JD of Asgard
Active Member
- Member DIN
- S757
hey guys, I was just looking at 3d printing for my next project and was wondering if any of you knew a good, affordable, brand for a beginner?
best 3d printers?
- Thread starter JD of Asgard
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mblackwell1002
Sr Member
Flashforge is pretty cheap, and has good quality.
I have the FlashForge Creator Pro. works like a charm!
I have the FlashForge Creator Pro. works like a charm!
Depends.
Budget ?
What do you want to create the most ?
Having a knack for simple mechanical assembly ? (building one of these from a kit is not really rocket science, trust me, some kits out there are easy as color-by-numbers and perfectly buildable by anyone who can hold a screwdriver without poking out his eye).
Geographical location ?
Time frame available ?
Certainly if you'd choose to build a kit yourself, you can kinda skip the "beginners printer" stage and use that money to buy a pretty decent size machine at a price you'd only be able to buy a really tiny build size for when buying a "ready out of the box" machine and it still would be cheaper than 90% of what could be called "entry level machines". And depending where you live, serious price differences come in play. I'd assume you're living in the USA ?
And as long as I'm here, I'll always try to help anyone with tips during and after the building stage. I've just recently helped out a female Spartan (with a good technical mind) with a minimum in terms of support, and her kit costed like 170€, having a build size well over that of most ready machine machines costing 5 times as much.
If you're willing to put the time and effort into building a Kit printer, the FolgerTech FT5 is a steal for the money : you can get vouchers for it making the price drop to about 449USD. For that kind of money, you'd be getting a massive 300x300x400 build size and a sturdy frame allowing tons of enhancements and tweaks afterwards. It also has a very active user community. Shipping in the US is free.
Downside : the assembly manual is said to be very iffy and confusing. Also, the printers' frame is kept together with melamine parts. These parts do cause the need to regulary check and retighten all the screws of the machine, and full-metal replacement kits/upgrades do exist for the FT5. This will make the machine more expensive, but on the other hand, you'd still be very hard pressed to find a machine, kit or not, at that price tag even with the added expense of the upgrade kits.
In terms of expansions, a CNC milling upgrade kit is in the works.
Another impressive machine for a limited budget : the Tevo Black Widow. More expensive than the Folgertech, smaller yet still impressive build size (370x250x300), a much better manual inclusive full videos of the assembly steps. Technically stronger made than the Folgertech, the Black Widow is a largly full-metal construction that is mechanically speaking much more robust than many far more expensive machines out there as the designers chose to keep all critical parts fully metal instead of using ABS printed parts which WILL wear out pretty fast (I'm looking at you, Mr Jozef Prusa !) or who's mechanical elements aren't that great to begin with (Like Folgertechs' decission to go with melamine or most CTC's being build around some unidentified wooden frame). There's also the fact that while Tevo got a lot of flack in the first generation of these machines (bad manual, PSU problems), their current version feels far more "ready as a kit" than FolgerTechs' offereing which very much feels like you just got back from the local DIY store, leaving you with stuff like soldering ect ect to do for yourself. The Tevo is way more professionally put together as kit.
In terms of expansions, auto bed level sensors, dual extruders, even laser engraver modules are already available for the Tevo.
Other possibilities exist. As said, it all depends on the answers on the first questions I mentioned.
Don't want to build anything yourself and on a budget ? There's no way not to mention the Wanhao's. It's your starting point when looking for a machine, but the build size is tiny compared to the ones I mentioned above.
Budget ?
What do you want to create the most ?
Having a knack for simple mechanical assembly ? (building one of these from a kit is not really rocket science, trust me, some kits out there are easy as color-by-numbers and perfectly buildable by anyone who can hold a screwdriver without poking out his eye).
Geographical location ?
Time frame available ?
Certainly if you'd choose to build a kit yourself, you can kinda skip the "beginners printer" stage and use that money to buy a pretty decent size machine at a price you'd only be able to buy a really tiny build size for when buying a "ready out of the box" machine and it still would be cheaper than 90% of what could be called "entry level machines". And depending where you live, serious price differences come in play. I'd assume you're living in the USA ?
