3D printers - Who's got one?

SJ_1989

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I know there are few of you on here who have a 3D printer. I've wanted one for the longest time but could never justify buying one. I'm working on a few projects on the drag car so I'm using this as an excuse to get one in order to test fit parts before machining (and to print random unnecessary things too obviously....)

So, what's everyone using? What made you choose the one you have? Likes and dislikes?

I've narrowed it down to the CraftBot 3 and the Prusa i3 MK3, but I'm sure there are others out there that are good. I'm really liking the Prusa and about to pull the trigger on one but want to get some feedback from others first. Any recommendations? Below is what I'm in the market for (things that I liked about the CraftBot and Prusa basically).

  • "Decent" build volume without spending more money than what the CraftBot costs
  • Good print quality. I understand this is subjective and varies with cost of the printer
  • Can print a variety of materials
  • No crowdsourced printer. I want something that's available now.
  • Wifi standard would be nice but I see people buy a raspberry pi and use Octoprint
  • IDEX would be nice but honestly don't know I need it
  • Automatic bed leveling is preferred but I'm sure that comes with it's own issues
 

NoGuru

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I have 4 printers in my basement.

Ender 3, my first printer
Tevo Tornado, large print area
Zortrax M200, was in a closet at work not being used
Monoprice v2, giving to me.

They all have pros and cons but the Zortrax prints the nicest, but it has a price tag of $2000. With that you get the ease of use. What I mean is the slicing software is proprietary and you have to use it with the printer. While it is much more limited opposed to say Cura or Simplify 3D, it prints nice, and pretty much any material right out of the box.

The Tevo is very close in print quality, has large surface area and is pretty cheap all things considered. The wiring on it sucks ballz though.

The ender prints nice and is cheap but has a small print area.

The monoprice is close to the Prusia i3 without the cost, but I only have it setup to print flexible material.

I have modified all of them in some way and they all have upgraded hotends so they can all print most materials.
I also have Octoprint on all but the Zortrax because its not possible with it but i think new versions have built in WiFi.

My suggestion would be to pick your budget, then find what you want the most. Bed leveling is nice, but I can level a bed prefect pretty much every time but that comes with years of practice.

Hope I helped a little. If you have more questions feel free to ask.
 
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SJ_1989

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Appreciate the feedback! I looked into all those and a few others and went ahead and pulled the trigger on the Prusa MK3. Has great reviews and looks like it will do everything I need for a very reasonable cost IMO. It has a 4 week leadtime due to COVID :sleepy:
 

NoGuru

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Appreciate the feedback! I looked into all those and a few others and went ahead and pulled the trigger on the Prusa MK3. Has great reviews and looks like it will do everything I need for a very reasonable cost IMO. It has a 4 week leadtime due to COVID :sleepy:
Cool, I have heard that is the best printer ever made.

If you want strong parts I think you will have to upgrade the hot end. I would get used to printing PLA before doing it though. Once you do, you can print Nylon and then epoxy cost them for extra strong parts.
 

hardparker

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I don't have one yet, but have been looking. If I had to buy something now, I'd buy the Qidi X-Max. I like it because it has a large build volume, gets good reviews for quality, will print carbon, and isn't ungodly expensive.

With the ability to print nylon and carbon, you can print some pretty decent structural parts. What I'd really like is a nice 3D metal printer, but they're too spendy just yet.
 

NoGuru

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I don't have one yet, but have been looking. If I had to buy something now, I'd buy the Qidi X-Max. I like it because it has a large build volume, gets good reviews for quality, will print carbon, and isn't ungodly expensive.

With the ability to print nylon and carbon, you can print some pretty decent structural parts. What I'd really like is a nice 3D metal printer, but they're too spendy just yet.
Overpriced IMO.
For $50 my Ender3 can prints Carbon. It is nice that it come enclosed though. That can help tremendously with materials that warp, but it can still happen.
 

hardparker

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Overpriced IMO.
For $50 my Ender3 can prints Carbon. It is nice that it come enclosed though. That can help tremendously with materials that warp, but it can still happen.

Yeah, the enclosed chamber helps with thermal stability for the better print materials, especially. I like the fact that it comes with two print heads, too.
 

SJ_1989

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If you want strong parts I think you will have to upgrade the hot end. I would get used to printing PLA before doing it though. Once you do, you can print Nylon and then epoxy cost them for extra strong parts.

Yea, for sure going to start with the basics being I'm new to this. I'm getting into designing my own parts for my car due to fitment issues I've experienced with various off the shelf parts and it's at the point where custom parts are needed for what I want to do. Should be a good time.

Any brand of PLA you've found better than others? Specific websites you prefer to purchase from?
 

NoGuru

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Yea, for sure going to start with the basics being I'm new to this. I'm getting into designing my own parts for my car due to fitment issues I've experienced with various off the shelf parts and it's at the point where custom parts are needed for what I want to do. Should be a good time.

Any brand of PLA you've found better than others? Specific websites you prefer to purchase from?
I live just a few miles from MicroCenter and they carry Inland PLA+ and it's only $20 and always prints fantastic. Matter Hackers stuff is very nice but it's about twice the price at $40 I think.
 
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NoGuru

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Yeah the Tech is moving quickly now that DIY'ers can afford printers. I saw a video about 6 months ago showing a resin style printer that prints in seconds.
 

SJ_1989

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My Prusa finally came in on July 3rd. Been working on assembling it as I get spare time here and there. Hope to get some test prints done this weekend!
 

NoGuru

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My Prusa finally came in on July 3rd. Been working on assembling it as I get spare time here and there. Hope to get some test prints done this weekend!
Nice! when you get it setup and go to print. Level the bed, then level the bed, then level it one more time, and then one more time for good measure.

I kid but the biggest issue I see with people is not making sure the bed is level. It might even start to print nice but by layer 80 you get a mess.
Just a little tension on a piece of paper should do it.

Also if you are seeing any issues in the print, Calibration is the next step and this is a great place to start. https://mattshub.com/blog/2017/04/19/extruder-calibration
 
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NoGuru

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Did a little project that was fun by recycling my old favorite keyboard and 3D printing a new one. The base is 3D printing and a few keys. The rest is mostly recycled and a lot of soldering. I have tested it and everything is fully functional.
1. Disassemble the old keyboard and unsolder all switches.
2. 3D print the shell and keys needed.
3. Insert switches
4. Solder resistors to every switch.
5. Solder wires to every switch.
6. Program Arduino Teensy 2.0 of key locations.
7. Put it together and test.
8. Realize it would have been easier to just buy a new keyboard but that's no fun.
9. Drink a beer.
 

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NoGuru

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I mostly use my CoreXY for ABS since it's mostly enclosed with an open top. I dumped this bin out of my wife's crap and and put it over the top and it does a good job of containing the fumes. Plus it's in my basement mostly away from where we go.
 

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