3D printer recommendations

[kn612]

With Black Friday/cyber Monday coming up, what are some recommendations for printers? Mainly for beginners. $500 budget

[Plasma-art]

If you dont have one and no experience start off with something like an ender 3.
Very basic printer, decent quality and alot of mods available.
Buy some different fillaments and maybe go with auto bed leveling as an option however I am a strong advocate of learning with manual bed leveling.

[acourtjester]

I started with a Tevo Tarantula and now use 2 Anycubic printers, great tool to have. There are many to choose from, some differences are the bed size and type of extruder. You can use different filaments with most of them, I use mainly PLA and a flexible type. I would be sure to get a direct extruder type of printer. Prices are about $200. up, shop around no need to spent more than needed. I use Ideamaker (free) for my slicer (CAM software) and a free program for making the STL files. Thingiverse is a great place for free files to print, from trinkets to tools and Modifications.

[adbuch]

I highly recommend the Voxel mp3. I have one and have used it for several years now with great success. It works great right out of the box.


https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-133820 ... b2eaf37afa

voxel mp3.jpg

Also the Flashforge shown below is basically the same printer.

flashforge adverturer 3.jpg

[constantproject]

OP if you have not pulled the trigger yet, I would also recommend the ender 3. I would also recommend getting on all3dp . com and doing some reading on entry level units. There is more information there than any one source I have found yet. An ender 3 and Cura for a slicer is about the cheapest and easiest way to start learning how to adjust and tune and learn to print your own upgrades.

[ozzey01]

There are several good options for beginner printers with a budget of $500 or less. Here are a few recommendations:

Creality Ender 3 - This is a popular entry-level printer that offers good value for the price. It has a build volume of 220 x 220 x 250 mm, and features like a heated bed, resume printing function, and easy-to-use interface.

Anycubic Mega S - This printer has a larger build volume than the Ender 3 at 210 x 210 x 205 mm, and also features a heated bed and resume printing function. It has a solid metal frame and is known for its stability and reliability.

Prusa Mini - This printer is a bit more expensive than the other two options, but is still within the $500 budget. It has a smaller build volume than the others at 180 x 180 x 180 mm, but is known for its high-quality prints and ease of use.

Monoprice Select Mini v2 - This is another budget-friendly option with a build volume of 120 x 120 x 120 mm. It features a heated bed and an easy-to-use interface, and is known for its reliability and ease of use.

These are just a few options to consider, but there are many other good printers available within your budget. It's important to do your research and read reviews before making a decision to ensure you choose the printer that best fits your needs.

[adbuch]

There are several good options for beginner printers with a budget of $500 or less. Here are a few recommendations:

Creality Ender 3 - This is a popular entry-level printer that offers good value for the price. It has a build volume of 220 x 220 x 250 mm, and features like a heated bed, resume printing function, and easy-to-use interface.

Anycubic Mega S - This printer has a larger build volume than the Ender 3 at 210 x 210 x 205 mm, and also features a heated bed and resume printing function. It has a solid metal frame and is known for its stability and reliability.

Prusa Mini - This printer is a bit more expensive than the other two options, but is still within the $500 budget. It has a smaller build volume than the others at 180 x 180 x 180 mm, but is known for its high-quality prints and ease of use.

Monoprice Select Mini v2 - This is another budget-friendly option with a build volume of 120 x 120 x 120 mm. It features a heated bed and an easy-to-use interface, and is known for its reliability and ease of use.

These are just a few options to consider, but there are many other good printers available within your budget. It's important to do your research and read reviews before making a decision to ensure you choose the printer that best fits your needs.

Ozzey - do you happen to own and use any of these printers you mention, or is this just information gleaned from published reviews? If you do own one of these, then please tell us more about your own personal experience using it. What sorts of things are you printing, and what software are you using for your 3D solid models?
Thanks,
David

[acourtjester]

I agree with David, ads will tell you all the specs but not the real life at a users shop. Design has a lot to do with functionality. I have 2 AnyCubic I modified both to a direct feed for the extruder for a simple problem of the plastic tube for the filament would slip. People do all kinds of mods to a lot of printer (made on your own printer on Thingivers.com) to correct problems or improve functionality. I like my AnyCubics and would buy again if needed as they do a great job, they also have many modals to choose.
David gave you his choice and results
buy one so the fun can start

[ozzey01]

I've been using a Creality CR10S for some time now and have found it to be a reliable and high-quality 3D printer. In fact, most of the Creality machines are quite solid and can produce fantastic prints, with the main difference being the size of parts you can print. On the other hand, Prusa printers have gained a reputation for their continuous design improvements, which can lead to even better printing results.