And as long as I'm here, I'll always try to help anyone with tips during and after the building stage. I've just recently helped out a female Spartan (with a good technical mind) with a minimum in terms of support, and her kit costed like 170€, having a build size well over that of most ready machine machines costing 5 times as much.
If you're willing to put the time and effort into building a Kit printer, the FolgerTech FT5 is a steal for the money : you can get vouchers for it making the price drop to about 449USD. For that kind of money, you'd be getting a massive 300x300x400 build size and a sturdy frame allowing tons of enhancements and tweaks afterwards. It also has a very active user community. Shipping in the US is free.
Downside : the assembly manual is said to be very iffy and confusing. Also, the printers' frame is kept together with melamine parts. These parts do cause the need to regulary check and retighten all the screws of the machine, and full-metal replacement kits/upgrades do exist for the FT5. This will make the machine more expensive, but on the other hand, you'd still be very hard pressed to find a machine, kit or not, at that price tag even with the added expense of the upgrade kits.
In terms of expansions, a CNC milling upgrade kit is in the works.
Another impressive machine for a limited budget : the Tevo Black Widow. More expensive than the Folgertech, smaller yet still impressive build size (370x250x300), a much better manual inclusive full videos of the assembly steps. Technically stronger made than the Folgertech, the Black Widow is a largly full-metal construction that is mechanically speaking much more robust than many far more expensive machines out there as the designers chose to keep all critical parts fully metal instead of using ABS printed parts which WILL wear out pretty fast (I'm looking at you, Mr Jozef Prusa !) or who's mechanical elements aren't that great to begin with (Like Folgertechs' decission to go with melamine or most CTC's being build around some unidentified wooden frame). There's also the fact that while Tevo got a lot of flack in the first generation of these machines (bad manual, PSU problems), their current version feels far more "ready as a kit" than FolgerTechs' offereing which very much feels like you just got back from the local DIY store, leaving you with stuff like soldering ect ect to do for yourself. The Tevo is way more professionally put together as kit.
In terms of expansions, auto bed level sensors, dual extruders, even laser engraver modules are already available for the Tevo.
Other possibilities exist. As said, it all depends on the answers on the first questions I mentioned.
Don't want to build anything yourself and on a budget ? There's no way not to mention the Wanhao's. It's your starting point when looking for a machine, but the build size is tiny compared to the ones I mentioned above.
Last edited:
RobotChicken
Well-Known Member
I got a Dremel Idea Builder. It's an okay printer but their software is extremely lacking and I ended up purchasing Simplify3D to use instead. Its print quality is quite high for its price point, but in hindsight I should have done a little more research and paid more for one with dual extruders and larger print volume.
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ArmoredAmir
Member
I use a Robo 3D R1 Plus. It's been a very reliable printer for me. Since the Robo 3D R2 came out the prices on the R1 and the Plus are cheaper. For most printers I'd suggest to not use the stock program ( in Robo's case its MatterControl) and download Cura. Cura is a great program that works with almost every printer so its very useful.
I think this will change depending on who you ask. I got a makergear M2 as my first along with simplify 3D slicer program and built a buzz lightyear suit using it. I love it. I also learned blender to assist. I was a bit overwhelmed at first but I've gotten much better.
Grimlocky
New Member
if im correct in thinking its a prusa i3 just a new shell isnt it?
Doesn't look like the prusa i3 from observation. Here's the link to the M2.
CPO mendez
Active Member
You can see my thread on 3D printed Halo ships HERE. i have a Robo 3D R1, a reprap based machine with a HUGE build plate, and it's sat in my garage workshop, running almost 24/7, getting covered in anything from wood dust to bondo dust while i worked on other projects. Basically a torture chamber for 3D printers. it's still chugging away happily, so obviously its a great fit for a costuming workshop. it's also got a sub-$1000 price tag!
JD of Asgard
Active Member
- Member DIN
- S757
Lot's of good suggestions here. Thank you guys so much. I've been looking into all of them to see what'll work best for me.
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