22.6.2018

This is a large and impressive looking machine, with a volume that's somewhere between a large microwave and an oven. It's my first time using a 3D printer, so I was very excited to get started. In use, the printer does have something of an oven quality about it, thanks to the visibility of models as they're 'cooking'. The machine I received was supplied with a choice of 3 different region power cables. The UK one was faulty, with the metal inside the pin holes being incorrectly shaped, and could not be used - it would only fit about 1/3 of the way it should have done. The cable is a standard power cable and I happened to have a spare, so with a quick swap of fuses into my old cable,I had this up and running. Both of the other region power cables this was supplied with fit the pins without problem, so it did just seem to be the one faulty cable. That said, this fault with a really basic component is not something you would expect to find on a printer with an RRP that's just a hair's breadth below £1000.The printer was fairly easy to set up, although I thought it definitely helped that I had watched a couple of videos before I started trying to use it rather than just going from the quick start guide or instruction manual. Dremel themselves have promotional videos that can be watched on YouTube. Most aspects of setup are relatively uncomplicated. Power up is a little on the slow side, and the touch screen interface isn't the most sensitive I have encountered and has a quite retro look. The machine makes a fair bit of noise, including a jaunty little tune when it's switched on, and there is a bright white LED light that comes on and remains on whilst the printer is awake. I found the build plate slightly tricky to fit the first couple of times I did it. The instructions simply say to fit it onto the clips on the bed - you need to thread it over the top of a pair of tabs at the back, and then slide it backwards once it's on these until it's back far enough that it will fit behind the two prongs at the front.Even on first use there was a small amount of filament inside the extruder head that came out as the machine heated up, so it would appear that this is factory tested with filament. I decided to test this first for myself using a couple of the pre-installed designs and made a teddy bear finger puppet and a chess pawn (each of which took tens of minutes to complete). I made these from files in the machine's memory and without connecting it to my wireless network or my computer. Although the quick start guide and instructions indicated that this would look to connect to a network as part of initial setup, this didn't happen for me. I set my region/language and the machine then went straight to the main menu.The machine starts by heating up to temperature, which takes about a minute, and then begins the time consuming task of constructing models with the heated filament. The printer makes an unexpected amount of noise when it's working - not simply the whirring of the arm moving but beeps and boops that wouldn't be out of place in a mad scientist's laboratory in a 1950s B movie. I have added a short video to demonstrate this, as I think it's something to bear in mind when choosing where to locate this, and before starting a larger print. The large, clear access doors at the top and front of the machine provide a fascinating view of 3D construction at work. The process is quite slow going, building just fractions of a millimetre at a time but after a few minutes you can see some kind of progress. Once a job is completed, the build platform is lowered, the extruder moves to the side and the machine plays a little tune to alert you that it's finished working. The small number of pre-programmed projects generally have an eye to youngster/school/educational use, but those aside there's nothing restrictive feeling about this.The smaller projects I opted to make first are on the poorer quality side, having a lower quality profile programmed that results in quite a ridged appearance. There's no indication of quality on screen, so you take a bit of pot luck when printing these pre-programmed builds. The bear finger puppet has ridges in it that resemble the grooves on a record. Once printed, items have to be removed from the build base. This is not easy. They stick tightly. The removal tool works after a fashion, but requires patience. The metal-ended tool is not structured in the same way as the one shown in the manual illustrations - the tool I received has texturing on the tip, whilst the one depicted has a textured edge on the side. It takes a good few tries before any kind of separation of object and base is achieved, but once the build does start to come away from the platform it becomes fairly easy to prise off. The