Printing in Plastic: Build Your Own 3D Printer (Te
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Printing in Plastic: Build Your Own 3D Printer is your gateway into the exciting world of personal fabrication. The “printer” that you’ll build from this book is a personal fabricator capable of creating small parts and other objects from drops of molten plastic. Design a part using a modeling tool such as Google SketchUp. Then, watch while the fabricator head sweeps back and forth and upwards, depositing plastic in all the right places. You can build anything from a replacement tab to hold a bookshelf in place, to a small art project, to a bashguard for your bicycle. If you can conceive it and design it, you can build it, and you’ll have fun doing it!
Printing in Plastic is aimed at creative people comfortable using power tools such as a table saw, circular saw, and drill press. Authors James Kelly and Patrick Hood-Daniel lead you through building a personal fabrication machine based upon a set of blueprints downloaded from their website. Example projects get you started in designing and fabricating your own parts. Bring your handyman skills, and apply patience during the build process. You too can be the proud owner of a personal fabricator—a three-dimensional printer.
Leads you through building a personal fabrication machine capable of creating small parts and objects from plastic
Provides example projects to get you started on the road to designing and fabricating your own parts
Provides an excellent parent/child, or small group project
ASIN : B005PZ08CU
Publisher : Apress; 1st ed. edition (August 13, 2011)
Publication date : August 13, 2011
Language : English
File size : 15.9 MB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Not Enabled
Print length : 508 pages
12 reviews for Printing in Plastic: Build Your Own 3D Printer (Te
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bob schafer –
bschafer
I found the book a lot of fun as well as informative. It tells how to fabricate each of the 17 pieces necessary to construct the 3d printer in a very organized, lucid, and pictorial way.One criticism is that the plans were not included with the book but they do have them on their web site for download.Besides part fabrication and assembly the book covers the electronic and motor hook-up which is useful even for other designs. Along with the electronics are also instructions how to down load free software for the machine which again is useful for this printer but for other designs as well.The design and material costs of this printer, I think, are not that good. There are other designs which are simpler and which give more bang for the buck.But if you want a project to get acquainted with 3d printers that doesn’t cost much and is fun this book is a good introduction to that endeavor.Have fun!
Steven J. Greenfield –
Better download the plans and put a CD with your book
The book is just the written instructions to go along with the videos and plans from the author’s website. The book by itself is nearly useless as there isn’t even a small print of the plans with dimensions in the book.Before you buy this book, I strongly suggest going to the author’s website at buildyourtools dot com. Download all the plans, watch all the videos, then decide if you need the book.If the website ever goes down or the author decides not to support this book, you’ll be out of luck. So if you buy this book, I’d download all the files related to it and burn them on a CD or put them on a flash drive to keep with the book.The main component, the plastic feed head, is an amalgam of DIY and parts from Makerbot’s 3D printer. No instructions are given on building the melt head itself. You could go buy that and add it to just about any CNC mill to build a 3D printer. There are a lot of open source projects out there.The goal is laudable – DIY something cheaper than the existing kits out there now. I just think the book could have been better thought out.FYI- while I’m writing this review, I find the author’s website, buildyourtools(dot)com, is currently unavailable. Only a temporary thing, but as an owner of this book that makes me nervous.Update: After a lot more reading and thinking about it, I’ve decided to return the book. I’ve never returned a book before, but the lack of plans in the book and the lack of dimensions on the downloadable plans really bothers me. It feels like half of a book.
jmick –
Good general knowledge of earlier builds
This book contains a thorough general knowledge of the subject and is a good start for those who are just getting interested in the field.
Vesper Aeon –
Essential for the Home Tinkerer
3D printing is the wave of the future, and this book is a great introduction to the field. The book is neatly laid out, written in clear, simple language, and filled with illustrations. At times it seemed as if the authors could have spent another week or two tweaking the manuscript before submitting it for print, but they themselves acknowledge that several times in the text.Overall, it is a great addition to any home library that has a section on how to build and maintain your own electro/mechanical devices.
woodenduck –
Printing in 3d book
Very good book with tons of information about building a 3d Printer. Also, includes info to change it to a small router with a Dremel Rotary tool installed. Included are lists of required hardware and online web links to resources.I was very impressed with the book. Also the full sized plans can be downloaded, and the assembly videos are available, as well.
Barry Cantor –
comprehensive
clearly written with plenty of photos.within the capability of absolute amateurs who can only handle hand tools.a snap to build.
Malinda Shaver –
Out of date and mistitled
The title here is misleading. Not much in this about the end result: a 3D “printed” object. It’s really about cutting plywood, drilling holes, installing bolts and a bit of wiring. I’m a little weird, I suppose, since I actually enjoy digging into an instructional book or manual, but ran into roadblocks as I browsed the contents that make me think I won’t tackle the project.For example, the support website seems to have abandoned this project. The spreadsheet listing the needed hardware is just not there. Since you’re warned that the book may not have the latest information, the online materials are essential. While the drawings are available, some are marked “pending revision” and dated October 2010. It’s hard to feel confident that there aren’t boobytraps. Also, the buildyourtools site is now only a forum with little recent activity.It seems like the author(s) moved on to more interesting projects. Perhaps they got bored writing overly detailed carpentry instructions and photographing installation of nuts and bolts. The book doesn’t get you where you thought you were going. It seems the project has been abandoned by the authors, so you could find yourself stymied by the time you actually have a machine assembled and get to the trickier stages of fine-tuning. Then there’s the real challenge of cobbling together the computer/software/CAD/3D elements.As others have said, search a little, find better advice. Or at least be sure to read the whole book before you buy the parts.
If and When –
One Star
way out data.
H NGUYEN –
fully recommended
Edd –
A good book to start you off on your 3d printing, this book goes in to a lot of detail and has photos as well, if you are a bit of a geek in a good way of course this book is for you
Chris –
Disapointing for my requirements. Long descriptions on how to build a reprap of a different design to the kit that I bought. What I was looking for was a book on the techniques for getting the best results out of my printer once it is built.
Amazon Customer –
Great book, easy to read and understand, step by step instructions, all the info you need to successfully make a 3d printer or even a cnc machine. A++++++++++