Buying a 3D printer

[MaartenNL]

Hi I was just wondering what you would need to get started with a 3D printer.
What would be the best 3D printer for a reasonable price ( under 300 if possible ) and what else would I have to invest in to get it up and working,
Thanks

i can't help you decide which printer to take, due to the fact that i don't know much about them, but every time i have to make a decision like this, i turn to youtube.

Especially with 3d printers, which is a huuuge market, there are so many helpfull vids to find.
Some of them are short user reviews, some them are multi machine grouptests and the channels vary from enhousiactis DIY-ers to (semi-) pro users.

Some of which might be sponsored and therefore maybe slightly brand-biased (how do i say that?) but you will pick up on that pretty quickly.

Those vids will show you the ins and outs of the specific models and because they handle the machines right under your nose/eyes you usually can decide for yourself if the operating of that model and it's quirks are offputting or not.

And because of the competition in this field, big resellers often have their "best-buy-per-budget" neatly organised for first time buyers.

hope this helps

 

[DAPPH]

Do you think the bigger size would really be that invaluable for my self or would I be better reaching my limitations with a smaller machine and then if I feel the need then upgrading, also could I keep this in the garage with all my workshop equipment or would it be better kept in the home.

The printers need to be in a warm dry atmosphere .. even more so when you have certain printing filaments that absorb moisture . MY true original Prusa recommends 17 oC minimum air temp for priniting IIRC and also for it to be in a draught free environment as draughts will cause uneven / erratic cooling of the newly extruded hot filaments . Store open filaments in an air tight bag and keep new ones in the sealed bag till used.

Quite often some folk have had to put their damp un-bagged reels of filament in the airing cupboard for a couple of days to dry them out .

A few people have also converted a small table into a dry printing machine enclosure by putting sides round the legs , adding a 40 to 50 mm thick floor to help keep the printer from going out of alignments and putting on Perspex doors / door on the front .
My enclosure door is a simple slide in / slide out of a glazing channel . Internal temp of the enclosure is raised by use of two 11 watt CFL lamps wired in parallel in two baton holders …. giving a stable 17 oC for 24/7 .


Some filaments give off evil plastic fumes when used … having a computer fan in an external box affixed to the enclosure sucking out such fumes & using a ribbed self supporting 50 mm ID pond water type pipe to pipe them to the outside of the building is the best way to get rid of them .

 

[ukracer]

S

So do you not think a Endor 5 is worth it for a beginner also is it a problem being the t frame over the cage is twisting and rigidity a problem

I have ender 2 and ender 3 and would have an ender 5 but once the novelty wears of you will soon work out that printing larger prints is not really for a begginer. For many things not least every large print failure costs more...not just money but time...a long time.
That said if I was you starting again I would probably get the ender5.
It's a strange one as I picked up a second hand ender 3 fully modded for 130 quid. And it's my belief lots of good buys come from people who have ironed out problems as they often enjoy that as much as printing.

 

[Morticiaskeeper]

If I were to replace my Nfire now, I would probably go for the Ender 3. I have heard that it is better to get the standard 3 rather than the pro, then do any upgrades you want.

 

[Jacktegla]

Thanks for all the help I think I will have a look for an ender 3. Do you think the material ( e.g pla+ is around £20 for 1kg ) is expensive for the amount you can print per reel or do you get a lot of printing out of the amount of plastic.

 

[indy4x]

I'm guessing filament is going to be another of those questions where everybody has an opinion

So to start the ball rolling, when I started 3D printing i asked my BIL what filament he buys. He put me onto Ziro filament which I get off Amazon and its about £15- for a 1kg roll delivered.

No complaints, have 5 or 6 rolls of different colours and it just does it.

 

[Jacktegla]

I’ve been looking all over on here I thought I saw someone had 3D printed themselves a large spanner rack in multiple pieces and glued it together, does anyone know who this could be. Thanks

 

[indy4x]

I’ve been looking all over on here I thought I saw someone had 3D printed themselves a large spanner rack in multiple pieces and glued it together, does anyone know who this could be. Thanks

Think that would have been me.

It's actually 3 separate racks. 2 of them were split into 2 parts to print and 1 was split into 3 parts. Created using Inventor and then sliced the stl file using Cura

 

[ukracer]

Think that would have been me.

It's actually 3 separate racks. 2 of them were split into 2 parts to print and 1 was split into 3 parts. Created using Inventor and then sliced the stl file using Cura

View attachment 213736

View attachment 213735

View attachment 213737

Did you bang the STL on thingiverse mate?

 

[Jacktegla]

Rea

Think that would have been me.

