Is this 3D printer any good as a starter... ?

[Stuart1971]

For all you 3D printer owners out there, is this any good as my first 3D printer, I would like to give it a try, as I regularly Come across things that I could print...

https://www.banggood.com/Creality-3D-Ender-3-V2-Upgraded-DIY-3D-Printer-Kit-220x220x250mm-Printing-Size-Ultra-silent-TMC2208-or-Silent-32-bit-Mainboard-or-Carborundum-Glass-Platform-or-Mean-Well-Power-Supply-or-New-Color-Screen-Support-Resume-After-a-Power-Outage-p-1661657.html?akmClientCountry=GB&utm_design=18&utm_source=emarsys&utm_medium=mail_promo200813_180A&utm_campaign=newsletteremarsys&utm_content=Yoshiki&sc_src=email_4475191&sc_eh=1a2a3837b6c24c841&sc_llid=1138339&sc_lid=187755751&sc_uid=tHR319GsmX&ID=47758&cur_warehouse=CN

[silentrunning]

Got into 3D printing a few weeks ago and have completely immersed myself in it.

After doing loads of research I bought the Creality Ender 3 Pro and it's superb. Not a lot of difference to the one you are looking at and with the upgrades mentioned I would consider it a great buy.

 

[Stuart1971]

2 hours ago, silentrunning said:

Got into 3D printing a few weeks ago and have completely immersed myself in it.

After doing loads of research I bought the Creality Ender 3 Pro and it's superb. Not a lot of difference to the one you are looking at and with the upgrades mentioned I would consider it a great buy.

 

Hi,

thanks, it is the Pro I was looking at.... 👍😀

[skybadger]

I have the Ender 3 pro. I bought it 3 weeks ago for printing the lowspec spectrometer.

The drawbacks are That the bed isn't very flat and you need to flatten it after hearing and that the magnetic sheet on the bed won't easily release large objects . I out a nuisance crease in mine trying to lift it off the plate withe model on. 

The SD card slot is also fiddly, mine doesn't eject. I have to pull it out. 

That said its been very good at printing, successfully printing a 2.5 day print of the main body part. Used with Cura seems to be the way to go. 

[Stuart1971]

Also any idea on good software to use. Ideally for an iPad...as I have the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil... 👍😀

[silentrunning]

I learnt to design stuff with Freecad and then switched to Fusion 360 which is also free and a stunning design environment.

I was using Cura as a slicer but have switched to PuraSlicer.

I don't use the SD card, I have Octaprint running as a server on my Windows 10 PC which talks to the Ender 3 via it's USB port.

 

 

[Stuart1971]

It’s actually the Ender 3 V2 I am looking at, which has come out after the pro version,  and is supposed to have some improvements over the Pro version...it’s just been released... 👍😀

[Stuart1971]

17 minutes ago, silentrunning said:

I learnt to design stuff with Freecad and then switched to Fusion 360 which is also free and a stunning design environment.

I was using Cura as a slicer but have switched to PuraSlicer.

I don't use the SD card, I have Octaprint running as a server on my Windows 10 PC which talks to the Ender 3 via it's USB port.

 

 

So what do you add to your printer to give it WiFi...?

[silentrunning]

It hasn't got WiFi. The PC running Octaprint connects to the printer via the USB cable.

 

[teoria_del_big_bang]

I cannot say from experience but I have heard pretty good comments about Creality machines and let's face it for £200 to £300 there all going to have some niggles, they are not top end machines but if maintained and setup well are capable of very decent prints.

Unless you are printing very small items don't get lured into printers that print thinner layers. I have been printing for quite a few years now and very rarely use less than 0.2 mm layers even though I can do 0.05 mm if needed. Only on very small items, or things with a lot of detail or sometimes on curves to get part of the curve smoother, but even then can use variable layer heights so the bits that are detailed may be 0.05 and the other bits then back up to 0.2 mm.

Regarding software I use OnShape for the CAD to design my stuff. Its free for personal use and very easy but still very versatile to use. All your designs are in the public domain for anyone to use unless you pay for it but that has never bothered me.

OnShape CAD

For the slicing I use PrusaSlicer which is more designed for my Prusa printer but is designed on Slic3r which is for any printer and I can highly recommend this slicer but most of them are easy to use and generally do the same thing.

Slic3r

Steve

 

Edited August 13, 2020 by teoria_del_big_bang

[Domain105]

Hi,

I've recently purchased my first 3d printer (Creality Ender 3 v2) and it is really good and was easy to set up. Only thing to really keep an eye on is the bed levelling for which I got some 'Orange Springs'. These seem to be more stiffer than the stock ones so once you level the bed, it stays level. To design, I use the free TinkerCAD web app and Cura to slice and generate the .gcode file which the printer uses to print.  So far, I have printed a number of Bahtinov masks for my Canon EOS 450D lenses (50mm F1.8 and a Tamron 17-55 F2) and a few other scope bits and bobs for my DIY focuser. I would recommend the Ender 3 v2 as a first 3d printer but my view is from a 3D printing noob.