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3D Printer for $400


Mitch

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I know there's a few of us on here who are interested in getting 3D printers. There's this Kickstarter project for one which only costs $400 ! I've been aware of this when it first started but missed the $300 price point, and currently straddling the fence as it closes on the 29th. I was hoping to solicit feedback on your thoughts of this unit. It has gotten incredible support as they have well surpassed their initial funding goals.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pirate3d/the-buccaneer-the-3d-printer-that-everyone-can-use

Help me pull the trigger! devil.gif Or better yet, anyone interested in going in on this?dribble.gif

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what are the operating costs?

I would think it's the same as all 3D printers being the consumables, eg spool of plastic. They are charging $12 ($10 via Kickstarter fundraising) for a 300 gram spool. I'm not sure how this compares, but i can't imagine it's too far from the typical market price point.

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This was my current reservation for this unit... from the FAQ:

Does your printer only accept PLA? How about ABS? *Edited*

Officially speaking, on the record stuff, we do not support ABS and only PLA. The Buccaneer is a home-focused product, and quite a lot of our supporters could be parents - so your health (and ours) is of foremost importance! That said...our Buccaneer has a backup WiFi mode similar to Octoprint, where you can flip a switch...and everything magically goes into ABS mode. Though the majority of our users probably won't ever need to use it. In short, we only "support" PLA, but if you want to use ABS, you can.

PLA is a compostable plastic, which is probably not wise to use in any aquarium hobby.

But since they have passed the $1M funding mark:

Pirate3d’s Kickstarter Stretch Goal for $1,000,000

Pirate3D will be offering official acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) support at the $1,000,000 mark! We will be providing software settings for ABS plastic as well as offering the material itself in our cartridges.

This stretch goal was based on feedback from you guys calling for ABS support. Rather than stop at providing a heated bed and unofficial hacks to use ABS, we've decided to incorporate ABS as an official material.

After rigorous testing with our current system, we have found that we can offer ABS support without compromising the usability of the Buccaneer. This involved ensuring that extrusion would still be perfect with the ABS material, and refitting the carbon filter ventilation system such as to minimise ABS odours.

We are still working to determine which grade of ABS would be optimum with the Buccaneer. Furthermore, we will have to work out terms with our
suppliers to ensure we can provide a steady supply of the material.

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looks very cool :)

my only concern would be programing it. I know they say its easy but I run and program a 3 axis mill basically the same thing the printer does only it starts with a chunk of metal and takes away to produce the object and its far from easy when you start after a few years and tons of scrap parts it get to where you only pull out a few wads of hair when the stupid thing does not do what you tell it lol.

I would hope the programing that runs it is smart and don't let you program in incursions ie the printer head drops down into the finished product at some time because of an artifact in the drawing. I uses several programs including bobcad and solidworks for programing I did not look at what they use but if they have a demo available I would suggest trying it before you pay. The 3d software is complex and they may say its easy but they have been using it for a while and want your money.

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yeah, i'm completely ignorant of 3D rendering programs. they do have a demo of the software package they will be distributing ( http://pirate3d.com/demo/ ). they will also be able to accept designs from other 3D applications (from FAQ):

Can I use my own 3D Design software and then upload to the cloud or do I have to use Smart Objects?

You can use any 3D design software and upload to the cloud, don't worry!

My initial motivation for getting the 3D printer is to be able make a needle pinwheel for my skimmer (using an Eheim 1250 pump) as I will no longer be able to buy it domestically (though I just bought a stockpile of them from ATB's US distributor who is shutting down operation). I don't believe it would be complicated to design/render.

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