difficult part is getting the initial separation, once you have a start on that, it's reasonably easy to work the tool round the base of your build.After these first couple of projects, I was ready to pick something a bit different - and started work on an open source case for a Raspberry Pi 3 that my brother had asked me to make. This is giving me a chance to learn to use the Dremel software (a Dremel DigiLab product based on Cura open source slicing software for CAD), and to learn to work through larger, multi-part builds based on open-sourced software. I'm a Mac user, and needed to go to the Dremel website to download the software. Although I've not used CAD files before, I have used CorelDraw, and a couple of different Movie editing programmes. I found the software fairly intuitive, though on my first component I did not realise that I needed to switch off a default that added 20% fill (internal honeycomb structuring that strengthens a build) which resulted in a much longer than anticipated build time that took more than 9 hours and didn't complete until 2am!The print files generated by Dremel's DigiLab software and saved to the supplied flash drive from the open source .stl files were not recognised until I had networked the printer and updated its firmware. I have so far completed the two sections needed to make up the base of the Raspberry Pi case, and whilst still a little bit lined in texture the quality is obviously better than that of the two preset jobs I have completed - (profile set to 0.2mm medium quality) the finely textured effect gives the plastic a satin-like look and feel. For the pre-installed item designs, the touch screen menu shows amount of print job completed and time left to go in the build as both a countdown and a graphic highlighting the completed parts on a drawing of the item. For open sourced files sliced using the Dremel software, the display shows time taken on the print so far and a brand logo bubble image. For these, the logo image is highlighted in orange as the build completes - and is almost done when the top frame of the bubble turns from grey to orange.On this printer you can pause a build if you need to make the background noises stop temporarily, but the machine remains on. There's no way to suspend a build, switch off the machine, turn it back on again and resume printing. This is a bit of a shame, as anything beyond the simplest of jobs, takes several hours and can result in the machine being left on unnecessarily long - especially if an unattended job starts going wrong. It also means that if your power is interrupted, any in-progress build will be written off.I think my class and after school club kids will have a lot of fun and enjoy learning with resources we have made ourselves. And whilst there is an initial excitement phase that will probably result in some really unnecessary projects being built, I saw the most amazing project on the 'Shed of the Year' programme last year - where a couple of guys working in a shed are manufacturing prosthetics using 3D printers, and have designed an open source template for the creation of prosthetic arms. I'm hoping to ultimately be able to help the truly amazing work that is being done by the Team Unlimbited charity in generating funky, colourful prosthetics.======30/06/18UPDATE:I have now finished printing my brother's Raspberry Pi case. I have had one print fail. As indicated in the manual, this was in the first few minutes and seemed to be caused by the first layers of filament for my build failing to stick to the build base mat. The resulting misprint - stopped after about 20 minutes - created a fairly impressive bird's nest of tangled filament. I couldn't see any reason for that particular print not to have taken, so it seems that keeping a eye on progress in the first few minutes is worth while to avoid the risk of wasting several hours of printing.I've bought my first filament colours, opting to use the manufacturer's filament after spotting some rather dire warnings in the instruction manual suggesting that other brands could damage the machine. At the time of writing, there are eleven filament colours available: red, orange, green, blue, purple, pink, gold, silver, black, white and translucent. I've bought the first five of these plus the translucent. With the obvious exception of the latter, the colours are all nicely vivid and changing the filament spool is very easy.I have upgraded my star rating from an initially slightly grumpy four stars to five. The out of the box problem I had with a faulty power cable was a minor annoyance that shouldn't have affected an item at this level but was relatively easy to resolve and has paled in comparison to how exciting it is to use this, and the useful, unusual things that can be made.

