Advice on a 3D Printer

General Discussion
1

Hey Guys,
For those of you that have 3D printers what brand and model do you recommend?
I am interested in buying a small 3D printer but I have no clue what to look for as in specs.
Any advice would be appreciated.
FYI - I am not looking to spend thousands of dollars.

Thanks

2

I’ve heard a lot of good things about the creality ender printer, it seems to check all the right boxes for an entry level printer and beyond.

3

I’ve also heard very good feedback specially of Creality Ender 3, and you can find it for lower than $200.

4

We use a knockoff of the Prusa i3 (which I think the Creality Ender is as well?) branded as Wanhao Duplicator i3 . We use it to mock up prototype parts. Straight out off the box it was awesome, very accurate (only used PLA so far). The nice thing about these printers is that there is a large DIY community with a whole bunch of tutorials for upgrades, which apparently make for a very capable printer, even when printing in ABS.

5

Thanks guys

6

We have used a WanHao i5, a FlashForge, and now a Creality Ender. There is no doubt that the Creality is the best bang for the buck with output that equals or exceeds those more expensive machines. For most real projects, you’ll want to use ABS, since PLA melts in the sun, but PLA is good for fast prototyping. ABS will require building a surround to keep the printing area warm. Cardboard works fine.

7

Thanks Joe. I appreciate the advice.
Which model of Creality do you use or can you recommend?
There is the Ender, CR-10, CR-20. I don’t see a lot of difference in either one.

8

As mentioned before, you have to decide what your requirements are, but what certainly will happen after some time (and at a point where you really became addicted to the idea of 3D printing) is:

-you will want a larger printing volume
-you will constantly look for a solution for avoiding support structures (with clever design) or printing them (which is more difficult than it sounds), depending on geometry using a dissolveable print material. This may require a second extruder.

Buying cheap and small is the worst mistake one can make regarding 3D printing.

Another thing is, without some means for designing your parts, the whole printing stuff does not make any sense.

Today a nice selection of free or open tools are available to choose from: FreeCAD, Fusion 360, DesignSpark Mechanical (my favourite), etc.

Regarding the remarks about PLA melting, this is not the case anymore. A wide range of newer materials are now available as valid alternative to ABS (e.g. HT PLA). I just yesterday visited the formnext fair in Frankfurt and the range of materials offered today is overwhelming.

9

Hi guys,

I was planning on buying a 3D printer and then weighed in the cost of the printer, the time it will take to get good at it and the cost of material…

In the end I opted out since I can simply drag and drop my 3d drawing to an online printer and get my parts for cheap…

I use weerg.

Hope this helps some of you.

Cheers,
E.

10

Etienne your comments are true. A 3D printer is another toy. Nice to learn something new and hopefully in some areas become self sufficient. Maybe get into the plastic popsicle stick business. LOL