3D Printers

[Quote: From Jed]

3D printers can print all sorts of plastics. For your application you could use PLA or PETG or ABS, I don’t think it would be necessary to do any of the really fancy stuff like Poly-carbonate, Flexables, or nylon. Here is a page with just specialty filaments [matterhackers Specialty Filament]

3d printers don’t get a lot less expensive when they get smaller. I’d recommend buying one that is a “standard” size. Right now that seems to be 200×250(8″ x 10″) or so. There are a lot of places that sell garbage as well, so you will want to be careful if you buy a kit. I’d recommend going to [prusa3d.com] and checking that out. I’ve heard good things about [cetus3d.com]

The features to look for are a heated bed that can go to 100C and a “all metal hotend”, even better if it is a genuine e3d.

I have a couple printers,

Taz 6 [lulzbot taz 6] ~2500
This one was the first one that I bought. It is fairly expensive, but it has a quite large build area(11.02 in x 11.02 in x 9.8 in). It prints quite well, and has all high quality components. It has a fairly large nozzle which limits it’s ability to print small details.

Prusa MK2S [prusa3d i3 kit] ~700 [forum]
This is the one I like the best. It prints well and reasonably quickly. It has a slightly smaller nozzle than the Taz so it can do detail better.

Monoprice Maker Ultimate (No web address, as I don’t recommend it at all) ~800
Doesn’t print well without constant management. Prints slowly with that constant management.