Need help from 3d printer experts for buying my first!

[storaføtter]

So now that I actually have a disposable income I can splurge on a 3d printer. Not thinking about buying those expensive formlabs ones.
I guess I am interested in those multiple "nozzles" where you can add several colours. I have heard from people that you can get decent ones from chinese brands.
I have unlimited space in my apartment and got a separate room where I can keep it cool and running.

Budget would be probably between 300-1500 dollars.

 

[Burgess_101]

Don't bother with dual nozzles they are way more trouble than they're worth in my opinion. You'll find when doing single colour prints it'll get in the way if not exactly level.

For a starter I personally recommended the Ender 3. Though I would also say if you aren't going to design your own stuff, I don't think it's worth getting a 3D printer.

 

[storaføtter]

Don't bother with dual nozzles they are way more trouble than they're worth in my opinion. You'll find when doing single colour prints it'll get in the way if not exactly level.

For a starter I personally recommended the Ender 3. Though I would also say if you aren't going to design your own stuff, I don't think it's worth getting a 3D printer.

Click to shrink...

I remember seeing Ender 3s at UNI but did not use those. I think in the long run I would probably look into 3d design. I did take one crash course with Sketch (was confusing!) and would like to learn more about the complexities of 3D design. I also like 3D printing due to the fact that you can print replacement parts for things or assemble big things.

 

[Burgess_101]

I remember seeing Ender 3s at UNI but did not use those. I think in the long run I would probably look into 3d design. I did take one crash course with Sketch (was confusing!) and would like to learn more about the complexities of 3D design. I also like 3D printing due to the fact that you can print replacement parts for things or assemble big things.

Click to shrink...

If it's going to help you learn a new skill, go for it.

I have an ender 3, got it for £140. I recommend it for both experienced and beginners it's a great all round printer. I mean if you want the best guaranteed quality, you can always get a Prusa, but I think it's a bit expensive to start with, maybe a Prusa Mini if you can find one.

Best thing to do now, I think, is to spend some time on YouTube, look up many beginners guides to 3D printing, learn the nomenclature, filament types. Recommended the likes of Teaching Tech, Thomas Salanderer, 3D printing nerd, Makers muse. Learn about it all. Then make an informed decision.

Also, filament prices and availability is pretty bad as of now. I guess that goes for printers as well depending on where you get it

 

[storaføtter]

If it's going to help you learn a new skill, go for it.

I have an ender 3, got it for £140. I recommend it for both experienced and beginners it's a great all round printer. I mean if you want the best guaranteed quality, you can always get a Prusa, but I think it's a bit expensive to start with, maybe a Prusa Mini if you can find one.

Best thing to do now, I think, is to spend some time on YouTube, look up many beginners guides to 3D printing, learn the nomenclature, filament types. Recommended the likes of Teaching Tech, Thomas Salanderer, 3D printing nerd, Makers muse. Learn about it all. Then make an informed decision.

Also, filament prices and availability is pretty bad as of now. I guess that goes for printers as well depending on where you get it

Click to shrink...

Yeah I need to do more research before I jump into it. It is a bit tempted to just buy Ultimaker as I am used to using those, but I know they are a "bit" expensive. Some local tech professor recommended it but he probably he is not thinking about costs when doing so :P.
It was just the ease of use that was attractive. I follow someone called modbot that reviews 3d printers but I appreciate shoutouts to more people to follow. I live in Norway so the availability is a bit restricted unless I take a chance on importing and get warranty problems later down the line..

There is another two weeks for my next paycheck so will look into those recommendations in the meantime.

 

[Necron]

I have a Prusa i3 MK3S. Can't complain but do expect to fiddle around with some stuff. It's also little more expensive but support and documentation are very good (even official repair guides etc). I've made some great stuff for cosplay (after lots of post processing).

Maybe the Prusa Mini is better to start with - no idea...

