3D Printers

[Thalestris24]

Just casually wondering what 3D printers anyone has / would recommend. It's just something at the back of my mind at the mo.

Thanks

Louise

Edited September 16, 2018 by Thalestris24

[Atreta]

Hi, Louise. I just bought a creality ender 3 and I'm waiting for it to arrive. It's a good printer under 200 usd. There are a few videos on YouTube reviewing it. 

[Pete Presland]

WE have been using a couple at work for the last few years, to manufacture smallish test parts for our machines. The surface finish always seems quite rough me, but still impressive how complex the parts are though. Not sure of the makes unfortunately.

[Dr_Ju_ju]

1st question, what do you want to print with it ? then 2nd your budget ?

The 1st answer will determine the size \ capabilities of the printer, the 2nd answer, will start to rule out some suggestions.....

I have 4 printers, 2 bought & 2 self built, these being:

Wanhao Duplicator i3

a small Mendel

Prusa i3 Mk2s

D-Bot.

The best quality prints I get from the Prusa, but the larger pieces I do on the D-Bot

For more general info of the history styles of printers go here : https://reprap.org/wiki/RepRap  and there are a number of 'review' videos on YouTube, one to recommend is Tom Sanladerer (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb8Rde3uRL1ohROUVg46h1A).

 

 

 

 

[Chriske]

My advice : do not by a cheap printer..!
I myself have 3 printers of own design producing perfect perimeters. My friend has copied a few Prusa i3 Mk3. Well these Prusa's almost do copy my perimeter quality.
I'm not saying Prusa is the only good printer, not at all, but it is a very reliable printer.

[pete_l]

1 hour ago, Chriske said:

My advice : do not by a cheap printer..!

I have always considered 3D printers to be novelty items - over-priced and with few practical applications. However, the market does seem to have changed in the past year. The Creality Ender3X is getting good reviews for < £200 and I am now giving it some serious thought.

However, I still feel that they are far less useful (and much more hassle) for the average person than all the publicity and promotion would suggest.

 

Without wishing to start a war   here's an interesting video:

 

Edited September 16, 2018 by pete_l

[Chriske]

1 hour ago, pete_l said:

Without wishing to start a war   here's an interesting video:

No worries Pete...

In the past we made(copied) about 25+ different printers.
In the end my pal Marc ended up copying Prusa's because at the time it was the best you could buy or build (I designed my own)
I do visit a large forum, all(and only)about 3D printing. Not all, but most of them, buying cheap rubbish will eventually end up repairing/modifying their printers.
Lots of these cheap printers are not capable of producing perfect perimeters at all. And If I may say so that is the most important item on my wishlist... good/perfect perimeters.

[Chriske]

At second 55 the man in the movies says : there's nothing stopping you and I from updating Chinese printers.....
That's were I stopped viewing any further. Maybe quitting was not a good Idea, I know but...
The original question in this tread was : Just casually wondering what 3D printers anyone has / would recommend...
She's not asking how to perform modifs on printers. That is the last thing novice users want to hear about...
 

[Thalestris24]

Hi guys

Thanks for all the replies - much appreciated and food for thought! The idea of getting a 3d printer was just one of my late night musings ha ha. I was thinking it would be useful to be able to make my own custom fittings and bits where there apparently isn't anything available commercially. I don't think I'd need to print any single item bigger than say 120 x 120 x 25mm, probably mostly smaller than that. I wonder, though, how rigid printed items might be? I'm imagining plastic = bendy? I've no experience at all of 3d printers or their outputs or their limitations, but I figure they must have some uses! I was thinking I'd be prepared to spend up to ~£300. I just had a quick look on Amazon (as you do) and noticed many are priced at <£200 - would that be considered cheap / too cheap? How much are the consumables? What about cad software? More fundamentally, would a 3d printer be safe to use in a flat??

Thanks again
Cheers

Louise

[Gina]

The cheapest and easiest to print plastic, PLA, is certainly not bendy as long as you use a decent thickness.  There are bendy filaments if that's what you want though.  Other advantages of PLA are that the fumes given off are not toxic and not very unpleasant (unlike some others which really need a fume cabinet with fume extraction to outdoors) and it is produced from natural vegetable chemicals and is biodegradable.  Most other types are made from oil.

Edited September 16, 2018 by Gina

[Gina]

I'm afraid I can't advise on ready made printers as I have not bought one for several years and there have been vast developments since then.  Having an engineering background, I build my own.

