I started out with an UP! Mini printer. In a way that was the worst thing to have done. It spoiled me on how it's proprietary setup holds your hand. You just drop a model on and print. The supports come right off with no issue. Then when I needed a second printer, I was recommended to get a Replicator. I wasn't going to pay their prices and I ended up getting a Wanhao Duplicator 4S. It's a clone. To this day, I still can't get the hand of it. People say to get Simplify 3D and it'll fix all my problems, but I keep holding off.

Because of that, I was looking at other printers. I backed The Flux on kickstarter with the anticipation of it coming in quicker than it did. It ended up like all kickstarters going well over the expected delivery. But I did get it and it's been a pretty decent Delta system.

I backed the ibox resin printer too and they took the money and ran. They had a large backer base and very soon into the campaign they just cut all communications. But that's probably going to be the only other printer I need is a resin one eventually.

I backed a Robo C2 that I don't have just yet but it's suppose to ship soon. I ended up getting a Robo R1+ recently and really happy with the prints on it. In some cases I'm not even having to smooth anything on it. Just spray a primer and the lines fill in.

Then I have the Tiko. I actually haven't even tried to get it up and running yet. I've been comfortably using the Flux, UP!, and Robo R1+ to get my stuff made and none of those give me any issues. I'll try the Tiko soon though. Eventually I want the Wanhao to be in the production line too. It's a duel extruder and would be nice. I just haven't wanted to take the time for it while everything else I am running works fine. By summer though, I'll probably get Simplify 3D and see if that does fix my problems.

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I backed the OLO, which is a tiny form factor resin printer, but I have yet to actually receive it. I keep getting updates from Kickstarter about it, so I still expect to get it, but as you said, KS projects are never on time and this one is now 4+ months overdue.

I just ended up drifting to 123D design due to it's ability to work with Adobe Illustrator. You can draw in Illustrator and be precise, then export an svg file into 123D to extrude the 3D shape. I've been able to manipulate it and get some pretty detailed ideas, but it has it's limits. I made the Commander gun a reality after tons of work. I originally was going to cast a handmade one, but that proved to be something I just couldn't figure out. 3D printing it just became the natural option. It's still not print and ship, but it's a lot better than casting for sure. This is the one part of the traveling JoeCustoms table:



Like I was saying using Illustrator, if I could figure out a program that lets me design like I am in Illustrator and just put the 2D drawings together into a 3D model, I'd be set. I guess I just need a very simplistic cad program. I've made the Illustrator to 123D combo work like this MantaRay flight pack I created, but the limitations I hit are generally with curves. Once you've created a shape, it's pretty much impossible to manipulated it afterwards. You have to get it right the first time, or redo it.



With Scanning, I picked up the XYZ hand scanner. It does ok, but there's artifacts it picks up that needs to be smoothed in a program. That's another limitation I have. I need to be a lot better at sculpting "clay". Zbrush has so many hidden functions that makes it very hard to learn. I can do some things in it, but like this scan of my head, I haven't figured out the best way to smooth out the various points that messed up. I need a simple program that makes sculpting to be as close to working with Photoshop as possible. Something that would treat the model like clay and not have most of it's features in hidden menus.

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I started to back that but ended up not doing it due to the ibox experience. I felt like it was going to end up not happening or just not be all they promised. I actually backed another printer by a company called NEA. It looked like it was going to be a real nice printer, then they up and told all backers one day that they were not able to make it. They claimed they would give refunds, but I called my credit card company to reverse the charges. It took a few months but I got the money back. Last I heard, they still haven't refunded anybody either... so I would have been out a grand if I hadn't called my credit card about it. Some people backed them for 2 or more printers. There's lawsuits going on and everything. It was the final nail in the coffin for me on backing stuff blind though.

