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3D printers - from beginner to advanced

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Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), nasal swabs, door handle, tubing splitter – these are a few examples of medical equipment that can be 3D printed. Engineers and makers worldwide are printing out these devices in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. RS and DesignSpark did not turn a blind eye on what was happening – together with the National 3D Printing Society, we provided thousands of visors for frontline healthcare staff in April and May 2020.

With endless possibilities that come with 3D printing technology, it can be also overwhelming to decide what printer is right for you. The market is flooding with 3D printers for every budget and application. This article highlights 3D printers, from beginner to professional level, which are available through RS Components.

Entry-level 3D printer

Let’s start off the list with the most affordable 3D printer - BQ Hephestos 2 (136-2760) . It is based on the Prusa i3 model of the DIY printers from BQ, but with a few design improvements, including replacing plastic parts with aluminium and steel ones, the addition of a new inductive sensor for measuring the distance to the bed and extension of the material range that can be used for printing. The assembly takes less than an hour thanks to a few additional components and optimized packaging. Standard Cura slicing software can be used with this printer.

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BQ Hephestos 2

Professional 3D printer

RS PRO iTX (173-4711) 3D printer is an ideal printing machine for quick, yet low-cost prototyping as well as business, education and at home use applications. The printer features a strong frame made of powdered steel, onboard LED lighting system and fully upgradeable machined parts and circuit boards. The easy to use design allows setting up and start printing in a matter of minutes, but the open-source functionality makes tinkering with the hardware possible for advanced users. External peripherals such as monitor, webcam and remote access can be connected as the printer has the built-in PC. A detailed review of iTX 3D printer is available here.

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RS PRO iTX 

You have probably heard of Ultimaker S5 (174-6243) desktop 3D printer many times on our platform. This professional 3D printing solution is specifically designed to be easy-to-use and portable for applications such as prototyping, manufacturing aids and end-use parts. Some of the technical features that are worth highlighting are a large build volume of 330 x 240 x 300 mm (13 x 9.4 x 11.8 inches), double extrusion print head, a user-friendly 4.7-inch (11.9 cm) touch display as well as its compatibility with advanced printing materials such as high-strength glass and carbon fibre filament. The resolution of Ultimaker S5 can get as low as 20 microns or 0.001 inches suitable for high detail prints. The printer is supported by the Ultimaker ecosystem, which consists of print preparation software (Ultimaker Cura), printer management software (Ultimaker Connect) and cloud platform (Ultimaker Cloud). The upgraded version Ultimaker S5 Pro Bundle (192-5468) is available for those interested in added benefits of 24/7 automated material handling, efficient air filtration, and filament humidity control.

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Ultimaker S5

Professional multi-tool

The machine in the last category, Zmorph VX (179-2362) , does not only include a 3D printer, but it packs a CNC and laser by utilizing interchangeable tool heads and worktables with very intuitive switching procedure. It features a sturdy aluminium frame (which makes it very heavy!) with reinforcements along the X-axis and Y-axis, which ensures that the machine can withstand high torques of CNC milling and high speeds of 3D printing. The see-through enclosure around the build chamber allows maintaining stable temperature during the 3D printing process.

The machine offers a set of tool heads suitable for different functions: 1.75 mm and 3 mm Plastic Extruder, Dual Plastic Extruder, CNC PRO milling tool head, Laser PRO tool head, Thick Paste Extruder. Dual extruder tool head can be utilized for two-material prints, mixing colours and putting colourful images and textures on the prints. If you ever wondered if you can use Nutella or chocolate as a printing material, the answer is yes. Thick Paste Extruder tool head of Zmorph VX is designed to print with medium and dense masses. Unfortunately, you cannot eat the result of your printing experiment.

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Zmorph VX

The table below summarizes four printers that were discussed, including their prices, build-volume, filament material and size as well as the slicing software suitable for each of the printers.

 

Price

Build-volume

Filament diameter

Materials

Software

BQ Hephestos 2 

 

£881.82

210 x 297 x 220 mm 

1.75mm

PLA, wood, bronze, copper, FilaFlex

Cura, slic3r

RS PRO iTX 

£2,469.90

200 x 200 x 200mm

1.75mm

PLA, ABS, PETG

Simplify3D, Cura, OctoPrint

Ultimaker S5 

 

£5,385.00

330 x 240 x 300 mm

2.85mm

PLA, Tough PLA, Nylon, ABS, CPE, CPE+, PC, TPU 95A, PP, PVA, etc.

Cura

Zmorph VX 

 

£3,799.00

250 x 235 x 165 mm

1.75mm

ABS, PLA, PVA, ASA, PET, Nylon, HIPS, Thermochrome, TPU, Flex materials

Voxelizer

 

Our extensive range of 3D printers, 3D scanners, and accessories, ranging from printing parts to filaments, will support you through all the stages of design and prototyping. DesignSpark Mechanical software can support your 3D modelling process and the best part is that it is free!

What is your 3D printer of choice and why? Let us know in the comments section below.

Relevant links: 

3D printing with DesignSpark Mechanical

3D printing materials: What should you be using

Five reasons to get into 3D printing and design

Getting to grips with 3D printing basics and contributing to production of PPE for frontline staff fighting COVID-19

 

I am an electronics engineer turned data engineer who likes creating content around IoT, machine learning, computer vision and everything in between.
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