It’d be neat to get a “grown up” 3D printer in the space, and I think Objet is the cheapest way to do that… but how miserable a money pit would it turn into?
(Paging @Tookys as the only 3D printing professional I know of in the group)
The number one drawback of most large commercial printers is the proprietary filament/ cartridges and cost of those. That would be the first thing I would check.
OBjet cartridges are insanely expensive, and the printheads require regular replacement and maintenance. Without a service contract, it’s nearly impossible to get parts, and they give ZERO support for EOL’ed machines. ( kind of like FormLabs )
The 460 pictured here is the 3DSystems one – a powder printer. The powders and binder expire quickly and the color inks for this printer cost as much as you’d expect – much more than what inkjet ink costs!
I remembered the inkjet-cartridge-and-starch printers being called something else before they were acquired by 3D systems, and for some reason “objet” popped into my head. It’s definitely not one of those.
They were made by ZCorp - what where they called?
It’s a moot point now that the auction’s closed, but I’m wondering if $650 would have been a good deal or an the start of an unending money pit. I’d completely forgotten about vendors being weird about selling materials to customers without maintenance contracts. No to mention the fact that the starch models were basically only good for aesthetic purposes (though they were pretty good at that)