Hobbyist vs Industrial FDM 3D Printing: Toys or Tools?

There are two distinct worlds of 3D printing, the Hobbyist community and Functional 3D Printing world. The Hobbyist world has mostly been toys and trinkets while the industrial side has been extremely expensive and secretive. Now is the time to upgrade your Hobbyist 3D printing to a new level and upgrade your skills. There is a growing demand and need in the Functional 3D printing world. We’ll discuss the differences, why you should upgrade, and how to move from Hobbyist into the Functional 3D Printing World.

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[waspishbobfish]

I Used to be a turbo racing car guy....then I was a model helicopter guy.... Then i moved to a city where i couldnt have cars or helicopters. Now I've bought Prusa Mk3, and watching your videos has got me thought crafting the heated chamber and custom hot end setup so I can print PEEK parts for my next project car :)

[hillfortherstudios]

This is why I like this channel. You have a niche of helping people who understand that higher quality equipment is simply a better option for business case users like me. I found this video spelled out why thst is in a succinct way. My question is "at what price point does one begin to see diminishing returns in the commercial 3d printing market"? I understand this is a complex question to answer.

[woodywiest]

Love this style of video, informative yet catchy, realistic to scare off the faint of heart to invest in knowledgeable assistance to get the job done.

[andrewmorgan]

At its current stage my Ender 3 prints very nicely with a variety of engineering filaments, namely carbon and glass filled nylons, ASA and PC. That said, that’s the cap. There’s a lot that can be done with like a HT-CF PA12, but PEEK or PEKK aren’t happening. As it stands I’ll be grateful and work my way up to a true pro machine, but it’s good to know that more complex plastics are very much capable of being printed well on cheap machines with careful upgrades

[DevinPosey]

I’m new to 3D printing I got a Anet and a ANYCUBIC Mega X I’m looking to move towards industrial

[bennguyen]

Would love to see an updated to this video.. for example, the many of the smartest people that made DJI the standard for drones, are now tackling 3d printers and once again seem to be raising the bar with Bambu!

Aside from speed and print size, where do the industrial FDMs still have a considerable advantage over the X1C? Materials like PEEK/PAEK/PEKK? I'm interested in making extremely strong parts that can handle some heat as well.

[brucehu]

Thank you so much for sharing your professional views of this mysterious 3D printing world. I am a online retailer and try to make a new small kitchen product will be made of silicone. I have been trying to find a best fit printer under $1000 for TPE filament. I have tried a lot of the cheap printer, but all prints were not working as real products. I even tried Prusa MK3s, but the results are still not that ideal. Can you please give me some advice on what the most suitable printer for soft TPE like 85A is?

[Guesswhokk]

Should explain differences between FDM, SLA and SLS use cases, to give wider context about FDM.
1 - Design for Aesthetics / product displays
2 - Functional / Mechanical products
3 - Functional J&F parts used in production
4 - R&D, fine tune designs on all of the above, shorten PD cycles
5 - Printer research for new substrate materials

[JazAero]

Thanks guys ! This is a really informative video. One of your best as far as I'm concerned.

I was 1 of those people who modified my Prusa Mk3 with my own designed and constructed water cooled hot end which has actually been rather successful. But that still doesn't achieve what I'm after. So on to phase 2, and the construction of my "mega printer" one cubic meter print volume, and the ability to print high tech / high temperature materials.! 1 of the ways I plan to save a lot of $$$ is not to use extruded /bolted together frame parts . And instead I am using welded steel to create a solid immovable but inexpensive frame. I sacrifice the mobility and ability to make future changes easily, but there is a huge cost savings and let's face it once you build these things you're really not moving them anyway. :-).

The final technical hurdle for me to conquer is in the selection of a heat bed material that is stiff and yet warp resistant with low thermal expansion coefficients. But one which can withstand the forces of printing with the technical materials.

Perhaps a "sandwich" of materials? Any suggestions?

[SproutyPottedPlant]

Ultem ❤️❤️❤️ 3D printed mechanical squonk mods!

[dougjohnson]

Thanks for bridging the gap between hobbyist and engineering. I'm fascinated by 3D printing but have zero interest in printing figurines and trinkets, and that seems to be all the hobbyists ever do. If I ever buy another printer, I'll start at the $5000 level. I was trying to do engineering prints on a $200 printer and the constant tweaking and maintenance was killing me. I just sold my printer today and swore off 3d printing until the technology advances. But I probably just needed a big boy printer.

[zainuddinbrahim]

Thank you bro..i am still learning about the final part of 3 d printing, which is the brain out from it.

[iancooper]

most useful discussion i've seen... good job, thanks :)

[davidromera]

Great video! What about the differences in post processing? I have seen that hobbyist 3d printing often requires to clean the piece, removing the leftover material manually and cleaning with water. Is this avoidable using an industrial 3D printer?

Thank you!

[tomgray]

I was wondering what kind of material and printer do you advise for producing sterilizable medical device parts? Can 3D printerd parts be cleaned and sterilized multiple times?

[MrSilas]

Another great video! Just a idea for a future video. I personally would LOVE to see you guys build or showcase diy high temp printers. I love that you guys are getting the word out of high temperature thermoplastics. If there is anyone else out there like me who wants to go from the hobby level to the next level of printing in Peek and Ultem, the biggest hurdle is the price of entry. The cheapest printer that I know of is the funmat HT which is around $5, 000. Like you said in this video the average good hobbyist printer is around $200. So unless you are starting a company or have minimum 5K to get started it seems like most people will get deterred from that simple fact. Unless someone makes a printer that is closer to a hobbyist printer price.

I'm on several discord channels and subreddits and follow the community very closely. And you don't really see too many if any people build DIY enclosed, heated, external stepper motor, high temperature printers.
It would be awesome to make a video dedicated to people who have made DIY high temperature printers. Or even better yet, if you guys made one yourselves. Could be as simple as Duet board, CoreXY frame(maybe like a tronxy or VORON), 120v 750watt silicone bed, e3d copper plated hot end, etc etc. I don't see it going much over $1000-1500 depending on how fancy you get.
If you guys can show everyone that this whole other world is within their grasp, then you can make people like me come join the club 👍

[xpimd]

What material would be appropriate for sterilizable medical parts? Tks

[-Savage-]

Video on filaments and what they would compair too strength and structurally.
I.E. TPU = CARDBOARD? CFPEEK = 6061 T6 aluminum.

[fikcjacreationandproductio]

Hello! Thank you for great material. Could you tell more about the details of the differences between the machines? Is it just more expensive and more accurate bearings and guides? Or maybe there is some other philosophy behind it (for example, you mentioned the chamber and the temperature regime inside). I am asking because I think that this knowledge can allow us - users of amateur, cheaper printers to improve them in a more professional way. We do not have access to such expensive equipment to look closely at it and see what professional solutions have been used. Thank You!

[tgirard]

I Soooo wanted to buy one of your printers (the Funmat specifically) but I just couldn't get there financially. Instead I bought as much printer as I could afford (QIDI TECH i Fast). I feel like I'm going to get a lot of med-high temp practice on this printer and with a little luck grow into one of yours. For now I'll just be buying metal reals, drying equipment and filament from you and taking all of your advise which I so Appreciate. Hopefully, I'll find a volume part that takes off and I'll be able to make that big purchase... In the mean time. Thank you for all the help!