29.6.2018

This thing is brilliant, I could bang on about it for hours.Not only is it a fantastic toy, but with 3D printing technology really coming of age in the last few years, I’m convinced that this is going to be an important tool in our future and being able to introduce our kids to the idea of 3D design and useful making goes well beyond the initial novelty of ‘print your own toys’ and gives us something genuinely worthwhile as well.As well as the dozen or so generic models included on the machine already, there are thousands and thousands of free 3D models on the internet, ready to download and in many cases print straight away (though in some cases you need to give some thought to supports or splitting the model into smaller printable parts).Have a browse of a site like Thingiverse and you’ll see all sorts of things that are possible.As a random example, of a very minor and admittedly third-world problem, I have a Renault Zoe which is a lovely car but the microSD card slot is in a daft place where the card is always getting knocked out of the slot by accident. I thought, “I wonder if I could design a 3D cover for it that would stop that from happening?”. I went onto the aforementioned site to discover that there was a Zoe owner who’d already had exactly the same thought and who’d already designed a cover and shared it online. A few seconds’ download and about 5 minutes’ printing later, hey presto! I’ve now got a very effective SD card cover. Amazing. OK so that particular example’s hardly going to revolutionise the world but you can see the potential.I’d used a Dremel Idea Builder before, the lower model that isn’t the 3D40, which at the time of writing is about two thirds of the asking price of the 3D40 on this site. The 3D40 is a definite step up with some distinct advantages and I’d definitely say it’s worth the extra. Conveniences like the transparent lid (making it easier to see how it’s going) and the pull-out spool holder, which lifts out from the side of the machine, are coupled with genuine practicalities such as the fact that (unlike the lesser model) if you run out of filament part-way through a build, you can load a new spool in and it’s capable of continuing the print.The 3D40 is also decidedly quieter- yes it’s still got a whirring fan and motors, but the overall noise output is lower. The sound of the motors whirring has clearly been dampened, to an impressive extent. It’s less noisy than an old-fashioned dot matrix printer, which the other one wasn’t, and depending on how easily distracted you are, you could have this one running in your office and still be able to work. I’ll also be able to run this printer in the evenings when my kids are asleep- the other one would have woken them up. In addition, if you leave this printer on after a print has finished (for example it finishes while you’re out or asleep), this printer will automatically turn the fan off when the extruder’s cool enough, which the cheaper model doesn’t.The WiFi works really well and is really convenient too. Instead of fiddling about with putting .g3drem files onto a microSD card and then going over to the printer, inserting the card and selecting the file, never being quite sure if it’ll work or not, you can now connect your PC directly to the printer (analogous to connecting it to a 2D network printer), and once your model’s ready, it’ll print directly- and warn you straight away if anything’s unprintable. If you don’t want to go down that route, you’ve got plenty of other options- an ethernet socket on the side of the printer, a USB socket on the front, a microSD slot somewhere (haven’t found that yet as I haven’t needed to use it!), and a more old-fashioned USB-A cable so you can plug the printer directly into your PC’s USB socket.It’s worth mentioning that 3D printing at this kind of level is not wholly reliable. There’s a failure rate involved in domestic-level 3D printing, I don’t know what figure other people would put on it but I’d put it at around 10%. That sounds quite high on paper but when you think about the complexity (and the stickiness!) involved, I err on the side of “well it’s amazing that it works at all”. It can be a little disappointing to start a three-hour print and to go back two hours later to find that the base didn’t ‘take’ and all the printer’s been doing for two hours is spilling filament clumps into ugly blobs. But the joy of all the models that work definitely outweighs the disappointments, especially if you’re patient.Also, be prepared for a bit of elbow work when it comes to prising the models off the platform when they’re done. It’s great in printing terms that they stick so firmly, but if you’ve printed something with quite a broad base, when you come to lifting it off it can often be very firmly attached indeed. The scraper that’s included helps a bit (and the fact it’s metal is an improvement on the plastic one included in the lesser model), but even so it can be quite tricky to lift the models off sometimes. And be *very* careful with your hands, especially if you decide to use a sharp knife- I’m speaking from painful experience there.The PLA filament from Dremel is either average-price or marginally above average compared to other brands, but it’s not extortionate. I haven’t tried using other non-Dremel filament in the printer, for various reasons- I don’t want to invalidate anything, obviously, plus I haven’t found any filament that’s cheaper than Dremel’s own that would make it worth trying. Depending on the colour you’re after, twenty quid or a little bit more is a typical and reasonable price. If you do the maths on how many things you can print from that filament then- as another random example- it works out a little bit more expensive to print your own Trackmaster-compatible train track or Lego-compatible bricks than it is to buy the branded stuff. But that’s not really the point- you wouldn’t use this printer to print a plain boring bit of Trackmaster you could buy in a shop. You’d use it to print the interesting complicated junction or turntable pieces that you can’t buy in a shop, but which somebody online has designed and already shared with you!At first even the Quick Start Guide looks like it’s rather daunting, but then you see that it’s the same instructions in no fewer than 10 different languages and there really isn’t all that much to read before you can get started. The same is true for the larger user guide (11 languages this time), 32 pages per language, most of which is clear pictures and diagrams, nicely laid out and handy for reference.A SanDisk USB stick is included. 8GB may not sound generous by 2018 standards but 3D print vector files are very small indeed so you’ll be able to fit hundreds of models onto an 8GB stick ready for them to be printed and re-printed on demand without any computer connection being required.I use a PC not a Mac, so fortunately for me the installer for Autodesk Print Studio was already included on the USB stick- there didn’t seem to be a Mac version on there, not that I could see. However the software is also downloadable from Dremel’s website so if you’re a Mac user you ought to check there first to ensure there is a Mac version (I expect there is but I’m not sure). The version on the USB stick was slightly out-of-date when I installed it, but it offers automatic updates so after a few minutes’ waiting for a download and a second install, it became bang up to date.Print Studio is from Autodesk, the same company behind Meshmixer which I’d already used to do a bit of primitive 3D modelling. Print Studio is the best bits of Dremel’s own 3D software, upgraded with a handful of the features from Meshmixer- for example the ability to automatically calculate where supports are going to be needed, which is an ideal place for that feature as it means you can design shapes to your heart’s content and then fix all the support issues just prior to printing rather than having to work it out as you go.Print Studio isn’t a 3D design tool in its own right, so when you want to go beyond pre-existing models, you’ll need some other software. Meshmixer is free and I’d certainly recommend that, but 3D model file formats like STL are fairly open and interchangeable, which is great, and that means you can use things like SketchUp. If you’ve got Photoshop you can even use that to design a 2D shape and then extrude it to make a 3D stand-up version of it.I really want to develop my own 3D design skills and be more ambitious with what I can accomplish with this machine, and this machine gives me the reason to work harder towards that. In the meantime, even just with downloading existing models off the internet or printing basic shape stuff, it’s still a very satisfying thing to have.I can’t recommend this printer highly enough. Yes it’s not cheap but as long as you’re going to spend the time experimenting and investigating with it, it’s an investment that’s both fun and worthwhile.

