For help, advice and discussion about stuff not related to aviation. Play nice: no religion, no politics and no axe grinding please.
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By mmcp42
#1759864
Have always fancied having one
seems lots of folks are printing parts for various NHS kit
PPE, masks, ventilator valves
might be worth investing (or any excuse to get a new toy!)

any recommendations?

cheers
JonathanB liked this
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By stevelup
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1759921
Gold standard - in terms of support etc., is Prusa and not too expensive.

https://www.prusa3d.com

The flexible build sheet is great - you just twist it and the prints pop off.

There are cheaper ones... Often chinesium which may burn your house down.

There are more expensive ones - let's face it, McLaren don't use a Prusa... But you won't go wrong with one.
mmcp42, Flyin'Dutch', Pete L liked this
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By Pete L
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1759953
I have a Reprap Mendel in mid head replacement...for the last four years...
By PaulB
#1759985
Sorry, thick question here....can they only make stuff out of plastic or can they utilise different materials?
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By stevelup
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1759987
There are loads of different materials, but they are all ‘plasticky’. The two most common are PLA and ABS. ABS is stronger but stinky / bit dangerous and your really need ventilation.

The other type of 3D printer available at a reasonable cost are resin printers. These use an LCD panel or DLP projector to flash UV light onto resin which causes it to harden. You then rinse off the print and ‘cure’ it.

There’s other tech that can 3D print in metal but they are well out of reach of hobbyists price wise.
User avatar
By mmcp42
#1759988
Pete L wrote:I have a Reprap Mendel in mid head replacement...for the last four years...

crikey that's almost stone-age technology?
Pete L liked this
User avatar
By OCB
#1760003
I’m waiting for my SnapMaker2 to arrive.

I didn’t want “just” a 3D printer.

There are the likes of Markforged if you want a bit more than “plasticky”. I have no experience with them - not cheap, but not that expensive either.

Reality being, if you have a design - send it off to a service that does it for you. It’ll almost always be cheaper - but less fun :)
Flyin'Dutch' liked this
By disgusted
#1760024
I have a Creality Ender 3D pro ( circa £250 ) churning out PPE visor parts for the last two weeks , really good printer based on the Prussa open source machine .

Prussa are about £750 definately a better machine, not sure if they are £500 better ..same bed size and some useful features.


The Ender is actually fantastic value and very reliable, also great quality prints.
mmcp42, Cessna571 liked this
By PaulB
#1760037
How much does it cost to print a visor/face mask?
User avatar
By stevelup
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1760107
A few pence. Hang on a minute and I’ll work it out.

By the way, all that is being printed is a visor holder, not the visor itself.
User avatar
By mmcp42
#1760174
stevelup wrote:A few pence. Hang on a minute and I’ll work it out.

By the way, all that is being printed is a visor holder, not the visor itself.

Am I right on thinking you just produce the holder. Someone else handles the plastic sheet and assembles the visors?

and supplementary question
where do you source your filament?
seems to me a huge number of options, but I'd rather avoid far east
not least because of timescales

I found a Creality 3-Pro for £147
just psyching myself up to go for it!

Cheers
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