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I am seriously considering buying a 3d printer for work, specifically the taz 6. The only thing I am concerned about though is print time. Most of the stuff for work will not need high detail at all. People here probably could give me a ball park estimate of how long it takes to do the types of prints I am referring to. Lets just say I want to make something that has a 3mm (.118") base, 3mm (.118") side walls, is 240mm (9.4") by 160mm (6.3") by 40mm (1.6") high, and has internal squares divided by 2mm (0.08") thick walls within that are 20mm (0.8") center to center. I might have to make a lot of stuff that resembles that. I am just looking for a ball park estimate, 2 hours, 4 hours, etc…

I will do fine detail every know and then but will be making a lot of stuff that is very basic in structure.

Thank you

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If you want to do rapid prototyping use a bigger nozzle. Most printers the taz included use a .4mm nozzle. Optimum layer heights are 60% or less the diameter of your nozzle so .240 or 240 micron for the taz. Using a .6 nozzle that number goes up to 320 micron? Which almost halves your print time. I understand that the math doesn’t make sense. Neither does dark matter, string theory or higgs field. Up the nozzle to .8mm using .48mm 480 micron or better resolution and print time is cut again. As long as your nozzle will reproduce the feature size you need it would save you a lot of time. E3D has up to a 1.2mm nozzle which would do 720 micron or better layer height. I can print a 7" x 3.5" x 2" box in 100 micron ABS at 30mms in ~20+ hours. I can print the same box at 60mms in 320 micron ABS in 2-4 hours (estimating)

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I appreciate the reply, makes a lot of sense. I might want to look at the 1.2mm nozzle then because I don’t need that much resolution. Where could I get that item?

Thank you.

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What I do is throw the file into Simplify3d, or any slicer, with all my settings, nozzle, print speed, infill, and all and slice. You get a good ballpark number.

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I don’t think the taz comes with an e3d. It’s some funky cartridge style extruder that can be swapped. Some taz owners can comment on that. You can check lulzbot site and see what they offer. EBay may also work for aftermarket parts that the manufacturer doesn’t make. Keep in mind most hotends cannot keep up with a 1.2mm nozzle and Max out at .8mm E3d uses the volcano which turns the heatblock and resistor vertical vs horizontal to allow for more heat to melt the filament fast enough. If you have time to wait and the budget you can get a fusion 3d f400 which comes with an e3d and prints at a few hundred MMS reliably. They have a model which comes with the volcano for rapid prototyping.

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Excellent help. The Fusion3 F400 does look like very nice. So the F400-S does come with a E3Dv6 print head and a .4mm nozzle. From my understanding I can change the nozzle to this .8mm one: https://www.matterhackers.com/store/printer-accessories/e3d-v6-extra-nozzle-1.75mm-x-0.80mm. Am I understanding this correct?

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You are correct.

You could also get the F400-HFR and add a .4mm nozzle. The heater in the HFR is the volcano which will allow you to print faster with that .8 nozzle. Using the standard you might run into thermal issues as the heat block won’t keep up with the demand at higher speeds.

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Is it possible to add the volcano to the Fusion3 F400? If I get this thing it would be nice to have as many options as possible.

Thanks

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Yes, it’s just an e3d hotend. For some reason they say they don’t support this, I don’t believe them. If you are at all considering a fusion I encourage you to fill out their web form or call them. They are the most knowledgeable manufacturer I’ve spoken to. That and they are a manufacturer you call and talk to.