What's the most key point when you decide to get a 3d printer

[stephenleeeyan]

As the title said, what's the key point when you want to get your first 3d printer? Speed or others?

 

[Waboss]

Bed size for me, I print some larger things from time to time. But if I were looking for one now, my list would look something like this:

-Bed size (must be 350mm or larger)
-Auto leveling that actually works (a lot of vendors say they do it, but do they do it well)
-Bed sled, yes or no.....depends on what I can find if I'm being honest, in a perfect world, no bed sled (bed Y-axis moves vs. both X and Y are the print head moving).
-Noise level (as I print mostly in my home office, I prefer not to need hearing protection while printing......hahaha!
-Supportability

 

[dschuffert]

Everything Waboss said. It also depends on what you want to do with it and what materials you want to print with. I like the Prusa printers (https://www.prusa3d.com/). I ended up with a Makerbot Method X for the type of printing I needed to do.

 

[stephenleeeyan]

Bed size for me, I print some larger things from time to time. But if I were looking for one now, my list would look something like this:

-Bed size (must be 350mm or larger)
-Auto leveling that actually works (a lot of vendors say they do it, but do they do it well)
-Bed sled, yes or no.....depends on what I can find if I'm being honest, in a perfect world, no bed sled (bed Y-axis moves vs. both X and Y are the print head moving).
-Noise level (as I print mostly in my home office, I prefer not to need hearing protection while printing......hahaha!
-Supportability

The size right? How about the speed? I find lots of machines tell they can print 150mm/s - 300mm/s, but some users said actually they cannot reach that high speed.

 

[Downdy]

If you are a beginner, I think the most important key is ease of use, many products on the market such as ender 3 are difficult to operate. Sometimes you may spend a few nights practicing, which can be frustrating for beginners.
And few machines are beginner friendly.

 

[StatelineReefer]

The size right? How about the speed? I find lots of machines tell they can print 150mm/s - 300mm/s, but some users said actually they cannot reach that high speed.

They CAN reach those speeds, but your print quality suffers, and your build plate adhesion better be on point, otherwise the extruder will drag a half finished piece around until you stop it.

For a reliable 3d printer, dual Z axis steppers, non-proprietary extruders, and large bed size are a must have for me.

 

[TheyGaveItToMe]

The size right? How about the speed? I find lots of machines tell they can print 150mm/s - 300mm/s, but some users said actually they cannot reach that high speed.

The ability to move 150mm/s does not mean you can print that speed. In this hobby we print alot in PETG, which doesn't like to print faster than 55mm/s. Before you decide on a printer it helps to know what you plan on printing. For things that will not contact saltwater, I prefer the quality of a resin printer over filament.

 

[stephenleeeyan]

If you are a beginner, I think the most important key is ease of use, many products on the market such as ender 3 are difficult to operate. Sometimes you may spend a few nights practicing, which can be frustrating for beginners.
And few machines are beginner friendly.

Yes I am a newbie of 3d printer. And I also heard about ender's machines have lot of problem, any other machines?

 

[homer1475]

While I do not own one, but have looked into it many times, I was under the impression that the enders line was a decent printer for beginners?

 

[StatelineReefer]

While I do not own one, but have looked into it many times, I was under the impression that the enders line was a decent printer for beginners?

Ender 3's are sort of like Hondas. They'll run, and get you back and forth, but if you know how to tune them properly, they're top of the line.

But sometimes you don't want to know all that stuff, you just want it to work.

 

[Paul B]

I prefer the quality of a resin printer over filament.

I have a resin printer and I love the thing. The finished product has the look and consistency of wood and it is very tough so you can use it for things other than model figures.

I don't make models but I use it for things I need like pot handles, light weight gears or many other useful things. Filament printers are good for things that won't be needed for strength or durability.

 

[Sasquatchv]

Bed size/print volume, frame rigidity and linear bearings to be supported*, bearings with slack adjustment are a bonus too.


Also no printer with propertiary slicer required for me.
Printers that use printed structural parts are a BIG no. They will need constant realignments and fail prematurely.

*Some printers use 8-10mm round rails, those ring/wobble and prints above 50mm/s come out crap, even non extruding moves have to be slowed down for decent looking prints.

 

[lynn.reef.nerd]

I was new and wanted something on the more affordable side to make sure I will enjoy it. Ended up getting the Ender 3. Not big on tinkering and too many things to constantly fix so I bought the Prusa Mini.
Really enjoy Prusa so probably will never go back to Creality. Ease of use and durability are two of my top priorities when it comes to products.

 

[TheHarold]

As the title said, what's the key point when you want to get your first 3d printer? Speed or others?

Community support. Whether you buy an Ender-3 or a Prusa, you will have endless resources online.

I personally have 6 Prusa MK3s in my small print farm, most of them with over 18,000 hour of print time.

In my opinion…. Stop waiting and buy a Ender 3 Pro for $99 from MicroCenter. Use it for a while, learn to 3D model, and then you can either start upgrading it or purchase a nicer printer. Just get started, given it’s a small investment.

SLA printers are higher quality, but have more post processing steps (alcohol baths, curing) and are (debatably) more dangerous with the toxic resins.

 

[Oceanwolf]

This was good

Community support. Whether you buy an Ender-3 or a Prusa, you will have endless resources online.

I personally have 6 Prusa MK3s in my small print farm, most of them with over 18,000 hour of print time.

In my opinion…. Stop waiting and buy a Ender 3 Pro for $99 from MicroCenter. Use it for a while, learn to 3D model, and then you can either start upgrading it or purchase a nicer printer. Just get started, given it’s a small investment.

SLA printers are higher quality, but have more post processing steps (alcohol baths, curing) and are (debatably) more dangerous with the toxic resins.

this was good advise

 

[SilvermistInc]

I have a resin printer that I use to make airplanes. It's cool

 

[fr3n0z]

Yes I am a newbie of 3d printer. And I also heard about ender's machines have lot of problem, any other machines?

IF you want print faster, just go with bigger nozzle, what you print in 3hr on 0.2 layer and 0.4 nozzle you can print it in 1hr with 0.6 nozzle and 0.48 layer. Many of those printer that offer 150/300mm in reality they don't do it. jerk and accelleration setting prevent that, even if speed is set on cura. You can arrive to those speed for real but it will be mayhem and is for experienced user in my opinion.

To me is all about your budget. If you want to stay low ender 3 is the way to go. If you have 500+ CR series or 1000+ original prusa. But already with a cheap ender 3 once you know it you can print well, your only limit at that point will be the size.

Learning curve on all those machine (less on prusa) is steep but once you get it to know it you are able to do whatever you like.