Moving forward with 3D printing...

When we first looked into purchasing a 3D printer,  the price ($599) of the
Printrbot Simple Metal was really appealing.  With an initial Maker Lab budget of $2000, we could not afford the more pricier 3D printers.  However, upon receiving and using the Printrbot, it became clear it wasn't going to work for us.  It required too much set-up and calibration in order to use, and we were in constant contact with their tech support.

After the school year started, the Maker Lab received a lot of support from students, faculty, staff, and administration.  And when it became clear the Printrbot wasn't going to work out,  they awarded us student fundraiser money to purchase two MakerBot Replicators (5th generation) to further our Maker Lab plans.   As the person responsible for setting up, maintaining, and repairing the Printrbot over the last few months, no one was more happy than myself when our new 3D printers arrived.

Happy day!

When we had talked with the MakerBot salesman, I specifically asked how long it would take from unboxing to first print, and he said about 15 minutes.  Surprisingly, he was right!  Once you turn it on, it goes through steps to calibrate it, load the filament, and then do a test print.  It tells you exactly what to do step by step, and if you're a relative novice to 3D printing, you really appreciate it!

Some enthusiastic students watching the first print.

Although we haven't had the MakerBots that long, beyond the occasional filament jam, we have been pleased with our purchase.  The printers have been used constantly during the school day and even overnight, mostly for demoing purposes at this stage. We are working on our new certification process so students can start printing on their own (should be ready next week).  We printed some branding for the maker lab designed in Tinkercad:

 We also printed some items off of Thingiverse, including a filament spool holder, which was our first overnight print (took about 9 hours for each side) and a sleeping dog.

Filament spool holder

Sleeping dog

We have our first 3D Design instruction session over the next week with several Theology classes, who will be designing Holy Cross symbols and then printing them.  More on that to come...


Our MakerBots have increased interest in our Maker Lab.  However, we do want to make it clear, the Printrbot is not a bad 3D printer.   It's just more suited to someone that likes to tinker more with the mechanics and settings.   Our students/faculty/administration wanted a printer that just works with minimal effort and will allow students to meet assignment deadlines. Our experience so far with the MakerBot Replicator seems promising!

Happy Making!