3D printers recommended

[Zflyer]

Firstly a healthy 2021 to you.

Am considering a 3d printer. The creality series seem to be a good choice but appreciate thoughts from those of you that have 3d printers. All recommendations and reviews welcome.

[leccyflyer]

I staerted with a Malyan M150 a few years ago and it was great just to see it pring that wee mouse test piece. I was able to print a number of pilot figures, spare parts and nice scale details for myself and for clubmates. However over time, play started to set in, it got less stable and difficult to produce repeatable results. I replaced some of the critical bits with better quality parts but it was never quite right.

Back end of last year after a bit of research and reading reviews there were good deals on the Creality Ender 5 Pro printers and I particularly liked the frame design, which looked like a much more stable cubic frame. The difference has been dramatic - print quality is excellent- much smoother test cubes than the Malyan. The only initial difficulty I had was bed adhesion on the magnetic bed cover, but a quick coat of hairspray solved that and the ease of use of the removable print bed is super. The filament feed is much smoother and easy to use, the speed that the printer gets up to temperature is much faster than the Malyan and the way that the print builds, with the print bed going down, rather than the print building up, works very well. It is also extremely quiet in operation. I'd say it is chalk and cheese and wish that I had got the Creality earlier. It has certainly been a lot more productive in the short time that I have had it.

[PeterF]

I bought the AnyCubic Mega S a while ago, at the time it was just over £200 but a tad more expensive now. I found it a good solid basic printer but I did do a few mods I printed a better cooling nozzle to give 2 sided air flow as the original cooling nozzle was one direction only and did not evenly cool objects. I also printed a new hot end cover so that the hot end cooling fan did not blow air down onto the prints so that was better for ABS printing that does not like cooling. I also swapped the bowden tube to a high quality Capricorn one so that it is more precise, especially printing rubber filaments like TPU for the tyres on the Stearman. I have printed many parts for my planes, nose cones, brackets, pilots, instruments panels, servo arms for light duties, servo mounting plates. I also printed one of the complete 3Dlabprint planes, the Stearman that flew well. Here are a few examples.

[Simon Chaddock]

I does of course rather depend on what you want to use it for and how much you wan to spend.

There are a number of very similar & cheaper 'clones' to the Creality series however.

I use an Anet A8 which can be considered a Creality clone. Seriously cheap at the time and came as a kit of parts you had to assemble but the actual working parts are of equal quality to any of the others.

If you intend to design components yourself it does take some time and patience to fully understand how to get the best out of it both of the printer mechanical settings and the abilities of the 'slicer' programme. Part orientation on the bed can make a big difference to its final mechanical properties.

Using a CAD programme to create a design in the first place is a completely new ball game!

My humble Anet A8 is used regularly to create a huge range of parts for my planes and according to its onboard log has consumed over 2 kilometres of filament so far!

[Bob Smitham]

My Creality Ender 3 was £150 delivered.Not had a problem with it in over 18 months of near constant use.

Which ever you choose you will wonder how you managed with out one.From Peters examples ( I failed miserably at my attempt at a plane)to my current project Flying Flynns laser CNC design .There are thousands of ready to print files on Yegi and Thingyverse web sites .But if you want to create your own bespoke components a few hours watching one of the many CAD tutorials will have you making your own simple custom parts in no time.

Iv'e just printed off an attachment to hold a plotter drag knife.The knife is only £6 and will allow me cut vynal on the printer.That's a new use I only discovered this week after 18 months of ownership.

I still find amazing that for under £200 pound you can create and manufacture your own items at home.Unthinkable a decade or so ago.

[Zflyer]

Took the plunge Creality CR6.

Thanks to those of you who responded. Will do my best to utilise it and hopefully in the future show pics and no doubt problems. Lol

[Bob Smitham]

Posted by Zflyer on 04/01/2021 17:51:58:

Took the plunge Creality CR6.

Thanks to those of you who responded. Will do my best to utilise it and hopefully in the future show pics and no doubt problems. Lol

Just checked out the CR6 zflyer.Looks a good choice with auto bed leveling (something I added to my budget Creality) and a glass bed.

