Wanhao i3 3D Printer

Ian · Aug 10, 2016

I've been holding off buying a 3D printer for years and years, as they seemed like a lot of money for a technology at an embryonic stage. However, there seem to be some good entry level 3D printers for less then £300 now (I went for the Wanhao i3 @ £289).

There's a bit of info on this model on the Wanhao website: http://wanhaousa.com/products/duplicator-i3-steel-frame

It's a pre-order, but I'm hoping that it'll arrive in the coming days so that I can get playing with it

. As soon as I've got some prints, I'll post pics.

There are so many things that I've wanted to build as projects where this would come in useful, especially for prototyping enclosures for things. I hope it lives up to expectations

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V_R · Aug 10, 2016

Ooooh nice. Bet you'll love it. you can 3D print almost anything it seems, from motorcycle parts to guns!

bootneck02 · Aug 10, 2016

Brilliant, once you have got it you must show us some of the things you have made with it. :user:

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V_R · Aug 10, 2016

@Ian - might be of interest.

https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/

https://www.reddit.com/r/functionalprint/

EDIT: http://imgur.com/a/fUUlw :eek:

See you in 9 months! :lol:

Ian · Aug 10, 2016

Thanks folks! I'll be sure to check out those subreddits @V_R

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V_R said:
EDIT: http://imgur.com/a/fUUlw
See you in 9 months!

Wow... that is seriously good. I've had a look at "Thingverse" and not seen anything that approaches that tank. Incredible work! I hope they released the source

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nivrip · Aug 10, 2016

V_R said:
you can 3D print almost anything it seems, from motorcycle parts to guns!

And, of course, body parts if they are needed.

V_R · Aug 10, 2016

On that subject, this guy 3D printed his tumor (before and after treatment), which are now being used in oncology classes as a teaching aid.

http://imgur.com/a/RtLow

Becky · Aug 10, 2016

I don't think I've seen Ian this excited about anything in a long time :lol:

bootneck02 · Aug 10, 2016

It is great to have a passion, it is something I wouldn't be able to do as not very technical minded, I have a job with just the PC.

TriplexDread · Aug 11, 2016

Ian did you enquire about import taxes?

Ian · Aug 11, 2016

TriplexDread said:
Ian did you enquire about import taxes?

I bought it from the UK, so no probs there

:

https://www.technologyoutlet.co.uk/products/3d-printer-wanhao-duplicator-i3

Should arrive on Tuesday all being well.

bootneck02 · Aug 11, 2016

Had a look at some of the video's looks great. Good luck with it and you will have to show us what you have built with it when you get it Ian. Cannot wait to see the results :bow:

Ian · Aug 11, 2016

As soon as I've got it up and running I'll be posting some pics

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Abarbarian · Aug 12, 2016

Becky said:
I don't think I've seen Ian this excited about anything in a long time

https://www.pcreview.co.uk/threads/wanhao-i3-3d-printer.4070955/reply?quote=14256781
Tell him to stop wasting money on toys and get him to up your underware allowance then. :lol:

Becky · Aug 12, 2016

Abarbarian said:
Tell him to stop wasting money on toys and get him to up your underware allowance then.

It's not often that something actually makes me laugh out loud, but that did :lol:

Ian · Aug 16, 2016

It has arrived!

I've got it set up and doing a test print, but we're heading out in about an hour, so I'll upload the results tomorrow

. Stay tuned...

Ian · Aug 17, 2016

I'm genuinely surprised by how good this 3D printer is - the test print came out looking great and that was with minimal calibration or tweaking... about 30 mins of setup time and about 1:30 hours to print:

The photos don't really do it justice, as I took them with my phone. However, I'm printing a 2nd test object and I'll be playing with it a lot more in the coming weeks. I'll have a review online once I've put it through it's paces and I'm fully familiar with it.

The level of detail on the hand is way better than I thought a sub £300 3D printer could achieve - especially considering the tiny size of the print. The only downside I've found so far is that it is SLOW to print, but I guess that is going to be a problem with many consumer level printers.