Is gMax 1.5XT the right machine for my project(s) ?

#1
Hello gCreators !

I'm a happy ultimaker user. I have two of such machines. the result is great. I have not purchased any gMax as of today, but i am more and more considering this option.
I'm using the ultimakers for prototyping and then send validated 3D files to third party companies to get quotes for CNC milled pieces. We would request batches of say 50 to 150 units. Therefore printing such quantities does not really make sense, at least with my ultimaker printers.

But with gMax, it may be entirely different and it is the reason why i'm posting this.

For instance, with my latest project, using a 0.150mm layer height and about 25% infill, it takes about 24h printing to get one single unit ! And due to the size of that unit, only one can fit in this printer at a time.

Requesting third party companies for milling does not come cheap either in europe where i live. Besides, the time it takes for : (1) gathering all the quotes + (2) getting my company to select the right supplier + (3) having the selected supplier purchase the material + (4) validating the first batch + (5) having the rest milled ==> is quite long too. many weeks in fact.

I have pushed the gMax settings as a new printer in Cura in order to calculate printing time and how many units would fit in.
According to Cura, using 0.15mm height +20% infill + 4 units at a time + 2.2kg spool from colorfabb => I have observed that such a batch takes about 48h, so it would be easy to start a batch on monday morning, then on wednesday morning, then on friday morning.
so all in all, I could get 12 units per week per gMax.
i need 144 units. so with 2 gMax, that make 12*2=24 units produced per week, which would be a perfect rhythm for later integration.
In 6 weeks : 6 * 24 = 144 is the quantity i need

Guess what : 6 weeks is exactly the time our best supplier can offer to mill our 144 units...
+ the investment to buy those two gMax units + the material (PLA from colorfabb) ==> is even cheaper...

ok, I have not taken into account the time to wait for delivery of gMax parts + assembly + tests + some failed prints.

All in all, i would pretty much break even on this very project alone, and I know for sure i have about a dozen of such requests to come in the near future.

I am concerned about
1. the reliability of gMax ==> can it print almost 24/7, for weeks long without disappointing me on quality like the ultimaker does ? Can it catch fire for instance? will i have a lot of maintenance ?
2. printing such quantities hursts my common sense here => what do you think of this ? is it such a bad idea ? can i have a honnest thrid party opinion please ?

thanks
fourchette
 
#2
I am concerned about
1. the reliability of gMax ==> can it print almost 24/7, for weeks long without disappointing me on quality like the ultimaker does ? Can it catch fire for instance? will i have a lot of maintenance ? I absolutely love my gmax, its print quality rivals my flashforge creator pro (which is a true gold standard) and blows the taz 5/6 quality out of the water. It can catch fire. Every printer with electrical components and super hot extruders can catch fire. When you are printing overnight or while you are away there should always be a way of monitoring your printer and being able to remotely kill the job if things go wrong. (octoprint). I dont see the maintenance being a big issue. Grease the lead screws once in a while, use a wire brush on the hotend to keep it free of filament etc. Other than that, not much. The only other maint i can think of is the buildtak surface. I havent had great luck with it, and it is degradeable. It wont last forever, it will have to be replaced, hence the reason I use PEI. BUt thats a customer preference.

2. printing such quantities hursts my common sense here => what do you think of this ? is it such a bad idea ? can i have a honnest thrid party opinion please ?

So with regards to your timeline. I think its naive to expect that you will always end a print and start a print within minutes or even hours. So given your 6 week timeline relies on 48 hours, swap, start again, I dont think is super realistic. Things happen.

All i can say is the gmax is the best printer ive ever owned as far as build quality, build size, print quality, etc. My next printer will be another, if customer demand requires it.
 
#3
Thanks for the honest feedback. I agree too that print job cannot realistically be restarted just minutes after they are done -- let alone to have the bed cool down in order not to disort the printed stuff.

I agree too that sometimes there are problems, typically when there is a filament diameter issue (filament quality) that just ruins the entire print job and have to be restarted all over again. It does happen indeed. But even with say 10%of print job that fail for whatever reason, i'll have all my part in 7 weeks instead of 6 which feels ok for me.

Besides, I have about 2000~3000 printing hours and regularly "make appointments" with printers to remove a printed job and restart a new one. when you know your print job take 48h, it is realistic to have 3 such jobs done in a week i beleive. I actually already do it from time to time.

on http://www.gcreate.com/#!gmax-15-2016-series/c1jkr i have found the resolution 80micros to 400microns (nozzle dependand) ? is it Z resolution ? or X/Y ? i am confused
i have not found the speed specs. Does 50mm/s to 100mm/s gives quality prints? Can it make 150mm/s ? Or are users expected to modify the marlin parameters to balance precision vs speed ? I am confused here too.

again, thanks for the feedback
 
#4
on http://www.gcreate.com/#!gmax-15-2016-series/c1jkr i have found the resolution 80micros to 400microns (nozzle dependand) ? is it Z resolution ? or X/Y ? i am confused
i have not found the speed specs. Does 50mm/s to 100mm/s gives quality prints? Can it make 150mm/s ? Or are users expected to modify the marlin parameters to balance precision vs speed ? I am confused here too.

So that is strictly Z resolution. The XY for FDM or FFF printers isnt something thats really an issue/customizable. You really only see a resolution change in the XY on SLA printers due to laser spot width, or projector through width etc. For instance, on my muve3d which is SLA w/ projector the 1080p i projecto can be .2mm XY if I make it huge, or .02 if i make the build area TINY, so im condensing 1080p in to a playing card size build area... with FFF there isnt such a thing really.

50mm/s is perfectly good quality parts, in fact ive printed at 80mm/s easily with good parts . 150mm/s not recomended, 100mm/s may be possible on larger prints.

Users do not modify marlin parameters for speed etc, thats all done through your slicing software, ala Simplify3d