Need Help Finding 3D Printer

K

Knox

New Member
Hi all,

It's been a long time since my last post but I really want to push myself to get back in this world!

So, I've done some research of my own but there are so many options I'm just getting a bit lost.

OK so, I'm looking for something that is below £500. I know it's not a lot but I don't want to break the bank on my first printer just for learning. I would also like something that can do 100 microns so i can create some detail. Finally, a larger bed is obviously better but not a complete deal breaker.

I can't wait to learn from all you pros out there.

Thanks,

Knox :)

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Hi I bought my first 3d printer earlier this year and may I recommend NOT! getting a davinchi jr from xyz printing it's a nice enough printer but they charge a fortune for the filament 27 quid a roll and it has a built in chip in the reel so you can't use any other brands and says it's empty when there is loads of filament left. Are you any good with electronics because my friend got a decent one that come in kit form for around 150 I believe I can find out the name and double check the price for you if you want?

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You can find some decent kits on eBay in your budget range, and some of them even have a fairly large bed size, though they may be toward or just past the upper limit of your budget.


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Although the spool reels are too expensive and have the annoying chip problem i would recommend the davinci Jr as a starter printer, the basic model is around £200 and it works great for my uses, the bed is only 15x15x15cm but you can always split models up for easier printing. I would also go down the route of uprgrading the extruder, they come standard with a 0.4mm extruder which is OK but if you urprade to a 0.3mm extruder you will definately notice the difference. The only problem with this however is that as with the filament, you do have to use the stock davinci parts. Although the quality is never gonna be as good as an ultimaker for example, it doesnt really matter as if your using it for prop work, then your most likely going to be sanding the piece down afterwords. Another thing i wanted to mention, from what ive heard i would really recommend building your own printer unless you really know what your doing as I hear calibratio wit those things can be rather tricky.
 
I have a Wanhao i3 v2 and a Malyan m150 (Wanhao i3 clone that shares no parts) Had to upgrade the M150 with Wanhao loom and hotend to replace 1 roller that broke.
Had an ebay kit printer to start with that was about £200 but it wasn't too great.
The Wanhao has been great for well over a year and has seen me through T-21, E22, dl-19, couple of dl44's.Plenty of lids from Boussh to shore trooper, Snowy/Veers lids to Iron Man and Dare Devil lids.
I use BQ filament on it £15-£25 a role depending on colour and added a micro swiss hot end that didn't make that much difference but a difference none the less.

I3 plus swiss upgrade will get you a decent printer under the £500 mark .... Angus on youtube has reviews on its clone (can't remember his channel name)

All that said I'll grab a CR10 once the mk2 is out!
 
I have a Tevo Tarantula, its not perfect out the box, needs a fair bit of tinkering to really get it up to top quality. But its cheap. I got mine fro 160 quid... And spent about 30 quid on filament for upgrades...

But if your up for the work its a great printer. Cr-10 is also another one thats been mentioned alot. Flsun also do some good cheap printers too... Things to look out for. Try and get a kit made from the aluminium extrusions... 2020,2040, or for larger printers 3030,3060.......

Reason why? They sturdy and very modular. You can upgrade them and design new things for them to your hearts content.

If you go with a tarantula, upgrades you will HAVE to do... Give it a dual Z screw upgrade. Like the CR_10 and other modular systems like this they have an issue with a Z screw on one side leaves the X axis leans off to one side. So give it a dual Z to keep it perfectly level. A dual Y also helps make the bed more sturdy too... Though the system it currently has isnt too bad.

As I mentioned there is a FLSUN thats thats very similar to the tarantula... That already has dual Z and even dual y rails. But its X beam rail is only 2020 and not 2040... Less sturdy...

With the budget end printers you can get amazing prints. But they take work. But its a great way to cut your teeth in 3d printing and learn how they work...
 
All this feedback is fantastic guys!

I'm thinking of going the 'assemble and upgrade' your own route to really learn the ins and outs of it all. It's a little daunting but I think I'm up to the challenge.

What stores to you guys use for parts? Are there any special places or is it just a bit of a hunt on ebay and so on?

Thanks so much for the help so far,

Knox
 
While the DIY build kits give you an understanding of how the printer works and a very good insight of problems that might occur and how to fix them, it doesn't get you printing any faster. There is a steep learning curve with the design software and other applications that get you printing your own designs, rather than other people's creations, so time spent learning this will be quite useful.
I have heard great things about the Dremel Idea Builder. While not the best printer out there, it does have great features that make it a wise choice. Dremel has just introduced a new model with a larger build area, which means there are discounts on the old model which basically has the same features, mechanically.
I haven't purchased one myself yet, since I don't have the room for it in my shop, but for a FDM printer this is the route I am choosing.

TazMan2000
 
I absolutely recommend the Prusa i3 mk2, if you buy the kit version its around £559 which is slightly above your budget but it's been a great purchase from assembly to using it, you can also find reprap versions such as the wanhao i3 v2 duplicator.
either way that open source platform is the way to go if you want a budget printer, good luck! :)
 
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I have a delta style printer made by AnyCubic (It's the Linear Plus) that is less than $300 and I absolutely love it. I loved putting it together and getting it running. I found an auto-leveler kit on youtube that makes leveling it perfectly very simple. I've been using it non-stop since I got it and not a single issue. 240mm x 240mm x 270mm print size
 
Gordon Gekko said:
Creality CR-10.
Click to expand...

I'll second this one. Very little building to do on this kit, as it is basically as simple as screwing the frame together and then attaching a few wires. It prints really easily, as even a tech-dunce like me can figure it out. It can easily print down to 0.05 mm, but you will get print lines, but they are not as visible as I've seen on other prints from other printers.

There are a few groups on facebook for this printer and they occasionally give out discount codes for various shops that sell this printer. I bought mine from Gearbest and I've had no issues with them, but others seems to have had difficulties getting damaged stuff replaced.

It is in your price range. You'll be up and printing in basically no time, as it is really simple to work with and you don't have to fiddle with all the electronics and stuff.
 
I had good experience going through the reviews on Maker Muse YouTube channel. He has a differentiates among a few categories like cost , materials and skill level.

The Monoprice Select Mini that I purchased is very true to his disctiption. While I am satisfied with Monoprice, I won't recommend it only because I don't have any other 3D printer experience.

Best of luck!
 
Gordon Gekko said:
Creality CR-10.
Click to expand...

I really think there's a lot of good printers out there, I for myself have a Ultimaker Original, which I love - but like Gordon said...
I think nothing beats the CR-10 considering price/value and printvolume.
I've read quite some reviews and it seems to be THE printer you want to have.
 
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