19.8.2018

Fantastic. Really. Absolutely fantastic and utterly absorbing.I'm sure that we are all aware of 3D printers and of course if you are looking at this one then clearly the idea is of interest. And I'm sure that many will have seen things made on YouTube where a 3D printer is used for a casting object or to act as a test product.It really is the start of the next thing in industrial engineering. You can literally make things that a few years ago would have been the remit of large industrial factories but now available in your home.Of course, industry does use 3D printers which probably cost millions and make things like turbine blades which clearly this home gamer isn't capable of.But...what it is,is the bestest educational tool that I've ever seen.Now, I'm an engineer. Old school learning my trade back in the 80's as a marine engineer. I'm therefor old. A dinosaur. However I retain an inquiring mind and I can understand that the engineering of the future will not be what I learned which was probably more in tune with Victorian standards than what is in place today.And on top of that despite the fact that the UK almost forgot that engineering and manufacturing counted it rather seems that our leaders have worked out that the future lies not with services which are fairly easily turned into webpages but instead in engineering and technology.This means that rather than push ones children into trying to become a banker or lawyer, instead many understand that their small people will have to look to another direction because this is the future.Which is where this 3D printer comes in. Dremmel have made this as a learning tool primarily. And a wonderful job they have done of it too. The basic idea is that you can use this to learn skills needed to create objects which inevitably if progressed will mean learning some quite tough things. Mainly CAD as well as the slicing programs that are used to take that CAD drawing and turn it into a real thing. This process is where an interested child will gain huge steps forward and learn what will be absolutely essential skills for their career.As part of that Dremmel have created a specific website that caters for differing ages/groups. Elementary, middle, higher and industry. The idea being that for each level you learn new and of course progressively more difficult things.Of course, on line you can find printable files and use them. For the likes of model makers this might be enough as they can perhaps create their own parts for train layouts etc.However, for those who wish to learn the Dremmel site is a great place to start. Free software that gets you up and started of course. Lots of examples of finished work and a community of like minded people.Then...you need to start the hard slog. No getting away from it, if you want to use this as a tool to learn, you gotta put the leg work in. And that means not only learning the 3D solfware, but more importantly CAD software. Which isn't all that easy. I use TurboCAD as I'm learning the new skill of not using a drawing board but instead a PC to make engineering drawings.So, use this as a tool for your future or hobby, but accept that you really will have to learn some fairly hard stuff. As a grandparent my target is to become proficient enough to teach my grandchildren these skills. I reckon I have about three years grace before I need to start the imprinting..Now, onto the machine.Its not small and its not light despite being primarily a plastic case. I'd say about 1.5x the size of a typical microwave so factor in the space needed to place this.Well made but of course the fairly eye watering price mainly goes into the design and support not the materials I guess.Setting up is easy. Find a solid base somewhere - bear in mind that the printer will move rapidly and back and forth enough to shake the unit if not solidly placed.Fit the plastic 'wire' into the holder and feed into the printing head. Art this point the quick start instructions don't mention that on the left hand side as you look at it there is a small tab you gently press down in order to feed the wire into place.Once done, start up and then follow the on screen instructions. Which also don't quite match the quick start in that they ask that you cut the wire and allow the head to purge. I did this and to be honest it was a bit of a mistake. Simply do as the quickstart says and fit the wire and then purge but don't cut.Then level the base. This is also done via the menu and needs to be done in order to ensure the printing head aligns with the base. Its easy and very self explanatory.I then signed this into my WiFi connection and updated the firmware.And then picked out of the menu the reindeer that I've photographed to see if it worked. Which it did in the most fascinating way.Now, make sure that you put the sticky non stick base covers on as well. I did make the mistake of thinking the black plastic one was the only one needed,m but in fact you stick this into the glass base then the blue non-stick one on top of that. The instructions are not clear but take it from me, printing onto the black base directly means a shed load of scraping.So, for me the long uphill learning curve has started. And I'm really looking forward to it. I've downloaded the Dremmel software and I have TurboCAD so here I go on another engineering trip of discovery. And I'm really hoping to drag my grandkids with me too.

