Why Open Source Matters with 3D Printers

When it comes to 3D printers many things can and do break and need replacing. If your printer is not open source then you either have to pay money to have it fix, or worst the printer was discounted and you have to just mod it to fixed it. Well that is why I picked a open source printer. I already had to print out replacement parts for the Printrbot Simple and having access to the cad file of parts comes in very handy.

Part #22 of the laser cut wood broke not once but twice. The first time Printrbot sent me one, because I could not print without it. The second time I had several 3D printed replacements waiting for that part to fail again.

The printed part actual seems to work better here as the area that broke with the wooden part was to thin. The plastic is much more strong and has not shown any signs of failing.

If your in the market for a 3D printer, consider Open Source for the reason of being able to fix it your self, and maybe even improve it, where it fails.

Many of the none open source printers cost more than the printrbot simple alone just to fix it, with something you could have printed out if it was open source.