3D Printer Downselect

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Chisum

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Looking for recommendations on a new 3D Printer with a large printing area. Navy movers broke my small FLSUN printer and figured I would upgrade since getting a new one.
 
Welcome Chisum,

Personally, I have had a ton of success with the Lulzbot Taz 6. Printed multiple suits and a ton of weapons. The print area is a significant asset.
 
Welcome Chisum,

Personally, I have had a ton of success with the Lulzbot Taz 6. Printed multiple suits and a ton of weapons. The print area is a significant asset.

Looks like a great printer but was hoping for something with a larger print area 400mm plus.
 
Well depending on what you want to spend. Friend of mine picked up the Creality 10s S5 which is a 500x500x500 printer. it set him back 1000 on amazon and he has put about 400 dollars in upgrades on it since but I know it did good out of box. It is slow though what I can punch out in about 4 hours on my Hictop will take him closer to 5 on it. He added filament out detect to his. A better boden drive and a much bigger power supply and a glass bed that I amusingly I got to cut for him at my work. Also added auto leveling but he says it has its up and downs and sometimes he spend as much time adjusting it as he would the bed. One of the biggest flaws we have found in is that the entire bed area is not heated. So the aluminium bed tends to flex and knock itself out of level in areas. He hasnt said how much the glass bed has helped with that which is why he got that cut. The bed heater is only about 250x250. The mounted power supply cannot handle anything bigger. Supposedly he said there is some info about what needs to be done to get the entire bed heated. Myself I am looking at it slightly smaller brother the S4 which is 400x400x400 and about 250 cheaper to become my 3rd printer. Currently waiting to see if a regular client of mine lands a contract for a project that will bring me a bunch of work and then I will be pulling the trigger most likely on the S4 possibly the S5 depending on what he has to commission me to do for him.
 
Well depending on what you want to spend. Friend of mine picked up the Creality 10s S5 which is a 500x500x500 printer. it set him back 1000 on amazon and he has put about 400 dollars in upgrades on it since but I know it did good out of box. It is slow though what I can punch out in about 4 hours on my Hictop will take him closer to 5 on it. He added filament out detect to his. A better boden drive and a much bigger power supply and a glass bed that I amusingly I got to cut for him at my work. Also added auto leveling but he says it has its up and downs and sometimes he spend as much time adjusting it as he would the bed. One of the biggest flaws we have found in is that the entire bed area is not heated. So the aluminium bed tends to flex and knock itself out of level in areas. He hasnt said how much the glass bed has helped with that which is why he got that cut. The bed heater is only about 250x250. The mounted power supply cannot handle anything bigger. Supposedly he said there is some info about what needs to be done to get the entire bed heated. Myself I am looking at it slightly smaller brother the S4 which is 400x400x400 and about 250 cheaper to become my 3rd printer. Currently waiting to see if a regular client of mine lands a contract for a project that will bring me a bunch of work and then I will be pulling the trigger most likely on the S4 possibly the S5 depending on what he has to commission me to do for him.
Would an S4 be overkill for someone brand new to the hobby? I've watched many reviews and guides, trying to do lots of research, but I came to the conclusion that if I wanted to create large sections of helmets, or even entire helmets, I could only achieve that would a large surface area. My options at the moment are the S4, the basic CR-10s, or the Tevo Tornado 2018.
 
Kinda tired of messing around, I'm seriously thinking of getting Raise3d Pro 2 Plus. Any thoughts? It will pretty much print everything except a torso as one piece.
 
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My current printer has a print area of 210x280mm and for that reason alone, I am unhappy with it and am designing my own.

I would recommend something with a print volume between 400 and 600mm. Anything smaller and you'll consistently be hit with, "I'm pretty sure that will fit on my printer", only to find the model is just a little too small. Larger than 600mm and you really start needing some deeper pockets (plus if you're printing something that large you're probably better off cutting it up into shorter prints anyway). Although I have not used them personally, I am excited by both the "CR-10 4S" and the "CR-10 5S", I've heard mostly good things about the smaller versions, the only downside being well, they're smaller.

If you're new to 3d printing, absolutely get something cheaper, and smaller I cannot stress this enough. The printers aren't exactly difficult to sell on the used market but you're certainly not going to get your money back out of it if you decide 3d printing isn't for you. In addition to this, the larger "enthusiast" printers tend to be more finicky than their smaller versions and are more likely to cause frustration.

If however, you're only a rookie to halo props but have 3d printing experience.... If you feel like you're going to get your money's worth out of it, then by all means get something like the CR-10 S4 or S5. For what I'm looking to do, the startup cost is the only thing averting my interest.
 
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