evkar:
I'm also contemplating using a 3D printer to actually build my enclosures and a few other parts for my product, but still worrying about building materials they use in the affordable printers. Does anybody know if something as tough as MDF can be used in a 3D printer? The shapeways.com samples all look somewhat fragile.. :~
Are you contemplating using MDF as the chassis of a 3D printer? Our hackerspace has 3D printers made from plexiglass and from plywood as both are easy to laser cut and are dimensionally stable enough. MDF is very dense and has good dimensional stability and routes good but I haven't seen it used for a printer chassis yet. I guess you could try it.
3D printing with plastic still looks a little wavy on the surfaces to me unless you use a really high grade printer.
Back to MDF, it's easy to machine and can now be powder coated which looks really good. It's pretty dense therefore pretty heavy so that could be a plus or a minus for an enclosure. Worth considering for an enclosure for an electronics project.