19.6.2019

I have been thinking about 3D printing for quite some time especially after seeing some of the interesting brackets that can be made to aid mounting mobile phones to drone controllers and I had bought such a mount that had been printed on such a device.What I did not realise is that to make your own creations you have to master 3D CAD Modelling software (none of which is provided).The last time I used CAD was Autocad 13 and we only used that to create 2D projects and electrical drawings.So you may wish to dabble with 3D Cad before you buy a printer (unless you just want to print existing designs).Now the printer.It can connect to your network by WiFi or direct ethernet which is what I went for.However,the setup wizard does not seem to know about the ethernet connection and still wants you to setup to WiFi. I know the connection was working as it updated the firmware.So I never did run the wizard and the component parts of that can be run separately anyway.The touch screen is not the best and trying to select the “United Kingdom” twice I got Finland and no option to navigate back. Fortunately it lets you pick English language under Finland.This was all in vain as for the “Cloud” print options are only present if you set the country to “United States”.The printer needs to be on a nice firm table so table wobble does not interfere with print quality.Also even with its charcoal filtered fan some filaments seem to smell, contains VOC’s so good room ventilation is a good idea.Applying just the right amount of glue stick (provided) to the glass table is another skill and needed to stop the print job moving during printing and reduce it curling up (warping) and the material contracts.Getting the finished product off the glass with the provided scraper is also a challenge and the glue cleans off with warm water and a microfibre cloth works well to dry/clean the glass for the next project.If the filament runs out mid job it does let you load a new roll and I also ran out of one colour so you can get an interesting colour change in your project.Some prints I have done can take over 20 hours....On the very first thing I wanted to make from scratch I met one of the printers first limitations wanting to make a tray to go on the bottom of a bird feeder to catch the seed.I used Tinkercad to create it but the printer limits the diameter of a round tray to 154mm (object limits are 254x154x70) and so lots of bird seed still ends up on the lawn (but it helps).Assuming you told the printer you are American you can use the dremel print cloud which I used to check and slice the job before it sends it to the printer also allowing you to view the job printing with the built in camera.The printer comes with two rolls of filament and have managed to spend three figures buying some more (all PLA green, red, orange, blue and pink).You can even 3D print a spindle so you can use other vendors larger rolls of filament with the printer.Check on youtube and I found Adam Savage “Tested: Dremel 3D45 3D Printer!” a good place to start.You may also get some filament bargains from a UK high street catalogue stores online clearance outlet site.Some of my filament was designed for the previous model so no auto RFID filament type identification but it is easy to set and is saved even when you turn the printer off (it uses 16 watts when idle).Most of the items I have tried have turned out pretty good but with some warping (in the corners) and a flowerpot which I had to scale down to print had issues breaking off the support parts (supports are needed print in which on the finished item would be in mid air) but I then realised when scaling down it would reduce the gaps for the supporting items thus they would not break off cleanly.At the moment I am printing a TARDIS (in pink) from the design linked to on the YouTube video I mentioned.Version 2 of the Tardis will be in blue.Some sample jobs are stored in the printers internal memory and on the 16Gb USB stick provided (also has their slicing software on it for Windows and MAC).Any problems with it? Well yes, the first roll of filament must of got tangled so make sure the filament is not crossed on the roll.I am generally impressed and it being in a cabinet does have advantages but an open one can cost less and print larger items.

