to dampen vibrations) but the weights
listed on the spec sheet show the $350 and $400 models to be pretty similar.

In the end, I don't know that there's much of a difference based on the spec
sheets. It'll probably take someone with direct experience with these models
(or the printers they're based on) to decide between them.

~~~
Damogran6
The direct drive extruder would allow the use of flexible filament as well.

While they're similar weights, the metal printer will be much more
dimensionally stable than wood.

------
johnhattan
Looks like Barnes & Noble is gonna be selling a "Da Vinci Jr 1.0 3D printer"
for $250 in their stores on Black Friday.

No idea how it compares to the Monoprice printer.

~~~
ck2
3 out of 5 stars on amazon

[http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00V3J8JEG](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00V3J8JEG)

Looks almost like a toy for kids.

~~~
makomk
I believe the low-end DaVinci printers also have DRM on the filament reels so
you can only use their filament.

~~~
kefka
That is correct. The cartridges are chipped. Not only that, but if the printer
breaks down, they are completely closed source and effectively unfixable.

If you want a good printer on the cheap, try here:
www.aliexpress.com/item/Black-Factory-High-Quality-Precision-Reprap-
Prusa-i3-DIY-3d-Printer-kit-with-2-Rolls-
Filament/32357171936.html?ws_ab_test=searchweb201556_9_79_78_77_80,searchweb201644_5,searchweb201560_8

It's $220, free shipping. It's a Prusa i3, easily moddable, fixable, and
complete open source software stack. I know 2 people who have them. And aside
the initial tuning (which is always fiddly), the printers are rock solid.

------
praveenster
I think 3D printing is similar to copier/printer technology about 15 years
ago. Back then, you could have your own deskjet printer at home by that was
only for low quality stuff. If you wanted professional prints, you would go to
a Kinkos etc. Now you can get great quality prints at home with a cheap
lazerjet. Similarly, I think in the next 10 years 3D printing will evolve to a
point where everyone will have one in their home.

------
bcks
The MOD-t from New Matter sells for $400. I've not used it myself, but saw it
at the Maker Faire in NYC:
[https://store.newmatter.com/#!/mod-t-3d-printer](https://store.newmatter.com/#!/mod-t-3d-printer)