If you are as daft as me you will spend hours watching each layer build up as it goes for the first dozens of prints.But be prepared to go to bed with a perfect half of a ten hour print going nicely.And then waking up to a pile of plastic spaghetti in the morning.It will happen occasionally.

[FlyinFlynn]

Please keep in mind these things are a fire hazard when advising people to leave them unattended. While the later variants of the popular firmware controlling them have improved thermal runaway precautions they are still to be treated with care. Fit a smoke alarm above it. Keep flammable materials away from it as far as possible and I would suggest not leaving it run overnight while you sleep.

[Jason Channing]

We have 3 x Prusa and 1 Ender and they have been faultless and generally all 4 are running 24 hours a day, It was never an issue with thermal runaway it was loose cheap wires burning out that caused Fires which is why the ender 3 was such a big step up from the Anet 8..as of yet I have never been aware of anyone dying from a 3 d printer.

[FlyinFlynn]

Then you have not been paying attention. All it takes is for the thermister to become detached from the hot end or for the heater MosFet to fail short circuit and the heater will not switch off. There have been numerous reports of buildings burning down because a 3D printer has done just that. Promoting safety is NEVER a bad thing and scoffing that something has never happened to you in all your extensive years of 24 hours a day printing is of no comfort to those that HAVE been subject to Sods Law. 

BBC

https://the3dprinterbee.com/3d-printer-fireproof/

https://www.thissmarthouse.net/dont-burn-your-house-down-3d-printing-a-cautionary-tale/

https://3dprinterly.com/3d-printing-when-not-at-home-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly/

https://all3dp.com/fire-safety-unattended-3d-printer-nearly-burns-house-down/

Edited By FlyinFlynn on 07/01/2021 16:35:26

Edited By David Ashby - Moderator on 07/01/2021 19:53:17

[Peter Jones 21]

Dremel 3D20, UL rated CE marked, signed off by Bosch engineering (Bosch own Dremel) fully enclosed, suitable for school or work place use. Leave it running all day and night.

Can be bought S/H on Ebay for £150.00, just put the filament in and it works 'plug and play'

[riqaza]

On 02/01/2021 at 17:41, leccyflyer said:

I staerted with a Malyan M150 a few years ago and it was great just to see it pring that wee mouse test piece. I was able to print a number of pilot figures, spare parts and nice scale details for myself and for clubmates. However over time, play started to set in, it got less stable and difficult to produce repeatable results. I replaced some of the critical bits with better quality parts but it was never quite right.

Back end of last year after a bit of research and reading reviews there were good deals on the Creality Ender 5 Pro printers and I particularly liked the frame design, which looked like a much more stable cubic frame. The difference has been dramatic - print quality is excellent- much smoother test cubes than the Malyan. The only initial difficulty I had was bed adhesion on the magnetic bed cover, but a quick coat of hairspray solved that and the ease of use of the removable print bed is super. The filament feed is much smoother and easy to use, the speed that the printer gets up to temperature is much faster than the Malyan and the way that the print builds, with the print bed going down, rather than the print building up, works very well. It is also extremely quiet in operation. I'd say it is chalk and cheese and wish that I had got the Creality earlier. It has certainly been a lot more productive in the short time that I have had it portable printer.

Hello. I am looking to buy my first 3d printer. Some of my accounts are starting to use and send digital scans instead of impressions and so i need to buy a 3d printer to print the scans they send. Can anyone please recommend a 3d printer that will work well but wont be too expensive? Which brand and model will be the best bang for the buck? Thanks for all the help and info!

[EvilC57]

Creality Ender 3 series are a popular starting point. Not expensive, easy to get parts for, and compatible with most common slicer software.

 

Or for a bit more money, the newer Bambu Labs A1 is well reviewed.

Edited April 1 by EvilC57

[PDB]

24 minutes ago, EvilC57 said:

Or for a bit more money, the newer Bambu Labs A1 is well reviewed.

After years of fiddling with Ender 3’s my A1 has been a breath of fresh air, good quality, consistent and reliable prints.

 

Note there is a design issue with the heat bed hence they’re not available for purchase until the redesigned heat bed is ready, should be soon.

 

Existing owners have been told not to use the printer and either return it for a refund or wait for the redesigned heat bed to be sent for self fitting.