1.7.2018

The Dremel 3D40 was my first exposure at 3D printing; and Dremel made the experience from Box to Model Frog nice and simple. The packaging takes you on a short journey to set the printer up; moving the print base to remove the cables and manuals. The most important thing in the box is the USB thumb drive that had the software and some sample models on it. The theme of easy to get going carried through; and Dremel offers amazing support - though I haven't needed to call. The printer is controlled by a responsive color touchscreen - though infuriatingly entering a wifi password required scrolling through the letters of the alphabet which for my long password took far too long; and was made worse that they hide the letters so you cant spot a mistake.There is also an ethernet socket so you can connect it to a local network.By comparison to my color laser print the Dremel 3D40 is enormous - old school CR TV enormous; but the capacious cabinet results in what seems a large printable volume - 255 mm x 155 mm x 170 mm and its lit up like a Hollywood studio with LED lights so you can see whats going on. Dremel provide a copy of AutoDesk Print Studio for Windows on the drive; the Mac version was available for download from the Dremel website. In use the printer sounds like an older bubblejet printer gentle whirring as it moves the head about the print. You can print from the USB drive; wifi or directly plugging the print.Out of the box to a print starting took about 20 minutes. The color screen helps in levelling the print bed; and two thumbscrews seemingly keep the print bed level. They haven't put levelling into the select -print routine so its worth levelling every time you remove the print bed and put It back. The prints take a lot longer than getting the printer out of the box; the Alien model I printed from Thingieverse too about 3 hours - not including the multiple print failures (also pictured) that occurred due to a lack of supports. There is some trial and error with the printer and various prints; my early days were full of frustration; but a bit of online reading and trial and error with the software and adding more supports / orienting models to increase the footprint resulted in better prints. Early prints with a small base and tall structure failed repeatedly - adhesion with the base being an especial issue - the base isn't heated -; though after 10-15 prints I have stumbled onto a strategy using blue tape in a criss cross pattern that seems to work well. Its worth noting you need to put it on a sturdy surface as vibration results in some surface inconsistency.My Nieces have all been grateful for the models printed in testing the printer - and the PVA plastic seems to take paint well; a few pictures are below. I have also found some useful models for myself - a 6 card SD card holder that is about 3 credit cards thick is a great way to tidy them in my bag. Though they did reveal some interesting issues in the software - you open Print studio from the print file the scale isn't loaded correctly; clicking the import button if it isn't sure it asks - the first SD card holder was fractionally too big for the cards.In the box was a roll of plastic that I have used about 1/3 -1/2 of on about 10 prints so they last quite well; and amazon has a goodly supply.Replacement rolls on amazon aren't especially expensive. Dremel also include a metal spatula to remove the models from the base (here the tape feels like a better solution as you can remove the strips to release the model.) A tool to push plastic through the print head if it gets jammed. They don't include some pliers to remove plastic up through the head which I have had to do when the plastic got tangled at the start.Overall I have enjoyed the printer; and the availability of models online to get you started before you design your own models makes starting nice and simple. The space it takes up is significant. Overall it does remind me of the first HP bubble just printer I had; the quality is nice the noise is quiet but you can feel its a strarting point. I cant help but wonder when we will get 3 head prints that do variable color.

