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So I think I'm going to take the plunge and buy a 3d printer specifically with the intention of printing enclosures for my electronic projects... any suggestions?
@b10m will do.. right now im thinking something realtively fast that has some sort of 2-type of printing material that is capable of printing that stuff that "dissolves" so you have more freedom in design. not sure how the price will work out on one of those though.
@freemo any update? ;-)
@b10m No didnt commit yet, so many choices
@freemo Tell me about it. And every website recommends different ones :-\
@b10m Yea, and every person for that matter... its hard for me to even get data about some printers.. like if i want to know if it supports a specific type of filament, some advertise supporting one filament or another others dont really say and you need to dig deeper.
@freemo I took advice from a coworker and ordered a Creality Ender 3.
Build quality can be improved by printing plastic bits to fasten the printer. Basically upgrading your printer with printed parts. You can find the STL files for those add-ons online, depending on your specific printer.
A cheaper printer might be a great starting off point if you're just doing enclosures for electronics. I've heard good things about the Creality Ender product line. Those seem to be quite affordable.
@Ganonmaster I can afford expensive if i need to, but since my only interest is enclosures I'm not sure its worth it. I certainly dont want something i need to fix with custom parts though. I got enough to do on this project :)
@freemo I was told that 3d printing project cases is pointless and you're better off with a laser cutter.
Which makes sense as most projects need a box with some specific holes in specific places, which laser cutting is ideal for but 3d printing is slow and possibly too cleaver.
@M0YNG I'm not sure how a lazer cucutter would help, as cases have 3d angles. Unless you make one of those ugly ones that are lots of layers screwed together...
I'm also not sure why exactly 3d printers would be bad at this. I would think they could print holes just fine no?
@freemo people have been making 3d boxes using flat wood for millennia using various box joints. I would look into that personally, plus maybe some epoxy
@M0YNG I could see that, but those type of designed turn out hell-a ugly IMO.. at that point i might as well just buy an enclosure and drill some holes into it or use a shoe box.
A valid solution but sounds like way more work for an inferior product. Unless there is an actual reason a 3d printer isnt viable
@M0YNG I will say this a cnc machine might make sense in addition to a 3d printer.. aside from being able to make enclosures it can also make PCBs and cut out sheet metal to shape into shielding.
@freemo I own a Printrbot Simple (the original, laser-cut wood version) which has been something of a disappointment. The calibration cubes print great but real-world shapes tend to leave the print head at a slightly different "zero" every time it goes up a level, which manifests as skewing the z-axis. The controller board also has a tendency to fail; in fairness to the manufacturer, they know this and offer a very good deal on a new board if you send in your old one.
@freemo *following* please post what you get and how it turns out :)