After I came back from CES and saw all the news and exposure that the new 3D printers got, and after seeing these printers in action at the show,. I decided that it is about time to see what these relatively low cost printers could do.
After all, as a product development firm, it seems like the right thing to do, both from a typical consumer and end user point, as well as from an industrial designer and engineering firm's point of view.

I also thought about using these printers in our toy design and ideation. Creating fast and cost-effective prototypes is a big plus in the toy invention industry.

At the show, I saw two companies that have new printers and use the same technology. One being Makerbot Industries
and the other is 3D Systems. After some research and comparing the two product offerings, I decided to go for the Makerbot Replicator unit, both for cost and print size capabilities. Besides, these guys are relatively local, being located in Brooklyn, NY.

After six weeks of lead time, which changed to ten weeks of actual delivery (the show must have had a great impact on sales for them), the unit arrived. This is a nice, small, and lightweight printer that is constructed from laser cut 1/4″ plywood, and loaded with two printhead extruders that are capable of printing two colors at the same time. During the first few days, we spent many hours and a lot of plastic trying to figure out how to print, which settings are appropriate for what type of print, how hot the platform needs to be, how thick the parts need to be, and many more how's and what's.

Eventually, we had some idea as to the capabilities of this printer.

If we need to have a good prototype to present to the clients, we will NOT use this printer due to the surface finish quality and the amount of time it takes to have a good-looking part painted. For this, we will stick to the old fashioned and much better-finished stereolithography parts. Also, we found that due to the fact that this printer uses ABS plastic as the print material, part distortion is a big factor, and we cannot count on a part to come out to our liking, especially if we have a tight tolerance to hold.

However, for mock-ups and form studies as well as, to have a quick look at the size of parts and play around with ideas, and of course, for proof of concept of toys and other ideas, this printer is a great addition to our shop and design process. All of a sudden, things move faster when we have one of these in-house. The prints are relatively fast to make (depending on the resolution), and we find ourselves printing every little thing for any project. Parts that we once sent out for CNC from PVC (small brackets and spacers), can now be made in no time in the office. Suddenly we found many nails for this hammer, and this hammer is printing almost daily and many times over night.

All in all, we are happy with this new toy in the office. I am sure this technology will only improve year after year.

More to come...