16.4.2020

Reviewed by a neighbour, an engineering tutor, who is using it to print visors fo rthe NHS:The Dremel Digilab 3D45 arrives fully assembled, in a ‘ready to plug and play’ fashion. This requires minimal technical knowledge/understanding of the function of 3D printers in order to get the system working and producing additively manufactured products. This is essential particularly for the product's intended use (education), with respect to the time educators may have dedicated to curriculum design and planning, having a system ready to roll is essential. As is, it must be said, the Digilab slicer. This is a free software in which the design file (normally STL), is loaded into and prepared for the printer.In this review, the machine has been used to manufacture PRUSA Visors (PPE for NHS), therefore it has been thrown into full production, producing 4 visors a day using the supplied PETG material. The machine comes with two rolls of sample materials from the supplier, which will inevitably be the most compatible for the machine, however, the real test lies in the implementation of third-party materials with the system and whether this will produce the same results as the manufacturers recommended source.As mentioned, the printer itself is delivered with two things required to be fitted before printing.1) Power source input2) Material filament3) Use of glueIt does not get more straight forward than this when it comes to 3D printing, which makes this machine ideal for those that are new to the hobby, or for educational establishments that aim to have students work with these. A lovely feature that appeals to my technical side is the RFID recognition of filament material. Although this is only going to be available on the more expensive filament coils, this allows for the machine to read the type of material that has been loaded, therefore applying the recommended print settings for the build. Again, accelerating any set-up time.A number of options have been included in this system to allow for the uploading of jobs. The three routes are;a) USBb) Ethernetc) Network (WiFi)The route preferred by myself is uploading a g-code file onto a USB, which then slots into the machine and is executed. What is advantageous about the Network compatibility is the remote access function, allowing the operator to receive updates on the progress of jobs whilst away from the machine.A problem that has been faced when implementing 3D printers into educational establishments is their continual noise. As jobs are running it is difficult to reduce the noise of fans, belts and motors. What Dremel have achieved by enclosing the entire system produces low noise. In comparison with some more expensive machines (such as the Ultimaker 3), which has an open top, there is less dampening of noise. When producing work in a classroom, the noise can be distracting and quite frankly irritating, particularly when jobs take 2+ hours. Again, another string to the bow of the 3D45.Reliability is a key issue in 3D printing. With the Dremel 3D45, the initial run was satisfactory, and, keeping the settings constant, continued to deliver a constant quality print for a number of days. Issues arose when the extruder became blocked, however, by following the well-detailed manual alongside the YouTube tutorials delivered by Dremel, the issue was overcome and printing continued.Having used the 3D45 for a week, continually producing PPE equipment, the only negative that should be highlighted is the bed size. This will inevitably restrict the designs that can be produced on the printer, although scaling is key in prototyping, the printer suitably meets the criteria for its intended market.My thanks to my neighbour for this thorough review. I am delighted that the machine has been put to such good use.

15.7.2020

I am a complete novice to 3-D printing but had been thinking what a marvellous utility this might be, and indeed it is. I chose the 3D45 on account of the excellent reviews I had read particularly in regard to its ease-of-use and quality output. A nylon gear in my paper shredder had been stripped and I was unable to buy a spare part so this was my prompt to take the plunge. I used Fusion 360 (free for the home user) to design the replacement part and with any number of tutorials on YouTube made rapid progress and found the experience enjoyable and productive. After a few preliminary prints on my Dremel 3D45 to gain experience, producing brackets to hold my iPhone in odd places,I printed a new gear using Eco-ABS, installed it and now my shredder is running smoothly again; wonderful and rather extraordinary!I can envisage this being an amazingly useful bit of kit for all sorts of simple things, to produce replacement parts as and when required; stuff breaks all the time in my experience.I think the range of filaments available from Dremel is unfortunately quite limited; I was disappointed to discover that Eco-ABS is not proper ABS but a modified PLA, not that I really know the difference.I was tempted to get a Prusa (this would be shipped from Czechoslovakia involving several weeks wait) because of its ability to heat the nozzle to 300° C and offering an upgrade option of ruby nozzle enabling use of abrasive filaments such as carbon fibre and metal powder resin but for now I am content to use nylon filament as produced by Dremel (although unavailable when I last looked) which should meet, or exceed most of my current requirements.The build quality of my 3D45 seems very good. The “slicing software” that comes with it, which prepares your design for printing, can be automatic which seems completely sufficient for my needs, and although it’s a bit daunting to have to familiarise yourself with so much software it has all turned out to be very straightforward, pleasurable and easy to use. I read a criticism that the 3D45 touchscreen would not respond as quickly as expected but mine seems efficient and quickly responsive, so no doubt there has been a Firmware upgrade.Overall I am delighted with my purchase which has provided a very easy entry for me into the world of 3D printing. However, Dremel will need to offer other printing nozzle options (higher temperature and greater abrasion proofing) and a wider range of printing filaments (carbon fibre, ASA) otherwise I shall seriously consider defecting to a PRUSA printer in due course.I do not know what “warmth” and “shear” relate to, prompts provided by Amazon to inform my comment here, but I have awarded four stars reflecting my overall satisfaction.The picture shows my stripped gear (pale colour) and the black replacement which I recently printed and which is currently working well.

