I remember when…
I would wait for hours to get in the 3d lab to print.
The machines would all be in use, printing long huge prints.
I would “sad face” until I got on the machine.
The last few times Ive been out there, the place is empty, even at what I thought were peak times…
Has 3d Printing lost its luster?
Probably has more to do with summer vacation
Nah, this was even before summer. But I too am guilty of “losing interest” mostly my loss of interest was my home built printer was being a pain and I got rid of it 
I also observe the very quiet 3d fab category here. Maybe time to do some classes on 3d printing interesting things. I’ve been itching to print, build and paint a Mister Handy
I think a lot of folks have a printer at home now. When we got our first PolyPrinter everything else out there was junk and thousands of dollars. These days you can get a pretty decent printer for under $1K (I’d still rather use the PolyPrinter though!). Given the nature of 3D printers and how slow they are there’s a huge incentive to have one at home where you can let it run for days and not have to be there with it like our rules require.
That is a really good point.
I personally have been looking at the Flashforge Dreamer as my first “off the shelf” printer…
[quote=“lukeiamyourfather, post:5, topic:11034”]
I think a lot of folks have a printer at home now.
[/quote]This is the exact reason I don’t use DMS printers much anymore. I have two at home now that do a sufficient job. Not nearly Polyprinter quality but decent enough to not need to wait around at DMS. I still think it is one of the most influential draws for newcomers though and a very important part of DMS.
Lasers are coming down in price, too. I don’t think an at home laser is going to match those at DMS anytime soon though. Maybe 3d printing just needs to take it up a notch to some exotic 3d printing technology like fluids or plasma. I heard that some aircraft engine manufacturers are using 3d plasma printing technologies to print jet engines. Now that would be something to see.
The polyprinters are still very valuable assets to DMS. They have introduced so many members to 3d printing. Every time I give a personal tour for one of my friends they are always amazed at the 3d printing technology. I am thankful I still have access to them.
I, for one, am looking forward to learning how to use those 3d printers. So when I do, you won’t be able to get back in there.
I’d be there more often if I didn’t have a house full of repairs on my hands. Although I have a 3D printer at home there are reasons why I haven’t assembled it to get an idea of its print quality let alone do something constructive. So, for now, I hit DMS only one day a week, maybe two.
Usually I try to get to the Space just after mid-afternoon. There are generally a couple of printers open when I get there. But, the closer you get to quittin’ time for other folks, the more contention for the printers grows and names have to be added to the queue.
So, it may depend on what time of day you get there. If I had the freedom I’d be there almost all day every day.
I’ve been using the printers quite a bit and they are an excellent way to prototype with and learn design software like fusion 360. I have found them busy quite regularly in the evenings up till 11pm or so as well.
I don’t think it’s “dead” but tapering off. I have several classes coming up this Sunday and now that I’m moving closer to the space I’ll teach more Reprap and 3D printing classes. My goal is to get the Printrbot and Mendel90 to be used more, maybe with exotic filaments, and also running flexibles on the printers.
One of our members, Kee, was using the Nextengine scanner for several days this week and did an excellent job scanning stuff, he was teaching me stuff he learned about it.
I do think it’s about time we got a resin-based SLA printer though. I put it on a board meeting in March and it didn’t go anywhere. I really think SLA printing would add something new to 3D fab. Axeonos’ current plan is to get a PolyPrinter 508 which would just offer larger FDM printing.
I think 3D fab has waves of people from the classes and people that discover how awesome rapid prototyping is, but then move to other projects at the space.
Now that I have two 3D printers at home, I don’t need the 3D fab printers as much, but the Polyprinters are a ton more reliable than my home printers so I still use them. PolyPrinter has been doing updates and maintenance lately on the printers, and they’ve gone a longer time without nozzle changes (I’m guessing we treat our filament better now).
And just to give you a teaser as of what I’ve been printing lately.
what is that? (and this is here because 20 character minimum?)
It’s a PC case, I will have some info on it by the end of this month on it.
The need to vent a laser to the outside is also a deterrent for some people.
That’s the main reason I haven’t bought a laser for home use yet. I don’t have a good way to vent it yet. After I overhaul my garage I should be able to do it more easily, at which point I’ll take a more serious look at buying a laser.
I would love to be able to use an SLA printer at MakerSpace.
Two things colluded to drastically reduce (to zero) my use of the PolyPrinters at the Makerspace:
Before I would be up at the Makerspace maybe 2-3 times a week but now I’m up there maybe once a week (cause I haven’t tried buying a laser cutter yet).
If I had access to either of these three 3D printers through the Makerspace, then I’d start using a 3D printer there again:
Resin DLP or SLA Printer (Form 2; http://formlabs.com/products/3d-printers/form-2/)
gMax 1.5 XT+ (16"x16"x21"; dual extrusion; 0.5mm nozzle; roughly the same price as a PolyPrinter; https://shop.gcreate.com/products/the-gmax-1-5-xt-the-next-big-thing-in-3d-printing?variant=5588509955)
Mcor Arke (paper 3D printing; http://mcortechnologies.com/3d-printers/arke-3d-photorealistic-colour-printer/)
-the purring dork
I’ve been contemplating that we do a class and self-fund an open source DLP projector based SLA resin printer like the LittleRP: http://littlerp.bigcartel.com/product/littlerp-deluxe-kit-with-flexvat
I think if we could raise about $600, 3D fab or the board could match. It would be a good test of if SLA printers would last at the makerspace (mainly use of the printers, people not cleaning up, the mess of the resin).
The Form 2 would be a much better SLA printer but it’s also way more expensive.
I would love to use the 3D printer but time is something I’m very short on & already have many, many hobbies. It’s on my radar though.
I got my start in 3D printing on the DMS PolyPrinters… I found getting there early in the mornings was the best time for no waiting - however, there were always issues with the PC’s being asleep and I found it difficult to get one started. I have since purchased a Wilson II printer ($500) and the Simplify3D slicer ($150) and this combination suits my purposes just fine. If I need a quality piece, I will return to the 3D fab to do that. There are still a few folks who don’t clean up after themselves though…
