# Afordable and highly accurate 3D printer



## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

http://oldworldlabs.com/product/owl-nano/
.0001 mm layer thickness's that's .1 micron! Amazing the detail.


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Weird... using your link to get to the page never completed! Just sat! I tried several times. I then edited the link down to the home page only: http://oldworldlabs.com/
And it opened immediately. Then clicking on the title bar section for the "Owl-Nano" and the page you referenced opened immediately. Now I am able to use your link and it works fine. Stypud cornphewtors!


But, nice machine from what I can tell. Though still a bit expensive for the general home "experimenter".

I am tempted to buy, but the site does not explain where to get the "Acrylate, Photopolymer Resin", nor what it costs, and that could be a major expense that is hidden... 

Kind of like when I bought a lathe... WOW, I have a lathe! But now I have to go buy a work bench to mount it on, measuring tools, cutting bits (and a grinder to keep the them sharp and shaped correctly), a cutoff blade and a holder for it, various tailstock tools (dead center, live center, chuck, etc.), and then find a source of materials to make things out of. I spent almost as much on the accessories as I did on the lathe before the lathe was anything more than a big paperweight.

Then I did most all of it again when I bought a mill (need a chuck, collets, mill bits, hold down clamps, vise, etc.).

Leaves me wondering what I need to actually use this $5000 machine?

And then I wonder about the properties of the Acrylic Photopolymer Resin... is it brittle? UV resistant? Does it melt in my hands if I hold it too long? Does it give off toxic fumes while in operation?

How does it actually build the 3rd dimension? Does it have a table that moves down in the liquid polymer resin (I think I saw something that said it was a liquid) or does the polymer get pumped in over the stage and the laser moves up?

I think I have convinced myself to wait until someone buys one and answers those questions. 

EDIT: I sent them a msg asking those questions.


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## DKRickman (Mar 25, 2008)

Semper Vaporo said:


> EDIT: I sent them a msg asking those questions.


Please let us know what they say. While the price is still a bit beyond my budget, it's not so far out there as to be impossible for the future. It would be interesting to know exactly what someone would be getting themselves into in buying this machine.


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## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

They replied back to me, but the information was as sparse as the info on the page. I asked what the resolution was in the other axis x and y (or z) but they did not say.
The print takes over night (not surprising), but then he said it is slow at 1 micron resolution.... wait a minute, isn't .1 micron? There is a whole lof of difference there.
Anyway, material through them is way too expensive 170 bucks a liter, I've seen it cheaper, and he gave me no indication that the machine was dependent on their material or what the maintenance costs would be.


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## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

WOW,,, I'm a life time premium member! When did that happen


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## Daniel Peck (Mar 31, 2009)

my Afinia runs about $24 dollars for a 1kg roll of material, or $6 bucks if I get it from china and wait 4 weeks to get it....


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## Randy Stone (Jan 2, 2008)

With this tech knowledge advancing by leaps and bounds, I would tend to think leasing would be a better option as paying for the machine only to have it so outdated in a year that is was totally worthless would not be good monetarily or product quality wise.


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## Garratt (Sep 15, 2012)

There is a very good reason they have an inability to answer specific technical questions.
One can now assume the unanswered questions are the product's weakness or they employ morons.

Andrew


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## Sjoc78 (Jan 25, 2014)

Staples sells one using ABS filament for around $1300. Its the size of a desktop printer


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Randy Stone said:


> With this tech knowledge advancing by leaps and bounds, I would tend to think leasing would be a better option as paying for the machine only to have it so outdated in a year that is was totally worthless would not be good monetarily or product quality wise.


Hence the attraction of Shapeways, where you just pay for the printing time and materials (and a bit of profit for them.) They have an incentive to use the best equipment available.

[No more Rivette?]


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## SD90WLMT (Feb 16, 2010)

I'm of the thinking for the time being..similar to Randy's thought, it is money well spent to use a vendor such as Shapeways...they do great work..quickly..and can afford to play the upgrade game with this market that is changing so quickly.

A good vendor can purchase equipment that is far more expensive..there fore much higher quality than we as individuals could try to obtain...

Dirk...spend your tool money on items that are stable and have lasting value. There may come a day when plastic printers reach that point....


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## Daniel Peck (Mar 31, 2009)

Pete Thornton said:


> Hence the attraction of Shapeways, where you just pay for the printing time and materials (and a bit of profit for them.) They have an incentive to use the best equipment available.
> 
> [No more Rivette?]


 they cost for me was $70 some dollors from shapways, me printing my self under $3 in materials.


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

> they cost for me was $70 some dollors from shapways, me printing my self under $3 in materials.


And how much did the printer cost that consumed those $3 materials ?


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## Dr Rivet (Jan 5, 2008)

Dan

1] Randy's name was RLVETTE... Randy L[middle name] Corvette

2] Shapeways may not be the best deal for a small number of pieces, but then, a friend had a complete VGN caboose underframe printed in 1:32 by them for less than $100. Every nut,bolt, rivet, and overlapping joint in the steel. Could never have fabricated it for that even paying himself $2/hr

As the Brit's say "horses for courses!"


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Dr Rivet said:


> Dan
> 
> 
> 2] Shapeways may not be the best deal for a small number of pieces, but then, a friend had a complete VGN caboose underframe printed in 1:32 by them for less than $100. Every nut,bolt, rivet, and overlapping joint in the steel. Could never have fabricated it for that even paying himself $2/hr


 
Jim,

I'm drawing up a scale trolley pole for my 1.5 inch Baldwin freight motor right now in MasterCam. Fully surfaced. I am going to send the drawing into Shapeways and see what it will cost for parts. I can be scaled down for yoyr 1 inch electric. I'll send you a pdf of it.


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## Daniel Peck (Mar 31, 2009)

Pete Thornton said:


> And how much did the printer cost that consumed those $3 materials ?


I got 2 at work and just have to pay for materials....


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## SD90WLMT (Feb 16, 2010)

Ok, Lucky you!!

Do we just send our work to you for $3.00 than?!!!!!!

I know..nice try!!

Dirk


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## Daniel Peck (Mar 31, 2009)

SD90WLMT said:


> Ok, Lucky you!!
> 
> Do we just send our work to you for $3.00 than?!!!!!!
> 
> ...


got a 5 by 5 by 5 area... can work something out.....0.15mm resolution


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## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

Well, I finally got word back from Nano. They aren't even in production yet. They won't be for another 6 weeks and they have been swamped with email. 
I have to say, Shapeways is getting better and better. I just got back a couple of busts that I scupted and they were prefect, but I am paying nearly 3k a year on prints and postage and if this machine meets my specs and they go into production then I'm probably going to buy it.


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## BigRedOne (Dec 13, 2012)

FormLabs is another company getting into bringing higher-resolution 3D printing to consumers.


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## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

Yes formlabs is good but they have a smaller platform and the last I read the machine was not completely assembled. Their layer resolution is not as high either. Nano's is 1 micron layer thickness while formlab's is 25 microns. Its the difference of .024mm but hey when you are working in small scales every .001 mm counts


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