27.6.2019

First of all this is a Dremel which means that it is made by Bosch and all the usual Bosch quality is there. It is well made, very easy to set up and easy to print your first demo item.A few more details about the printer, then I will cover off the tips for new users.The initial setup was done via a series of picture in the quick reference guide and instructions on the touch screen. |Installation of of the required PC software was provided both on an included USB stick, a very small one both in size and in capacity). the only issue that I have is that I don't seem to be able to print from my PC despite everything saying that the printer is connected and working; I can even view the real time web cam within the printer to check on status of printing.

16.5.2019

As fans of all things gadgety, we were thrilled to be given the opportunity to test this 'Dremel Printer 3D40 FLEX (230 V, Flexible Build Plate, 1 PLA Filament, 3.5 Inch LCD Touchscreen, Slicing Software)'. It is a sizeable beast - almost 20kg in the box, and does require a rather large amount of desk space, so be warned! As I'm certain is the case with all 3D printers, there is a significant learning curve if you haven't used one before - while the product description does say it is user-friendly, and indeed it is, this is relative, and you do need to be technologically competent to be able to use the machine. To put this in context,

18.7.2017

I bought this after looking at the previous idea builder the 3D20, I bought the 3D40 because it's suppose to be as easy to setup and has a couple of nice features that the 3D20 doesn't have. such as larger print area and if you run out of filament halfway though a job it will pause and allow you to load more filament before continuing which is such a great feature assisted bed levelling.I got the delivery, unboxed it and set it up and printed my first item within about 15 minutes, it was one of the saved items on the printer it self.I like the fact that its easy to setup and just works right out the box, i have had other 3D printers and have struggled with getting the bed level,

8.6.2019

The printer came very well packed with everything well protected. This is a big printer and has an opening lid section as well as a front door. Once assembled, which is very easy, there's a short delay after switch on and the printer bursts into life. The printer has USB and Ethernet ports as well as WiFi. I used the LCD touchscreen to connect to my WiFi, the printer then downloaded a software update. The building platform clips into the printer and this can be levelled from the touchscreen. Magnetically attached on top of the building platform is the Flex plate which can be removed and then flexed to remove the printed object, it's really easy to do. The supplied USB stick,

14.11.2019

I'm new to 3D printing, but not 3D modelling. I received my Dremel 3D45 last week and I'm pleasantly surprised how easy it was to get going. The printer arrived well packaged, and the setup didn't take long at all. I spent quite a while researching 3D printers and what I could justify financially... I am pleased with my choice. IMO it's priced reasonably at this time (although I suspect that in the future the price of 3D printers will come down). Anyhow it's much cheaper than many of the alternatives.I was able to print a model I build in blender (open source 3D modelling software). I measured the result with digital calipers and the model is within 0.05mm accuracy,

14.6.2018

After experience with cheaper printers and all the hassle of tweaking and adjusting, I went for this unit. I have only so far printed the demo frog but it came out perfectly with no trouble at all. Hopefully it continues to be hassle free like this as I use it. The fan has a carbon filter on it so when running I have so far noticed no smell (using ECO ABS).There are a couple of reasons I only give 4 stars however;It looks good, but the doors and overall build feel a little more flimsy than I expected for the price (£1,500) so I would imagine there would soon be something broken in a busy school environment or similar.

20.4.2018

What an amazing machine, I’ve had this for a few weeks now and failed prints due to machine errors are non existent. My errors have only caused 1 fail too, so incredibly forgiving.My first prints in pla worked like a dream, nylon and abs were effortless.Tolerances are good given the cost of the machine. Printing at .05mm is amazing quality when using G Code.The only snag is I had to set it up as if I was in the USA to use the cloud print service which isn’t documented.The downside.Filament tracking is a little pointless at the moment as the stocks of dremel filament on the market don’t have the RFID in the real.So far it seems if it comes in a white box means no rfid.

28.6.2018

This is the first time I have tried out a 3D printer so I can’t really compare this model to other available options. I was a bit worried that it would be too complicated for me to set up but I found this set up to be quite straightforward and the instructions clear. It has an easy to use touch screen which guides you through the steps very well. It is quite a big bit of kit so you do need to have somewhere to store it when you are not using it. You can download some models which have already been built from the Dremel website to get you started. The length of time is takes to build your model obviously depends on how big and complex you want it to be. It doesn’t smell or make a lot of noise either so it quite discrete.

Dremel 3D Idea Builder 3D40 - Reviews

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