3D printing seemed like it would give me a way of producing objects designed in Fusion 360 without reverting to conventional milling and turning.
I spent quite a while exploring the various printers on the market and then found a YouTube video giving details of the Sindoh DP200 3DWOX machine.
The presenter created a very positive impression of his experiences and prefaced his video with the same search criteria that I had namely to find a simple easy to use out of the box machine.
I paid around GBP1000 for the printer and it has not let me down. It has a single head only and is supplied with white PLA filament. It can also use ABS. I have used the white PLA and also bought a reel of black, both of which have given me excellent results.
I have also taken note of the presenters concerns about removing the finished object from the bed. I have found a wall plaster scraper to be the answer. This was purchased from our local DIY store. The blades are replaceable and I round the ends of the blade off on my belt sander to remove the sharp points that might damage the bed surface.
Fusion 360 has an option of printing to 3D. If you associate the 3DWOX.exe file with the Fusion the first time you use it, it will export the file ready to print directly to the Sindoh and open their native application. So far I have not needed to use any third party slicer.
A standard test file for 3D printers is a small tug boat model which can be found at the following site. This printed very well on the Sindoh and I was impressed.
Since the arrival of the Sindoh my creativity has taken on a new direction and there are examples on my site of the various objects that I have produced. You definitely have to step back and consider which is the best route to producing an object – 3D printing or spoiling metal.