3D Printer & Tools Review

I don’t own a 3D printer yet but I use one at work for programming and learning about the 3D printer for myself. At the library we currently use a Makerbot Replicator 2 (https://bit.ly/2VHGQ6d) to print designs out created by our patrons and utilize TinkerCad (https://www.tinkercad.com) for patrons to create objects as well.

I like that the Replicator doesn’t require proprietary filament and can utilize 3rd party filament. The glass bed is removable just in case you have trouble removing a print, which I have many times. The bummer is that it only has a few buttons to make selections in the menu. It is a problem since if and when the button contacts wears out, you might run into problems making selections in the menu

For TinkerCad, I like that it is simple to use and great for beginners. You can make various simple objects but if you want to make something complicated you would have to have a very big imagination, patience and get super creative with the stock shapes that are available to use. You can import files like .obj or .stl but it will be on “lump” or grouped object not individual pieces that it may have been originally. It’s free to sign up but I don’t know if you have to pay for more features and stuff.

Through TinkerCad I made a print with a lot of words and I wanted them to stay together. Through lots of trial and error I was able to create it. But when I printed it and tried to get it off the plate it broke and I had to spend time putting it back together. It could have been user error, TinkerCad not having certain features that would have been helpful or the printer not printing a good quality (settings could have been adjusted). Overall, TinkerCad is great for non complicated designs and the Replicator is expensive but gets the job done.