 

[Fliesen]

Don't bother with dual nozzles they are way more trouble than they're worth in my opinion. You'll find when doing single colour prints it'll get in the way if not exactly level.

For a starter I personally recommended the Ender 3. Though I would also say if you aren't going to design your own stuff, I don't think it's worth getting a 3D printer.

Click to shrink...

i can second this. Multi color printing is a huge pain in the ass.

I can vouch for the Prusa printer.

 

[storaføtter]

I have a Prusa i3 MK3S. Can't complain but do expect to fiddle around with some stuff. It's also little more expensive but support and documentation are very good (even official repair guides etc). I've made some great stuff for cosplay (after lots of post processing).

Maybe the Prusa Mini is better to start with - no idea...

Click to shrink...

It looks like they do not sell it in Norway so gotta import it, but I like the sound of that the documentation and support is good. I see it has also gotten a lot of awards too. I would rather spend extra than buy a low tier entry one that I want to upgrade in a year or two.

 

[Necron]

It looks like they do not sell it in Norway so gotta import it, but I like the sound of that the documentation and support is good. I see it has also gotten a lot of awards too. I would rather spend extra than buy a low tier entry one that I want to upgrade in a year or two.

Click to shrink...

I did the same here (Switzerland); paid quite a bit of tax on it but ordered it directly from Poland. All in all, I'd say it's pretty reliable printer. If something does give out after a while as one should expect with these things if you're printing a lot (for me it was one of the threads on the heater block), there's the possibility to order every part individually. I think I've went through about 10 spools (~10 kg) already with the MK3S with two large phases of downtime where I needed to do maintenance/repair.

 

[Deleted member 20429]

I have an Ender 3 and can vouch for it, I'm currently using it for tabletop miniatures and large cosplay pieces. While I can get good minis out of it FDM technology in general isn't great at tiny detailed things, and SLA printers are too hazardous for where I live. The cosplay stuff and functional printing I do it absolutely shines with. The only thing I would say is be prepared to spend your first few weeks with it calibrating it and finetuning your printing profile to get the results you want from it.

 

[fulltimepanda]

First off what exactly do you want to print? The speed and resolution of 3d printers is... not great at the end of the day. First I'd probably get a good understanding of how long it actually takes to print something, the level of detail you can get as well as getting an idea of the overall strength of what you can print. And compare all that to what you're thinking of printing to see if it's actually suitable.

Dual nozzles are a lot of bother for what they offer, if you're just after different colours in your print, i'd recommend learning how to process and paint your prints instead.

Ender 3/Pro is a good place to start, cheap, out of the box the prints aren't bad and there is plenty of room to upgrade while you wrap your head around what makes a good print and a good printer.

 

[Gabe]

So now that I actually have a disposable income I can splurge on a 3d printer. Not thinking about buying those expensive formlabs ones.
I guess I am interested in those multiple "nozzles" where you can add several colours. I have heard from people that you can get decent ones from chinese brands.
I have unlimited space in my apartment and got a separate room where I can keep it cool and running.

Budget would be probably between 300-1500 dollars.

Click to shrink...

As others have said, don't bother with multi-nozzles yet.

I can recommend the CR10, the ability to print large object really comes in handy at times. With a few simple tweaks is also easy to make it comparable to a higher tier printer.

I usually model and print: minis , BIG action figures and exo-prosthetics for dogs without legs (which i do for free cause i'm an idiot like that).

Basically, the larger plate allows you to still print small stuff (even VERY small stuff if you just switch the nozzle to a smaller hole) but gives you the freedom to print very large things as well.

Currently , thanks to the big plate, i'm also printing respiratory valves for my hospital.

The downside of this is obviously that you need quite a bit of space for the machine. Other than that, i can honestly say i've been superhappy.
Should you choose the CR10, don't hesitate messaging me and i'll tell you the simple things you can do to make it even better than it already is. (goes for anyone else in the thread with a cr10, of course)

Cheers.