“Lefty” as the NinjaFlex / Flexible Filament Printer
It’s not going away; but, will spend part of it’s time as a NinjaFlex / Flexible Filament Printer, and part of it’s time as an ABS Only Printer.
I will post a separate thread about it later; but, basically there are four options that I will put up to vote:
- One week ON, one week OFF - Pretty self-explanatory… with this option, it would be a flexible filament printer for a full week, then an abs only printer for a week. That would allow people to plan accordingly… If you prefer to use flexible filament, come use it the week it’s “ON”. If you prefer to use abs, come use it the week it’s “OFF”.
- Three days ON, four days OFF - Again, pretty self-explanatory. I plan to hold NinjaFlex / Flexible Filament Printer classes every other Saturday, so one of the “switch days” (for either option 1 or 2) would be on a Saturday. With option 2, it will need to be decided whether the three days ON will be Thursday - Saturday, or Saturday - Monday.
- Once “Far Lefty” (our newest PolyPrinter) arrives, if there is enough demand, we would keep “Lefty” as a Flexible Filament Printer pretty much all the time - except for times when one of the other printers happens to be “down” (or away for any reason).
- Have a member donation drive to purchase a printrbot simple metal (6x6x6) to be used for alternate filaments (including flexible filament, pla, etc…). With this option, we would accept donations from members to go toward a printrbot simple metal (6x6x6); and, we can match donations up to $400 from the 3D Fab Committee funds. Any donations above the cost of the basic model would be used toward upgrades (heated bed, etc… http://printrbot.com/product-category/accessories).
Keep your eyes open for the poll that I’ll post later with these options.
Why we don’t just let members swap out extruders (between the standard ABS and the flexible filament extruders)? One of the main reasons is: Even though the process is not difficult, damage to the wiring - or worse - is a very real possibility. The more often it gets swapped out, the more often the chance of someone accidentally causing damage would present itself. That being the case, the extruders will only be swapped out by myself or PolyPrinter employees, and (with rare exception) only as scheduled. [Exceptions being when we have other printers ‘down’ for maintenance, or out at an event, etc… Not just on a whim.]
Dedicated Small (one hour or less) Print Job Printer / Large (multi-hour) Print Job Printer / Scheduled Print Jobs Only Printer / any other variations of single type usage - with the exception of types of usage that require hardware changes (which makes it difficult to be anything other than dedicated to that particular type, such as with the flexible filament - as it requires a hardware change to change it’s type of use…)
For various reasons, we are not going to dedicate any one printer for any of the above types of usage. They will continue to be first come, first serve. At any given time, a member should only use one printer at a time. If there is no-one else at the 'Space, a member may start a print on a second printer; but, must be willing to cancel the print if another member wants to use the printer. In those cases, there will be a twenty minute courtesy window - being that if the print job will finish within twenty minutes, it can continue. If it will take more than twenty minutes, it must be cancelled right away - unless the member wanting to use the printer offers to wait (Do NOT ask any member to wait more than twenty minutes to use a printer, if you are already using another one.)
“Wasting Time Experimenting” is not a concept I understand! A big part of being a member of Dallas Makerspace is having access to tools that we may not otherwise have access to, as well as being able to Learn how to do things we may not otherwise have access to learn in the hand’s on environment that we have at the 'Space… Sure, we can all YouTube until the cows come home and “learn” a ton of things online; but, NOTHING compares to actually Doing / MAKING / Learning new things with our hands - like we can at the 'Space! While the PolyPrinters are not available to tear apart and “experiment” with on the level some may wish… 
At the very least I want to keep the opportunity to Experiment with various filaments - such as the NinjaFlex - an available option as much as we can. In time, we will have other types of printers that will allow even more flexibility in what we can experiment with. For now, at the very least, we can offer the opportunity for members to get a hands on experience with NinjaFlex and other similar flexible filaments! 
Re: Number of / Quality of / Type of Printers at DMS…
The reason we stick with PolyPrinter printers as our main 3D Printers at the 'Space is because they are incredibly reliable; and, when issues do come up (from normal wear and tear, or from user error, etc…), PolyPrinter provides a premium level of support that cannot be matched! We will be getting some other types of printers in time (one is actually going to be built during Mitch’s class; and, if members donate toward a printrbot simple metal (6x6x6), we will have one of those sooner than later, too!); however, in order to ensure we have reliable printers available, we are grateful for the PolyPrinter printers that we have!
Again… Keep your eyes open for the poll I’ll be posting (see the first part of my response above)… The poll will only remain open for a few days (most likely 72 hours) once it’s posted.
Thanks!!!
@Jason_Widelitz @themitch22 @Nick @paulstaf @zootboy
