How many 3D printers does one person need?!

I admit, in some ways this is embarrassing.

But as I told my wife, really, it all makes sense. “It’s just the way it worked out, honey.”

I am now the owner of three, yes three, 3D printers. Three years ago, I didn’t have any. The more I’ve learned and the more fun I’ve had, I’ve justified owning each one ….

The first one was my CubeX printer. With it, I could print a regulation sized basketball (not that I’ve ever done that). I’ve used it to print a number of sculptures, though, in PLA plastic.

I started having challenges with the CubeX – it wouldn’t hold the Z-gap, and then it stopped printing altogether. I contacted 3D Systems, and they kindly agreed to send me new parts without charge. I got them installed, but then another set of components blew. 3D Systems said, “No worries,” and sent me more parts. Ah, this is life on the bleeding edge.

Meanwhile, I attended the event where Steve and Jacob Graber of Cerberus 3D were running four of their elegant deltabot printers. I started talking with Steve, and asked him if he could build a printer that could print something large.

“Sure,” he answered. (Later he confessed that he didn’t know how he was going to do it, but he was pretty sure he could. He could and did.)

So that’s how I ended up with the Gigante, which can print an item up to 4 feet, 6 inches tall.

I found, though, that the Gigante was a handful when I wanted to print something small and quick. So recently, I spent a little of my mad money on a Cerberus 250. It ended up coming in really handy when I had to do a demo at the 3D art show “Materialize” at the Shemer Art

Center.

Now that I have the parts for the CubeX, I’ll get it running again. I may even sell it. Or maybe I’ll just get another …. Just kidding, honey!