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Recently a friend and I pooled our resources and purchased the above referenced 3D printer. We had been researching for several months which printer to buy. We decided that instead of buying a small limited capability printer in the $200-$400 range intended for beginners we would take the next step and look for one in the $500-$800 range that would satisfy our wants and needs for quite a while. After watching hours of youtube videos we narrowed down the range of choices that included the MP Delta Pro and when we discovered that this printer had just been reduced in price from approx. $1,200 to $699 we decided to make our move. Initially there was a problem that resulted from damage to the printer during shipment preventing the user interface from operating properly. After contacting Monoprice and informing them about the problem we repackaged the unit and sent it back to their US warehouse in California at their expense. Two weeks later the replacement unit arrived. We wasted little time hooking it up and although I have over 20 years experience working in the civil engineering field using Autocad (2D) to create engineering plans little of what I knew about CAD work was applicable to the new world of 3D CAD and printing. So, it was back to youtube to see how much we could learn. There is a local users group that meets periodically where other users lend their knowledge to beginners but unfortunately due to the COVID 19 situation they are temporarily closed to the public and not accepting beginners. But I was able to get started by using a service called Tinkercad which is online based and free (the only potential downside is that all files created are kept on the web and available for anyone to use. No privacy here). There is also a web site called thingi-verse where literally thousands of objects that have been created are available for free or a minimal fee. I also downloaded a program called Freecad which I am learning so that I can create my own designs. To be honest my original interest in acquiring a 3D printer was to make designs for my other hobby of model building and I originally gave little thought to creating anything to do with slot cars. But while browsing through Thingi-verse I started running across items intended for the slot car world. I have now downloaded several files from slot car bodies and chassis to wheel inserts and guide flags.
There are multiple web sites with files created by experts in all categories of interest and several free cad programs as well as others that are available as a purchase. I am happy with my choice of the MP Delta Pro 3D printer but I probably would have been just as happy with several other printers by other manufacturers. I chose to go with a printer that use spools of filaments called PLA but there are other material choices out there as well. Below are some images of a generic sports car and chassis I downloaded and printed. The chassis accepts a slot.it inline motor pod or a motor pod can be downloaded and printed. The options and choices are nearly unlimited.
There are multiple web sites with files created by experts in all categories of interest and several free cad programs as well as others that are available as a purchase. I am happy with my choice of the MP Delta Pro 3D printer but I probably would have been just as happy with several other printers by other manufacturers. I chose to go with a printer that use spools of filaments called PLA but there are other material choices out there as well. Below are some images of a generic sports car and chassis I downloaded and printed. The chassis accepts a slot.it inline motor pod or a motor pod can be downloaded and printed. The options and choices are nearly unlimited.
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