3D-Printed lapidary machines are a waste of money.
Nearly every one of them being sold on Facebook, eBay and Etsy is printed from the cheapest material, which is PLA plastic, which will break down and deform over time. Nearly all of them have large print lines, which looks terrible and is a sign of both being printed on a low-quality machine quickly and being done poorly.
The people who make and sell these things make bold claims as to the quality of these printed machines, but from what I can see, there has been little to no real testing of them or comparisons to more traditional machines.
The most popular 3D-Printed machine seems to be a 6" flat lap. They often range in price between $140-$175 and they come with no laps. Add the cheapest garbage-tier set of diamond laps from Amazon for $45 which comes with electroplated laps in the grits of 100/200/320/500/600/800/1200/2000/3000 and you're at a total price of around $200.
I have bought some of these cheap electroplated discs for testing in the past, and nearly all of them were contaminated with larger diamonds when viewed under the microscope, meaning when running a 1200 grit disc, it has some large 60 grit diamonds on it that just leave a deep scratch mark on whatever you're working on.
So you saved money on the machine by going with a questionable 3D-Printed one but now you need to buy some decent laps.
If we're looking at the laps that Hi-Tech Diamond offers, the price can really add up. Electroplated 80/180/260 is $120 and then some smooth discs in 220/325/600/1200/3000 is another $125. 3000 grit is an okay ish finish, but most people will want a better finish than 3000, which means getting a cerium oxide finishing disc, which is another $16. So now you're $260 in a decent set of laps that are still pretty small at 6" which means you only really have a working space of 2" - 2 1/2".
So these 3D-Printed machines and decent laps will run you $410 + shipping and taxes.
Let's price out the two other options for a real 6" flat lap machine. You have the Hi-Tech 6" All-U-Need and the Ameritool Universal Grinder from covington.
The Hi-Tech is $550 but it comes with a 180# electroplated diamond lap, 325, 600, 1200 smoothing disc, polishing pad, 2-gram 14,000# diamond paste syringe, and four acrylic backing plates. This will get you going, but you really need to get more discs if you don't want to spend forever working on one stone.
The Ameritool is $625 and it comes with a 180g electroplated diamond disc, 325g Pro Sanding Disc w/ Backing Plate, 600g Pro Sanding Disc w/ Backing Plate, 1200g Pro Sanding Disc w/ Backing Plate, 1-Polish Pad w/ Backing Plate & 1-5g syringe of 14k Diamond Compound. So it's basically the same as the Hi-Tech.
When adding all the laps you will want to these machines, you get the Hi-Tech coming in at $696 and the Ameritool at $771.
I know this is a lot of money for these, but the reality is that lapidary as a hobby or job is expensive, and trying to save money by getting a 3D-Printed machine seems to me to be throwing money in the garbage can because they are not durable, they will break, they have zero resale value, and you will be buying a better machine in the future, which means you will be paying more in the long run.
Lastly, there is the option of buying used or making your own flat lap, which is a great way to save money. Nearly every machine I own I got used or made it myself.
Currently Rockhounding
3D-Printed lapidary machines are a waste of money.
Nearly every one of them being sold on Facebook, eBay and Etsy is printed from the cheapest material, which is PLA plastic, which will break down and deform over time. Nearly all of them have large print lines, which looks terrible and is a sign of both being printed on a low-quality machine quickly and being done poorly.
The people who make and sell these things make bold claims as to the quality of these printed machines, but from what I can see, there has been little to no real testing of them or comparisons to more traditional machines.
The most popular 3D-Printed machine seems to be a 6" flat lap. They often range in price between $140-$175 and they come with no laps. Add the cheapest garbage-tier set of diamond laps from Amazon for $45 which comes with electroplated laps in the grits of 100/200/320/500/600/800/1200/2000/3000 and you're at a total price of around $200.
I have bought some of these cheap electroplated discs for testing in the past, and nearly all of them were contaminated with larger diamonds when viewed under the microscope, meaning when running a 1200 grit disc, it has some large 60 grit diamonds on it that just leave a deep scratch mark on whatever you're working on.
So you saved money on the machine by going with a questionable 3D-Printed one but now you need to buy some decent laps.
If we're looking at the laps that Hi-Tech Diamond offers, the price can really add up. Electroplated 80/180/260 is $120 and then some smooth discs in 220/325/600/1200/3000 is another $125. 3000 grit is an okay ish finish, but most people will want a better finish than 3000, which means getting a cerium oxide finishing disc, which is another $16. So now you're $260 in a decent set of laps that are still pretty small at 6" which means you only really have a working space of 2" - 2 1/2".
So these 3D-Printed machines and decent laps will run you $410 + shipping and taxes.
Let's price out the two other options for a real 6" flat lap machine. You have the Hi-Tech 6" All-U-Need and the Ameritool Universal Grinder from covington.
The Hi-Tech is $550 but it comes with a 180# electroplated diamond lap, 325, 600, 1200 smoothing disc, polishing pad, 2-gram 14,000# diamond paste syringe, and four acrylic backing plates. This will get you going, but you really need to get more discs if you don't want to spend forever working on one stone.
The Ameritool is $625 and it comes with a 180g electroplated diamond disc, 325g Pro Sanding Disc w/ Backing Plate, 600g Pro Sanding Disc w/ Backing Plate, 1200g Pro Sanding Disc w/ Backing Plate, 1-Polish Pad w/ Backing Plate & 1-5g syringe of 14k Diamond Compound. So it's basically the same as the Hi-Tech.
When adding all the laps you will want to these machines, you get the Hi-Tech coming in at $696 and the Ameritool at $771.
I know this is a lot of money for these, but the reality is that lapidary as a hobby or job is expensive, and trying to save money by getting a 3D-Printed machine seems to me to be throwing money in the garbage can because they are not durable, they will break, they have zero resale value, and you will be buying a better machine in the future, which means you will be paying more in the long run.
Lastly, there is the option of buying used or making your own flat lap, which is a great way to save money. Nearly every machine I own I got used or made it myself.
1 month ago | [YT] | 78