need advice on 3D printers

[wtb999]

I am not sure if this is the right forum for this. Is there anyone here who has experience with 3D printers (FDM or otherwise)? We are a small business and currently use the Stratasys Dimension Elite printer. It works fairly well for our needs, but lately we have been having problems with the machine breaking down every couple of months. We use the printer for production tooling and cant afford to have it down.
Does anyone else have experience with the Dimension Elite? Have you had issues with breakdowns?
Are there any other alternatives for low cost (25 to 30k) reliable printers that can print decent resolution parts?
I checked out Objet printers and they looked pretty good, but I am not sure about their reliability. Please advise.

 

[jraquet]

I have been usingfour Stratasys and Dimension machines for many years and haven't had any majorproblems. What is the "breakdown"? one issue I have seen with the newer machines (Dimension Elite) has been the possibility of the head clogging and I think this is primarily due to the altering feed - single motor to support and build material. I assume the higher end machines (Stratasys Fortus) still use two heads but would have to check to be sure.<?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" />


The Objet machines have a higher z-precision but there are issues if you have fine details and have to remove support material from between walls/layers that are close. Also - the materials are liquid-photopolymers so the properties are a little more vague or less standard. One issue I have heard is the sensitivity of the objet machines to high temperatures (150 F or so).


There is another photopolymer printer from 3D Systems called VFlash that fits the low end market but it has limited material options.


There are some new low end machines using the same technology as the Stratasys but they were designed for the small end market even reaching to home use so the resolution and accuracy has not been a much of a target for the machines presently.


If you would like to discuss problems feel free to contact me.


(704)6874349

 

[wtb999]

Hey thanks Jeff!

I will give you a call in a few days to discuss.