If anyone is still following this, Amazon's Deal of the Day is 20% off Creality 3D printers and accessories
If anyone is still following this, Amazon's Deal of the Day is 20% off Creality 3D printers and accessories
Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits - Mark Twain
Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy / Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
I’m tempted to add an Ender 3 so I can be iterating small parts while long jobs run on my 5 Pro. It would need an upgrade to a metal extruder and a silent board, but that’s not cost prohibitive.
*rolls a 20 for necromancy*
It’s been a while but this looks the most recentish thread.
If a feller wanted to get into the world of 3D printing some doodads and prototypes, what’s the current go to? Seems like there is a ton of units out there but it’s not a realm with name brand recognition or anything to really guide me…
What’s the Glock 19 of home hobby 3D printing circa early 2023?
--Josh
“Formerly we suffered from crimes; now we suffer from laws.” - Tacitus.
I surely am not an expert. I've had a Prusa for a few years, but I print stuff on it; I'm not doing comparisons. There are youtube channels that do that.Originally Posted by LOKNLOD
Anyway, mine is a MK3. Current price is $1100 assembled, cheaper if you do the assembly. Made in the Czech republic. There is a smaller one for half that.
I got this because I wanted to make parts, not troubleshoot a printer, and Prusa's have the reputation for just working. Part of my decision was I know a commercial place with a farm of a dozen Prusas.
The most common name I hear for cheap ones is Creality Ender. I believe made in China. On amazon I see prices of $200-$300; I dunno the different models.
A couple of things to look at that might not be obvious:
-bed material. Your prints have to A)stick to the bed well enough you can print them and B)still come loose when the print is done. Given the range of possible materials, that's a harder job than you might imagine. The Prusa has a PEI bed, which is pretty hassle free with a wide range of materials. The creality has a 'carborundum glass' bed. I dunno about the carborundum part; regular glass is considered a step down from PEI.
-heated bed. The Prusa's is; I didn't see that the Creality did (but I didn't do a deep dive). This helps with distortion and adhesion.
-what materials you want to print - everyone will print, say, PLA. Not all will have a hot end that will get hot enough to print nylon, for example.
I think the bottom line is probably that there is nothing wrong with the cheaper ones if you just want to try 3D printing in general, kicking the tires so to speak. OTOH, if you start trying to use different materials, harder prints, etc, then you won't regret the extra $$ for a Prusa. I think it's a 'no wrong answer' thing.
But - I'm not in the business of comparing different printers; believe the people who are, not me :-)
It would probably be an Ender 3 of some form. I have the basic Ender 3 and have been having a lot of fun with it.
https://www.creality.com/products/ender-3-3d-printer
We could isolate Russia totally from the world and maybe they could apply for membership after 2000 years.
I've got an Ender 3d Pro and have enjoyed it. I've made any complex prints, but I use it to print a lot of small stuff for various uses.
I got mine on sale with a "new customer" coupon at Microcenter for $100. They run that promotion pretty often, but they're only available at that price as an in-store purchase.
Chris
This is the correct answer. The MK3S+ ($1099) or Mini ($429) just work. No fooling about or fixing stuff - they have all of the correct parts and ease of use, along with the best software for printing (Prusa Slicer, a fork of Cura).
If you want to just print stuff and not troubleshoot issues, get one of those, and stick with the Prusament filament.
Considering the names now are some of the same names from when the thread was new in 2020… that’s a good sign.
--Josh
“Formerly we suffered from crimes; now we suffer from laws.” - Tacitus.
There is a deeper learning curve with the Ender 3 compared with higher priced printers, so I guess it depends on how much you want to tinker and what your frustration level is.
This girl has the best printer reviews on YouTube.
We could isolate Russia totally from the world and maybe they could apply for membership after 2000 years.
I would suggest the Prusa Mini if you can swing the price and are really interested in just small stuff. My Anycubic Vyper is quite a bit bigger and I find it constraining for some practical projects. Otherwise, the Elegoo Neptune 3 Pro is decently-equipped (automatic bed-levelling is quite handy). That's what I'd call the G19 at the moment. And speaking of the Vyper, I really like it, and it was great getting started. Honestly I probably shouldn't bother replacing or upgrading at all. But the problem for me recommending it is that it exists in this weird place where it's too pricey for a bedslinger to try and upgrade, but it's also not as capable as a more expensive printer.
For more money, Prusa MK3S+ goes for $800. If your budget is bigger than that, get something cheap to learn the ropes and then build a real enthusiast rig like a Voron or a RatRig. Myself, I am thinking very hard about getting a Tronxy and then fixing all the parts on it that are shit.
I would not recommend an Ender. I think it's expensive for what you get. It's a good idea if you want to buy a printer to wrench on and tinker with (huge community, lots of guides, lots of parts and help available), but it's a very, very basic printer with spotty QC.
Reply With Quote