3D printers

[Tyler Draper]

A little off topic. I'm interested in learning more about 3D printers. Can you guys recommend any?


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[Mavic]

A little off topic. I'm interested in learning more about 3D printers. Can you guys recommend any?


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What is your budget?

 

[gektron]

I've just bought the Malyan M200 (equivalent to the Monoprice Select Mini) for £200 ($200). It's a budget printer with a relatively small print area (12cm x 12cm x 12cm) but it's got excellent reviews for it's price point. Excellent beginners printer.

 

[dmanisgnarly]

Wanhao I3 duplicator, micro swiss hot end, borosilicate glass bed= around $400. Then for about 20 bucks in filament and material you can print of all the recommended mods and have a setup that is on the $1k machine level. Its a hobby that requires patience, but once you build a profile in your slicer(use cura) for you print settings thats optimal then you'll start pumping out sweet parts.

 

[Kilrah]

Impatiently waiting on my Robo R2 to replace my not-so-good old K8200.

 

[msinger]

I own two Flashforge Dreamer 3D printers and a MakerGear M2 3D printer.

I originally bought the Flashforge Dreamer since it has a dual extruder (for printing different colors) and is able to print all of the common types of filaments. It's a nice printer overall, but it's tough to get perfectly level, needs to be re-leveled a lot, and is not as fast as some other printers. I never got into printing dual colors. The enclosure is nice since it helps to hold a consistent temperature and could be a plus if you have small kids.

The MakerGear M2 is nearly double the price. It's a much better printer though. The printer itself is made very well, it prints quickly, it's easy to level, it does not need to be re-leveled often, has a larger print area, can print all of the common types of filaments, and they have a very active forum on their website. If I need a 4th printer, I am definitely going to buy another M2 at this point.

Its a hobby that requires patience

Yes, this is a very important point. You cannot just click print and start getting great parts.

 

[lildevilx]

Agree. I have the printrbot I bought last year and it prints 15x15x15cm. Took a little while before I started to pump out good prints as well, but if you're willing to tinker with it, 3d printer is a great idea!

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[Motley]

I have to recommend the Flashforge Creator Pro, below is a link to it on Amazon. I think it is a great printer and well worth the price. I have had mine for about 2 years now with no issues (with proper maintenance) and the after sales support is fantastic. When I first got mine I had an issue with one of the axis stops that was apparently damaged in shipping (metal tab that clicks the button broke off). I had a new switch in less than a week after 1 simple email to support with a description of the issue (Tang,the main support guy for Amazon sales in US, knew the problem immediately, no further questions) and no issues since then. I get great results from mine and I think it has already paid for itself by saving money printing items I need instead of buying them. Obviously a 3D printer cannot print *everything* you need but I think you will be amazed once you start looking around and see what exactly you can print, including things you did not know were possible.

FlashForge 3d Printer Creator Pro, Metal Frame Structure, Acrylic Covers, Optimized Build Platform, Dual Extruder W/2 Spools, Works with ABS and PLA: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

The flashforge also comes with instructions and is assembled enough that if you read and use the settings they recommend you will be able to get decent prints right away, after that you will be able to fine-tune as you learn what the various settings do. It is a hobby and you will have to learn a bit but I did not know anything about 3D printing when I bought mine (other than a small amount of reading) and I was able to get my printer setup and get a pretty good print in about an hour.

One other recommendation I would make is look into the Simplify3D program, it is fairly costly at about $150 but it is very good and much faster and easier to use/setup than most of the free programs out there, when I got my printer it came with ReplicatorG on the SD card which worked well at first but is very limited once you really get into it.

 

[Mavic]

I started with a XYZ da Vinci printer. (Still have it and works perfect)

It's an all in one, and can be used straight out of the box.
You can even mount a laser to it to engrave things.

Printing size is also importand!

The da Vinci can print up to 20cm by 20cm by 20 cm.
Price wise it's one of the best deals you can get.

I'm now more into SLA printers (I think this is the new direction 3D will go)


One more thing.

3D printing is only 1/2 the thing. You will also need to 3D design things!

 

[Motley]

I started with a XYZ da Vinci printer. (Still have it and works perfect)

It's an all in one, and can be used straight out of the box.
You can even mount a laser to it to engrave things.

Printing size is also importand!

The da Vinci can print up to 20cm by 20cm by 20 cm.
Price wise it's one of the best deals you can get.

I'm now more into SLA printers (I think this is the new direction 3D will go)

Have a look at the XYZ printers.

Agreed on possibly waiting for SLA to come down, it does seem to be the direction things are going.