[Dr_Ju_ju]

As already stated, out of the box, cheap printers usually require 'fine' tuning to get any sort of decent result, which is not what you want if your starting out....

Printer Ink (filament) comes in various grades for different applications ranging from PLA up to Flexibles and ranging in prices from £20 - £50 a reel. luckily most of the better slicer software is free e.g. Slic3R, Cura etc., but there are paid for versions like Simplify3D which is what I use for the D-Bot. As for CAD , I use TinkerCad, which is also free ...

[Thalestris24]

1 minute ago, Dr_Ju_ju said:

As already stated, out of the box, cheap printers usually require 'fine' tuning to get any sort of decent result, which is not what you want if your starting out....

Printer Ink (filament) comes in various grades for different applications ranging from PLA up to Flexibles and ranging in prices from £20 - £50 a reel. luckily most of the better slicer software is free e.g. Slic3R, Cura etc., but there are paid for versions like Simplify3D which is what I use for the D-Bot. As for CAD , I use TinkerCad, which is also free ...

Hi Julian

Thanks. Um, what amount constitutes 'cheap'? What 'decent'?

Ta

Louise

[Dr_Ju_ju]

Brutally honest, I'd recommend (and I'm biased) one of these (https://shop.prusa3d.com/en/3d-printers/59-original-prusa-i3-mk2-kit.html) (£600)

They are not the latest model, and yes it's a kit of parts (even cheaper ones require assembly) but the instructions are superb with EVERY step documented with pictures & on-line videos, and in the end you will have a printer that can produce a wide range of objects & styles etc. to very high degree of quality (including perimeters for Chris).

They also have an excellent support team, which can usually be reached through a browser during the day, and also provide a free, dedicated slicer program, based on Slic3R, as well as regular updates etc.

 

[Gina]

Yes, I'm afraid cheap 3D printers are an illusion.  They are cheap for a reason!

[Stub Mandrel]

I'm very happy with my Prusa i3 clone from Factory3D. One of the more expensive non-Prusa kits with several upgrades over the cheaper kits and support from real humans - and a manual written in English-English.

It has needed a few tweaks but the quality is as good as anything I've seen printed by any other. They have since upgraded a few parts.

 

[Thalestris24]

Me being of Czech descent, perhaps there's something to be said for getting a Prusa! Ha ha. I think I'm only now realising that some I've seen are actually clones and Amazon probably isn't the best place to shop for one!

Louise

[Dr_Ju_ju]

Your catching on …..

[Thalestris24]

11 minutes ago, Dr_Ju_ju said:

Your catching on …..

I can't afford, or justify, ~£600 though. I'll maybe look again next year, if I'm still around, lol.

Louise

[Alien 13]

I too have been looking at printers and been put off having to buy one then spend months modifying it, would only need a max of 120mm in each axis..

Alan

[Gina]

One day I might try and work out how much each of mine has cost.  It's not easy as there are so many parts involved.

[Thalestris24]

16 hours ago, Atreta said:

Hi, Louise. I just bought a creality ender 3 and I'm waiting for it to arrive. It's a good printer under 200 usd. There are a few videos on YouTube reviewing it. 

Let us know how it goes!

Louise

[Dr_Ju_ju]

In answer to Alan, that's why I recommend the Prusa for you, in the end, it just works...

And Gina, we are engineers who love to tinkle, and the costs are spread over a long time, so in the end we spend loads....

[Gina]

3 minutes ago, Dr_Ju_ju said:

And Gina, we are engineers who love to tinkle, and the costs are spread over a long time, so in the end we spend loads....

Yes indeed, I was going to say that.  Also, I tend to use good or best quality parts.  Plus some parts are for my convenience such as the Duet3D WiFi control board.  Not only WiFi but everything is controlled from a standard browser.  No editing and uploading of firmware as in the Arduino MEGA plus RAMPS.  It also makes the printer very quiet.  The downside is the price which amounts to nigh on £150 by the time you add carriage and VAT to the basic price.

[kbrown]

I put off getting a 3d printer for years. I just though I don't really need one since I already had a CNC router/engraver that I've successfully used to "mill" rather complex plastic, aluminium and even stainless steel parts. Then little by little the idea of getting a 3D printer overwhelmed my resistance and I finally got a Prusa i3 Mk3 kit. Now on hindsight I'm thinking why didn't I get it sooner. There's been so many things small and large that I've done with it and I get a new idea almost every day