Velleman Store :
We’re trying to figure out if your kits are the right fit for my new maker space.
I have some questions about the products in order to decide which one to get!
For either printer : Can either of these be extended to an 8″ x 8″ x 8″ “print volume?”
I want to use this printer to print more printers like http://www.ulio3d.com/ does.
Questions about the k8200 :
1) Do we need to buy the bed heater separately or does it come with the kit?
2) The .35mm extruder seems necessary, will you be offering it in an 8200 bundle?
3) When do you think the bed extender will be available?
4) Are there any toxic elements in the paste extruder?
5) Will you be adding a “second extruder” kit to this model as well?
Questions about the k8400 :
1) Does it come with the heated bed?
2) Is there an extender coming onto the market for this model?
3) Will there be a paste extruder for this model? Will it have any toxic materials?
4) Does the 8400 already have a “z-axis” stabilizer as in the k8200 z-axis upgrade?
Hi Elijah,
Anthony is putting together a bunch of great technical information to address the points you brought up specifically about the K8200 and the K8400. I thought I might talk a little bit about 3D printing in general. First of all 3D printing is a part of what is called additive manufacturing. It differs from other more traditional forms of manufacturing like milling, machining or lathe work. In those types of manufacturing you start the process with a blank (or chunk) of material and remove or cut it away until you get the desired result. With 3D printing, you start with a 3 dimensional design stored as an .STL file (stereolithogram), a 3D printer and the raw material. In the case of the K8200 and K8400 we use plastic filament, either PLA or ABS. The 3D printer “reads” the .STL file and replicates that design in plastic one layer at a time.
All 3D printers do pretty much the same thing and work on the same basic concept(s). If you are thinking about buying one there are probably 5 initial things you should consider.
1. FILAMENT SIZE: when we brought out the K8200 3MM filament was pretty much what everyone was using. While the K8200 ships with a 3MM extruder, there is an optional 1.75MM extruder available. The K8400 is our 2nd generation printer and uses 1.75MM filament.
2. NUMBER OF EXTRUDERS: The K8200 is a single extruder printer. That means you can only print one color or type of plastic at a time. The K8400 is a dual extruder printer. It ships with 1 extruder and the 2nd one is an option.
3. PRINT SPEED: pretty self explanatory, how fast does the printer print. In other words, how MM/sec.
4.BUILD VOLUME: this is the actual physical area the printer can print in. In other words, “how big a thing can I print”. For example the K8200 build volume is 8″x8″x8″.
5.PRINT RESOLUTION: this is the actual thickness of each layer the printer prints. Remember, this is additive manufacturing and it “builds” your part by adding one layer on top of another until the design is completed.
I hope this, in addition to the information that Anthony, is going to add helps explain a little bit about 3D printing. It’s a fascinating process that can faithfully reproduce a designers 3D design. Also remember, Velleman 3D printers are KITS! After all, we want you to have fun building it before you have fun using it!
Have fun and keep making.
Bruce Rauss
Velleman, Inc.
Thank you for the information. We cannot make up are minds on what model of 3-D printer we are going to get but we are thinking of getting model k8200 We need its heated bed because the temperature in my house is constantly changing. This temperature shift is due to my rather “old timey” house. This may cause my prints to warp. We are definitely going to decide in the next few days. My maker space should open up over the holidays but the printer is a birthday thing. That’s in January. I also like the K8200 because it looks like it would be easier to build larger more useful things and I really want to build other printers, engravers and cutters. I enjoyed the star and my dad enjoyed the LED ornaments, but he also BROKE MY STAR!!! He will order one overnight today. I’ll write the full review of the star and the ornaments over the week. I may just get to finish the Vu Meter and the VR Goggles tonight!!