Maintenance 3dprinters a lot of work?

[ColonelMustard]

I'm still very new to all this, but anyway:

Now 3d printers become more affordable every day, I'm getting more and more interested in maybe buying one.

However, when discussing this subject with a friend of mine, he told me 3D printers really take up a lot of your time. According to him it's not like an inkprinter: a device you turn on when you need it and turn it off when you're done with it. You have to clean it from time to time (even when you haven't used it in soem time) and really does cost a lot of time.

Is he exaggerating or is the maintenance of the printer indeed quite a lot of work?

[KI4GCX]

From what I can gather the maintenance really depends on what model you choose and what conditions you have to work with. I have heard though with most models that as long as there are not extreme changes in environment such as heat or humidity that they really don't fall out of calibration too far once they have been set. As far as cleaning I think it falls down to whether you only focus on one material or if you change filaments a lot as there are differences in the heat requirements for PLA and ABS. If you stick to one fimament type you should be fine with only an occasional cleaning of your hot end. It also depends on if you use a heated bed or painter's tape on your print bed if you are gentle then one application of tape can be used for many printings. But then again I am only going off research from other 3der's.

[jnesselr]

It depends a little bit on the model, but usually, the worst I have to do is change what tape I have on the bed. Other than that, any good printer should have auto bed-level capabilities (Seriously, don't underestimate that feature, especially on a delta style that can do it quickly) which reduces a lot of maintenance. Generally, after you've calibrated the printer (which takes time, but you'll learn a lot and there are several experienced individuals) you shouldn't have to do too much maintenance on it.

I think all I do is clear off dust every once in a while, and change the tape on the bed when I feel like it.

[TheNeck]

i think it will be a while before there is ever a low maintenance type 3d printer. the da vinci 1.0 is great straight out of the box, but it helps im a tech person to boot. i couldn't imagine my non tech friends or family members trying to use it as much as i do. they would be calling me all the time.

[3D_Dreams]

I could have written the last post myself. I have the Da Vinci as well.

Yes they are a lot of work. You place glue on the glass, go back to send the print over with the correct settings then you watch for at least the first ten minutes. It has to lay down a layer that sticks just right to the glass. If not, you gotta cancel, clean the glue off with acetone and try again. All in between waiting for heating and cooling. Pushing on the glass to clean it sometimes changed the calibration so I would recalibrate often.

Labor intensive, yes. Worth it for me, yes!

[Davin]

Google "pros and cons of 3D printing" to learn a bit more about it.

[Graymalk]

I agree that it's going to depend on your printer. But...yes, they are not like a laser printer where you just plunk it down, plug it in, and feed it toner once in a while. I sort of think of it as being more similar to a sewing machine. It requires oil, a few tweaks now and then, cleaning, and TLC, just like a sewing machine. You have to change the thread/filament for the job and do maintenance on the needle/hotend, you have to adjust the speed, and so on. Really strongly similar to a sewing machine.

[mikelouis]

Maintenance should be easy and it also depends on the model and you use the 3D printer. If you follow correctly what has been outlined by the manufacturer, then there should be no problem in getting that maintenance done by yourself rather than hiring someone.