When it comes to choosing a 3D printer, my advice is to prioritize learning about filaments and experimenting with different materials and settings. While having a top-of-the-line printer is great, the quality of your prints will ultimately depend on the filament and settings you use. Therefore, it may be more beneficial to invest in a cheaper machine, such as a Creality or a similar clone, and use the saved money to purchase different filaments and accessories.

Moreover, buying a more affordable machine can allow you to try out 3D printing without breaking the bank. If you eventually decide to upgrade to a more expensive printer, you can always sell your current one and recoup most, if not all, of the cost.

[adbuch]

I am quite pleased with the print quality I get with both my Monoprice Voxel and my FlashForge Creator 3. I started off several years ago with the Voxel and it printed great right out of the box (and still does). It came loaded with PLA, and I have used it with factory recommended settings and never had a problem. For prototyping and small parts the PLA works fine for me, so no real need for me to experiment with filaments and/or settings.

Here are some of the parts I have printed with the Voxel.

Slideshow link:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/rFfvSXhWYA1du58E8

The red printed parts were used for prototyping and setup/fixturing.

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Here is the finished assembly. This is a well pipe extraction tool for one-time use.

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The red part shown in the first two photos below was the prototype created for fit check (proof of concept).
The aluminum part is the actual part cnc machined from 6061 T6.

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This one is a chuck key holder printed for a friend for his small Grizzly bench lathe.

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[adbuch]

The only limitation (for me) other than print volume of the Voxel is the lack of dual independent extruders. If I could have figured out a way to easily modify it to add this feature, then I would probably have done so. But instead, I purchased the FlashForge Creator 3 Pro IDEX printer. This one gives me the ability to easily print internal supports using PVA water soluble filament. The other big plus is that it has a the ability to do "duplicate or mirror" printing which allows me to print two identical parts at the same time. So this saves me quite a bit of time when I have large batches of identical parts to print.

David

More information here:
https://www.flashforgeshop.com/product/ ... PAQAvD_BwE

flashforge creator 3 pro.jpg

My Creator 3 Pro

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[adbuch]

I've been using a Creality CR10S for some time now and have found it to be a reliable and high-quality 3D printer.

Ozzey - what sorts of parts have you been printing with your Creality CR10S? Perhaps share some photos of your projects so that others here can get a better idea about the true capability of your printer.
Thanks,
David

[adbuch]

Here is my Voxel printing a test part.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tpOwPV ... share_link

Voxel short video.jpg

This is a torch pointer to fit the Hypertherm Duramax torch. It inserts in place of the electrode/nozzle to be used for manually locating the torch to a particular table location or part location.

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These were some small parts requested my one of my customers. They had something to do with hiking boots laces.

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Here are some parts which I print in quite large quantities. This is another version of the Sharpie Pen Holder for cnc plasma Torch mount.
I typically print these on my FlashForge Creator 3 Pro. I offer these for sale at my Ebay store (link at lower left of page).
Tom also sells a different version which works quite well. You can PM him for more information.

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[adbuch]

By the way, one of the big differences I noticed right away when I first got my FlashForge Creator 3 Pro is the necessity to use rafts due to poor adhesion of bare supports to the build plate. This is not a problem at all with the Voxel, so less to clean up post print. Also the Voxel build plate heats up extremely quickly due to its smaller size. The heat time for the FlashForge Creator 3 Pro build plate from cold will often take 3-4 minutes or more, depending on ambient temp. I would say the heat time for the Voxel is more like 30 seconds or so (from memory). So these are just a few more considerations when shopping for this sort of printer.

David

[plasmanewbie]

Beyond cool David! So impressed with the parts you have been able to make. I will try this one day when my time is not so consumed with other things.

[acourtjester]

Enclosure what you don't "love the smell of melting plastic in the morning"

[kn612]

I finally got around to it and picked up an ender 3 s1 pro. $350 Seller on ebay had em on sale. Sure is a handy thing

[adbuch]

I finally got around to it and picked up an ender 3 s1 pro. $350 Seller on ebay had em on sale. Sure is a handy thing

This looks nice! What sorts of things are you making with it?

David