What's everyone favorite 3D printer
- Thread starter bigseb
- Start date
GDBranch
Senior Member
I went with the Prusa i3 kit, delivered in the USA for $700. After almost a year with it I'm very happy.
Large build volume, excellent print quality and accuracy. Auto bed leveling, auto skew compensation.
Visually it's not an impressive looking printer. As a work horse it's wonderful. Prusa makes sure
every printer they sell is upgradeable to the latest rev. level so you don't get left behind if you buy
today and something new comes out in 6 months.
I didn't have a real need when I bought mine just a desire to tinker. There is a lot to learn about
materials, slicing software and the actual design of components to be printed. Prusa's user forum
is very active with people who can help when you need answers. I've never needed factory support
but I understand it's very good.
You might look into 3DHUBS.com for a printer comparison report to get an idea how the available
printers stack up to each other https://www.3dhubs.com/best-3d-printer-guide. Check
out "BUDGET" printers.
Large build volume, excellent print quality and accuracy. Auto bed leveling, auto skew compensation.
Visually it's not an impressive looking printer. As a work horse it's wonderful. Prusa makes sure
every printer they sell is upgradeable to the latest rev. level so you don't get left behind if you buy
today and something new comes out in 6 months.
I didn't have a real need when I bought mine just a desire to tinker. There is a lot to learn about
materials, slicing software and the actual design of components to be printed. Prusa's user forum
is very active with people who can help when you need answers. I've never needed factory support
but I understand it's very good.
You might look into 3DHUBS.com for a printer comparison report to get an idea how the available
printers stack up to each other https://www.3dhubs.com/best-3d-printer-guide. Check
out "BUDGET" printers.
WaldoPepper
New Member
Flashforge Creator Pro (2016) is by far the best one I owned up until now. Even gave away my Ultimaker 3 ;-)
I print structural parts from ABS and after tinkering a bit with the parameters can produce almost 0% waste (apart from errors in measurement ;-)
I print structural parts from ABS and after tinkering a bit with the parameters can produce almost 0% waste (apart from errors in measurement ;-)
Fusion3 F400 and a Prusa i3 are the printers we use in our business. We purchased these printers about a 7-months ago and this was our initial entry into 3D printing. We were not familiar with the technology and were very concerned about the alternative - injection molding for our low volume parts. We went 3D printer for our parts and glad we did.
The Prusa kit ($699) is inexpensive, small and fits on top of a file cabinet (stable base) and is used for prototype designs in the engineer office. It is a machine with lots of user support, It is small, light duty, light weight, and produces excellent prints, but lacks the features of a professional/serious printer. It is ideal for prototype designs, since it can be used in an office environment. I would not go the kit route again, since it took me about 20 hours to build - but I am now very familiar with the design now.
The F400 ($5000) is big and very fast and is used for production of low volume parts. It is made in USA and is high quality and is a professional machine. It has a wireless feature (option) that permits remote operation and offers detailed realtime data during the print operation via the Simplify3D slicer software. The manufacturer states that is can be run 24/7, but we have not pushed that duty cycle yet. The F400 printer is an excellent machine and it has a 2-year warranty.
The Prusa kit ($699) is inexpensive, small and fits on top of a file cabinet (stable base) and is used for prototype designs in the engineer office. It is a machine with lots of user support, It is small, light duty, light weight, and produces excellent prints, but lacks the features of a professional/serious printer. It is ideal for prototype designs, since it can be used in an office environment. I would not go the kit route again, since it took me about 20 hours to build - but I am now very familiar with the design now.
The F400 ($5000) is big and very fast and is used for production of low volume parts. It is made in USA and is high quality and is a professional machine. It has a wireless feature (option) that permits remote operation and offers detailed realtime data during the print operation via the Simplify3D slicer software. The manufacturer states that is can be run 24/7, but we have not pushed that duty cycle yet. The F400 printer is an excellent machine and it has a 2-year warranty.
bigseb said:
It is an Original Prusa i3 MK2S kit from Prusa Research.
A nice machine and worth the money for a prototype or starter machine, but lacks enclosure and high print speed.
I do like its direct feed for filaments such as the NijaFlex filaments for the small rubber battery caps we make.
voxelman
Member
Dittos for the Original Prusa i3 MK2S kit from Prusa Research. I received mine in June and had been experimenting with an Anycubic delta bot style printer prior to that. The Prusa has just been revisioned to Original Prusa i3 MK3 and the improvements are worth waiting for. See the announcement video here.
I've done all of my printing with PLA and I prefer to use a cold bed. This can lead to shrinkage issues with flat surfaces in contact with the bed. My approach has been to use structures that present as thin profiles on the print bed. See the attached images for one of my projects.
I've done all of my printing with PLA and I prefer to use a cold bed. This can lead to shrinkage issues with flat surfaces in contact with the bed. My approach has been to use structures that present as thin profiles on the print bed. See the attached images for one of my projects.
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GDBranch
Senior Member
Many users have created different types of enclosures for the I3. Check out the user forum. There are a huge number of power users who'd be happy to let you know how well the systems work with ABS. The only printing I've done in ABS are spares parts/upgrades for the printer. ABS is just too prone to issues for me. I've found other plastics that have allowed me to avoid it.
bigseb
Alibre Super User
I didn't ask that as I don't use a Prusa.
More importantly, your Zortrax is in its chops?
You've had that about as long as I have had my FFCX, and thats still going strong. What happened?
RocketNut
Alibre Super User
I have the CR-10 large format [300x300x400mm] printer from TinyMachines3d [https://www.tinymachines3d.com/ ]. They have printers up 500x500x500 print volume.
More importantly, your Zortrax is in its chops?
The hot ends crap out on me periodically, especially when switching between PLA/PHA and ABS, but I can make the parts of the hot end that fail. The bigger issue is that the LED display unit is starting to fade out so it may be getting ready to take a dump. If it does, I will probably start looking for a replacement and the Prusa sounds like a good possibility to me. I like ABS for most parts that I make so that's a consideration for me.
Thanks - I'll check out the forum. What plastics do you use in place of ABS? I was reading about ASA recently and that seems like a possibility.
GDBranch
Senior Member
Primarily I use Maker Geeks Raptor PLA. There's an interesting video on their website where a kid blows up some parts made from it. My experience has been very good with it. UV isn't a problem for the majority of what I do. Raptor is a pretty tough material, prints very well and is good up too dishwasher temps. No smell, no warp, inexpensive. It's not all perfect though. Maker Geeks has not been consistent with delivery times. Sometimes it arrives in 4-5 days others 3-4 weeks.
If UV is an issue I'll use PETG.
One of the reasons I chose a true Prusa machine was the versatility, factory support and the forum. Pretty much any filament made will go through it and if you build the kit any maintenance issues really aren't scary. Prusa gives you the STL and GCODE files for every printed part used in the printer in case you break something. As mentioned, the forum is first rate with a large group of active users with a lot of knowledge about printing.
bigseb
Alibre Super User
That's to bad. I saw Zortrax at the TCT and kind of got the impression that they hadn't done much in terms of development.
Try the UP! Box, UP! Box+ or the UP! Mini 2. Specialized for printing ABS without breaking the bank.