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I agree with you on the CAD design stuff. I didn't like doing it when I was in college, and while the software has improved in the last... ugh... 20 years, it's still just not something I like using. I want something where I can, as you say, draw the item and then just piece it together. You can sort of do that with SketchUp, but not the best, and curves are pretty much impossible to do that way.
As far as sculpting, have you tried Sculptris? It's Zbrush's free offering, and I've found it's almost like working with clay in a computer environment. Basic menu command options, but it's mostly just pushing or pulling the clay. The whole "do everything through the menu" is actually why I've stuck with the free, 'limited', software instead of buying their pro package.
I've also played around with some of the voxel editors, since you can get really fine resolution with them, and it's a matter of adding cubes to get your design. They can do some nice designs, but they're just not my cup of tea.

On the kickstarter front, I hear ya. I rarely back KS stuff. It has to be something I really believe in, someone I know, or for a price that if it falls through, I won't care too much to lose it -- so typically $100 or less. The Doodle3D Wifi box was the first thing I backed blind, just because I really liked the thought of it, and it actually showed up close to on time. I backed the OLO, because it seemed just feasible enough that I'd get it. Still haven't received it, so I'm nearly to the point of writing it off and saving up to get one of the <$2,000 SLA printers to play with (wanting to get into some fabrication locally, so could really benefit from that). Before I make the jump to SLA, though, I want to get better at my design work.

Yeah that's where I am with SLA. I want to have a better reason to spend that kind of money before I do. Right now it would just basically sit and only be used for minor stuff. No reason to spend that type of money for that. The ibox was just under $200 for the level I had got in at. I figured that would have been fine if I had got it. But lesson learned and I'll stay away from that stuff now unless I know or trust the person behind it.

I tried Sculptris, and I guess because I have been using zbrush, I hit the walls they put up. If I were fresh into just that program, I guess it would have been easier. Also I have an older version of zbrush and have not been willing to pay to upgrade, so that's another limitation. It's just going to be one of those things where I'll have to create a project for myself and force myself to learn how to get it done. It won't be this year since I've got too much laid out, but I do need to step into doing higher level sculpting one way or another.

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Something I'm hoping to do this year is get decent at scanning. If I can get a good scanning station and process set up, then I'd start sculpting in actual clay and scanning it in, then resizing it in software to the scale(s) needed, and printing out. If I can get that working reliably, then I can probably justify the SLA printer or maybe a jet printer.

The Flux has a built in scanner that's suppose to be good. I never tried it. It has a laser etcher too that I haven't tried. That the only issue with getting into do projects and selling, you tend to not have time for other things. But of course even there, once I had something figured out, it would result into more services I could offer and I'd further be tied up, haha.

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Hah, yeah. Doing it as a hobby isn't much better, though. Then it becomes, "Oh, but I need to do this stuff before I spend down-time... well guess I'm not tinkering with that today."
I've tried to convince my wife to find a way to become independently wealthy and support my life of leisure, but so far, she's not going for it.

Haha, yeah, well the idea of using the printers to make money were mostly so I could do more stuff! Sadly though, the further you go into it, the less stuff I get to do on my own. I end up doing something I wanted and then it becomes a thing other people see and ask if I can make them... so of course I won't say no. Some of it I end up not showing online, haha.

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I learned Saturday that my local library has a 3DP and prints stuff off from Thingiverse. What should I run off to get a handle on what to expect from all this hullabaloo?

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If you want to try printing small stuff, I'd say grab some of Jabberwock's stuff from Thingiverse. He makes Joe, Star Wars, and other stuff that looks nice as background pieces.

Nah, his stuff is too small. All I care for is 18th stuff. All I'm finding is this figure stand:
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:12074

I quite like the baseplate, but the stick and clip are extraneous for 18th, imho.

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Actually, his stuff is designed true-size. He designed them based off actual measurements from his old toys, where he could. His designs are a bit rough (to make them print faster), so at 1:18, might have some visible layer lines, but for backgrounds they're fine. I scale them to 50% (he recommends 25%) and use them for my Mega Blok Joes.

There's a Cyberman out there somewhere you could download and print. He's at 1:18.

AV - if you like furniture and dio stuff, and don't mind the possibility that you're actually printing dollhouse stuff, check out PrettySmallThings inventory on Thingiverse.

A handfull of items are already 1:18, and most others that are smaller can get there by simply upscaling the print 1.5.

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