I have been looking at getting a 3D printer more so now that I am into drones. Pat is always coming up with cool things he has printed for drones and other things. I can think of things I would like to design and print so I have been doing a bit of research. It appears that though it’s a bit more expensive than most 3D printers the Pursa MK3 is a really good printer with great support. It looks like 3D printing has a learning curve about like flying drones so I am guessing it takes a little learning before you can be good at designing and printing things. I will also need to learn about the different types of filaments. It looks like that printer supports a lot of them. The wood filament is really intriguing! I thought about going with something like this printer. I think the problems can be many when you buy something inexpensive. This printer does not have as large of a print area. The bed is not heated. The support could be bad or not exist. I myself would rather spend a little more money and have something that is supported, expandable and will last. This is why I am leaning toward the Pursa MK3 I thought about just going with the Pursa MK2S since it is in stock and a bit cheaper. I talked with Pat and he seemed excited about the new features of the MK3 so I think it might be worth waiting for it.
It seems to have loads of features and the ability to expand to multifilaments which I find very interesting. This could be used for multicolor or one of the other filaments could just be a support material that dissolves when dipped in water. I think this version will serve me well! The options seem to be only limited by your creativity. It will also be really cool to design something to fill a need. I will then be able to watch it be created! I am really excited to figure this all out. They are back ordered until mid to late March so I have time. Until I make the final decision and place the order I will keep doing a little research. I might try to just design something as if I could print it. That would give me an idea of how it will be designing things for scratch.
I also assume you need a good set of calipers to measure the dimensions of what you want to create. I guess that will also come with a learning curve…. You can also go to Thingiverse where others share things they have created to print! It looks like a place where makers share the files needed to print. You can then tweak what they created to fit your needs. I think this is going to be so much fun.
I will need to figure out what software is used to design the 3D parts. It looks like you have several options Blender, OpenScad and Slic3r just to name a few. I am not certain which I will prefer or which ones have the best functionality. Pat seems to really like OpenScad. He said that it allows you to easily change dimensions of designs or things downloaded from Thingiverse. Which make the finishing adjustments that are sometimes needed a lot easier and more efficient.
In a few months, I hope to add to this new 3D printing category. Hopefully, some cool ideas designed and printed for all to see! 🙂 We will see how it goes I am almost ready to make the purchase which will put me on backorder until late march. I will post another blog once I have ordered it.