Hey, i am completely new to the world of 3d printers and recently was given a fantastic deal on a zprinter 310. I am attempting to get it up and running, but was wondering if there were any cheaper alternatives to use for powders. I have looked around on forums but have yet to find anything that really answered my question. The guy i got it from told me not to buy the zp brand powders, as there was a powder that would work almost as well for a fraction of the cost. The problem being, he had forgotten what the powder was called, and had thrown away all containers listing the name. If anyone has any information on materials to use that are less expensive than powders such as the zp150 or other powders such as those (the manuals listed zp102, zp14 and zp15e, zp250, ZCast 501 as compatible powders), it would be very very appriciated. Following up on what i will be doing with the powders, due to them having semi specific purposes to my understanding, i was hoping to have finished prints that i can do “lost wax” casting with. I was told from the man who gave it to me that this was one of the many possibilities to perform with this printer. I appologize for asking so many questions on one post, but i was also wondering if anybody has dealt with expired binding fluid. I have found no place that sells it for any price that is easy out of pocket cash. However i was given an almost full gallon of binding fluid that says to use before 2013. Will using this put the printer at risk? Or just lower the quality of the print? Even just one time to make sure everything works before investing money in supplies? Any information or tricks on these printers would be very helpful to get it running. We’re very excited, but dont have 1000 dollars of pocket cash to freely spend on powders and binders if we can avoid it. Thank you to anybody who takes the time to read and respond to my questions. Its very appriciated.
As far as powders go, for lost cast waxing I’m afraid you are unlikely to find a replacement powder or possibly even an official one. 3D systems / zcorp tended to move away from this particular medium. I’d drop them a line direct to find out though.
As far as third party powders go, they are all plaster type powders. Companies that jump to mind, canada powder, zt-40 (I think that’s the name for it but you can find it on ebay). There are a couple others that you can find by googling “zcorp powder”
Having recently discussed binders with the help desk at 3D systems for a zcorp 450 I just picked up, I wouldn’t concern yourself with the binder being out of date. If it’s still liquid and looks clean then it should be fine to use.
From what I can tell, keeping them running is a bit of a pain. I’m in the process of getting mine going as it needs new parts (those aren’t cheap!) but keeping everything clean and getting a hold of the service manuals will be a big help.
Thank you so much for all of your advice. I’ll look into those companies. However i had one more question to ask if you if you dont mind. I have found "recipes’ for the powders sold by z corp based off of an article published by University of Washington, and you can buy the materials and mix it yourself for cheaper. Do you know about these at all? And if so do you know if they’re reliable? Im not worried so much with quality near as much as causing damage to the machine. If you do not know about this i am trying to investigate further and will most likely find the answer i’m looking for eventually, it is just nice to hear from other people more experienced on things i am unsure about. Thank you very much for the time youve put into responding to my questions. Its very appriciated.
No idea to be honest. Could you send me the link? I’d be interested to read through it.
Looking at the inside of my 450, I’d be surprised if you could damage it as long as you pass powders through everything. Some things may be more abrasive than others but it’s all industrial enough looking that it should be fine.
I’ve heard of people using everything from cement to sugar with them.