Edited April 1 by PDB

[EvilC57]

27 minutes ago, PDB said:

After years of fiddling with Ender 3’s my A1 has been a breath of fresh air, good quality, consistent and reliable prints.

 

Note there is a design issue with the heat bed hence they’re not available for purchase until the redesigned heat bed is ready, should be soon.

 

Existing owners have been told not to use the printer and either return it for a refund or wait for the redesigned heat bed to be sent for self fitting.

Yes I’ve heard about that. Some issue with potential damage to the heated bed power cable isn’t it?

[FlyinFlynn]

8 hours ago, riqaza said:

Some of my accounts are starting to use and send digital scans instead of impressions and so i need to buy a 3d printer to print the scans they send.

I think you are about to discover a rabbit hole that has no bottom. This isn't 'mission impossible' where you can produce a perfect mask from a single simple scan, at least, not yet it isn't.

[leccyflyer]

8 hours ago, riqaza said:

Hello. I am looking to buy my first 3d printer. Some of my accounts are starting to use and send digital scans instead of impressions and so i need to buy a 3d printer to print the scans they send. Can anyone please recommend a 3d printer that will work well but wont be too expensive? Which brand and model will be the best bang for the buck? Thanks for all the help and info!

I'm still very happy with the Creality Ender 5 Pro that I posted about. It has given good service and produces good quality prints, with very few failures to date. I now have it in an enclosure with a view to trying to print in ABS as an option, where the Maylan 150 failed dismally due to curl on the margins of the prints.

[EvilC57]

1 hour ago, FlyinFlynn said:

I think you are about to discover a rabbit hole that has no bottom. This isn't 'mission impossible' where you can produce a perfect mask from a single simple scan, at least, not yet it isn't.

3D printing is a whole science in itelf.

[PDB]

3 hours ago, EvilC57 said:

Yes I’ve heard about that. Some issue with potential damage to the heated bed power cable isn’t it?

 

Yes https://blog.bambulab.com/a1-recall-update/

 

Mine does exhibit signs of damage to the outer insulation but I'm still using it, under supervision only, and will fit the redesigned heat bed when available..

[Jake Bullit]

Had the Elegoo Neptune 4+ side Christmas. Works great. 3d printing is not plug and play.

[Jason Channing]

Since Bamboo Labs hit the market it has slaughtered the price of second hand Prusas' Market so some good deals on Ebay for these,  We have a mixture of Bamboo printers here working night and day and the Mk 3 Prusas' generally dont get used much now, They are not as sturdy as a Prusa but the prints generally work time after time, AS far as plug and play Bamboo are the closest you will get.

[Jason Channing]

On 01/04/2024 at 08:33, EvilC57 said:

Yes I’ve heard about that. Some issue with potential damage to the heated bed power cable isn’t it?

Ours are fine and it is only a  potential risk, Still didn't stop us getting the $120 refund, a new bed is on the way and along with the new price of a mini, its nearly free.

[Ron Gray]

I recently 'upgraded' from my trusty Prusa M3S to a Bambu Labs X1 Carbon. It is a very nice machine, not exactly plug and play but once various filament settings dialled in it is extremely good (and v quick!).

[Keith Billinge]

I have an Ender 3 V2 and it's cheap & cheerful. Not as fast as some printers out there but spares and upgrades are easy to source and the popularity of the printer means you can easily get help if you get stuck.

There is a learning curve to owning and using a 3D printer. so. it pays not to buy one that only 4 people in Myanmar have bought.

 

 

KB

[EvilC57]

54 minutes ago, Keith Billinge said:

I have an Ender 3 V2 and it's cheap & cheerful. Not as fast as some printers out there but spares and upgrades are easy to source and the popularity of the printer means you can easily get help if you get stuck.

There is a learning curve to owning and using a 3D printer. so. it pays not to buy one that only 4 people in Myanmar have bought.

 

 

KB

My Ender 3 V2 has done sterling service over the 2+ years that I’ve had it. Getting a little fed up with having to do frequent manual checks on the bed levelling, which drifts sometimes. I’ll live with it for now, but I know I’m going to be tempted by a Bambu P1P or P1S and their auto bed levelling (and other refinements) sooner or later.

Edited April 5 by EvilC57