It's actually 3 separate racks. 2 of them were split into 2 parts to print and 1 was split into 3 parts. Created using Inventor and then sliced the stl file using Cura

View attachment 213736

View attachment 213735

View attachment 213737

Really like the spanner rack what sizes have you got it going through?
Also what material did you do them out off? and have you put them up on a platform for others to copy e.g someone such as myself? On a different note would you say printing them took a long time and used lots of material? Sorry about all the questions

 

[indy4x]

On the left it's starts off with a set of 3 brake union spanners then a set of 8mm to 19mm Halfords ratchet combination spanners in 1mm increments

Middle is a set of short Snap On combination spanners from 10mm to 14mm then Snap On stubby combination spanners from 10mm.to 19mm in 1mm increments

On the right is some Halfords combination spanners from 6mm to 9mm then Snap On combination flank drive from 10mm to 20mm again in 1mm increments

The filament was Ziro PLA

Print time was approx 8hrs per rack, layer height was 0.15mm, 1mm wall, 20% cubic infill

Not posted the files anywhere but happy to share both the Inventor and stl files or export them into another format of your choice

They are specific to these spanners and the draw they sit in but with the source files you can tweak them

When they were split into smaller sections for printing I added a pin and hole extrusion to the joints to hold them together once printed

 

[indy4x]

PLA cost was about £3

 

[ukracer]

On the left it's starts off with a set of 3 brake union spanners then a set of 8mm to 19mm Halfords ratchet ring spanners in 1mm increments

Middle is a set of short Snap On combination spanners from 10mm to 14mm then Snap On stubby combination spanners from 10mm.to 19mm in 1mm increments

On the right is some Halfords combination spanners from 6mm to 9mm then Snap On combination flank drive from 10mm to 20mm again in 1mm increments

The filament was Ziro PLA

Print time was approx 8hrs per rack, layer height was 0.15mm, 1mm wall, 20% cubic infill

Not posted the files anywhere but happy to share both the Inventor and stl files or export them into another format of your choice

They are specific to these spanners and the draw they sit in but with the source files you can tweak them

When they were split into smaller sections for printing I added a pin and hole extrusion to the joints to hold them together once printed

Sounds great.... I am sure we have thread for sharing 3d files on the forum.

We have ...I just found it.

https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/handy-3d-prints-for-the-workshop.97647/#post-1476930

 

[indy4x]

Will post them tomorrow, on my phone this evening so no access to the files

 

[indy4x]

Just to add, I do like a neat and tidy toolbox but the objective was to spend some time with Inventor and 3D modelling but also output something useful that needed to work and look the part

 

[Jacktegla]

Just to add, I do like a neat and tidy toolbox but the objective was to spend some time with Inventor and 3D modelling but also output something useful that needed to work and look the part

How do you learn how to design them and how do you know what wall thickness to use and what supports to put inside each design.

 

[ukracer]

How do you learn how to design them and how do you know what wall thickness to use and what supports to put inside each design.

It's hard.

 

[Jacktegla]

It's hard.

Is it just trail and error or is their tutorials and help online ie YouTube

 

[Onoff]

Is it just trail and error or is their tutorials and help online ie YouTube

Some drawing / CAD drafting ability is a real bonus. I was apprenticed in a drawing office and could think and draw in 3D before then having had 30, 45 oblique, 1st, 3rd angle isometric etc drawing drummed into me at school.

Try and learn a parametric modelling software maybe. Perhaps Fusion 360. I keep meaning to get into it. Must be plenty of YouTube tutorials on it.

 

[m_c]

How do you learn how to design them and how do you know what wall thickness to use and what supports to put inside each design.

For most items, you can just design it as a solid 3D model, then the slicer software has settings that control the wall thickness and infill. A good slicer will generate the required internal structure, to meet the percentage of infill you specify.
It's probably worth downloading something like Cura - https://ultimaker.com/software/ultimaker-cura and having a play with some files. Once you've opened a 3D file and set a print profile, if you click Preview, a slider will appear up the right hand side that lets you scroll through layers and see what the internal structure will be.

https://www.thingiverse.com/ is full of useful/useless (delete as appropriate) files.

I've personally got an Ender 3 Pro with a glass bed. One of the mates has been into 3D printing for a while, and he reckoned that was the best value printer that will just work straight out the box. I have to agree. My biggest issue was getting PLA to stick to the glass bed, but hairspray/3DLAC has solved that. I do have a metal extruder to put on, along with silicon buffers to replace the bed springs, but I've not had any reason or motivation to fit them yet.