BFB 3000 Plus Review

Bits from Bytes are a part of the 3D Systems corporation who also owns Z Corp, Botmill and Vidar Systems and are the makers of the renowned BFB3000 3D Printer.

BFB 3000 Plus

 They were founded in 2008 and has been kicking ass since.
The BFB3000 is perhaps the most popular 3D Printer on the market today, considering it's price tag which makes it affordable for the hobbyist and it's build quality which is suitable for professionals.
 The look alone is enough to get my blood pumping, it looks almost like I would imagine an Apple 3D Printer would look.

 The BFB3000 Plus printer is based on the original RepRap but it's not easily seen in the finished product.
 It boasts a double head extruder for use of support material and a print-area of 275 x 275 x 210mm.
 It reads directly from USB or SD Card and is (in 3D printer terms) very easy to operate.
 The sleek user interface works nicely and makes the operation a more user-friendly experience.

It comes with the Axon2 software and is bundled with TurboCAD Pro 18


 Jamie Mantzel has made a few good videos on his experience with the BFB3000:
 
Jamie Mantzel Youtube Channel

 If you don't know who Jamie is, he is a expert DIY, Robotics engineer, inventor, mad scientist, toy maker and 3D Printer enthusiast.

 Jamies tips on printing extra large models on the BFB 3000

 Also check out our BFB3000 unboxing video.

Rapid prototyping bike frame

Shoes, houses, PCB's, pretty much anything you can think of can be made (at least partly) on a 3D printer today. That also goes for bikes. Ralf Holleis diploma thesis was on making a custom bike frame with 3d printed stainless steel lugs glued together with carbon fiber tubes.
VRZ 1. a tack bike frame with 3d printed lugs from Ralf Holleis on Vimeo.
The fork is 480 g and the frame weight is 1100 g and it certainly looks good! On the topic of structural integrity of the contraption Holleis says:

I did a FEM analysis and from that point i started modelling. The parts are printed in stainless steel. The melted powder in the end is 99.5 % - 100 % solid. That means the material density is better than it is for castings. Because of that i am able to remove material on some points. Yes it is ridable:)

Holleis completed his thesis at: http://www.coburg-designlab.de/ And the 3d printed parts are lasercut on a concept laser machine from concept-laser.com