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I am thinking to buy a 3d printer but my budget hangs around 200 dollars, i am a student and need it for small non-comlex designs

Aniket_kumar_raj — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 11:16:06 GMT

Any idea ,something which i can use for a long time

RE: I am thinking to buy a 3d printer but my budget hangs around 200 dollars, i am a student and need it for small non-comlex designs

Matt — Tue, 05 May 2026 16:17:00 GMT

There are a bunch of accessories you might want to consider getting.. I've blogged about it previously, so I'll paste in the list I collated:

£3 Digital Caliper; essential for designing your own 3D models! I've recently upgraded to the Duratool steel caliper and really like it; Duratool steel caliper
£5 3D Printer tool kit; there are multiple kits to choose from, but the trimming knife, scraper, cleaning needle, tweezers, and pliers deburring kit is more than enough IMO.
£6 Storage box (216x165x95mm); sure you could print one, but they're cheap, well built & have foam inserts. Great for storing all your accessories.
£3 Humidity sensors; for putting with your filament to warn you when the humidity is too high.
£7 Amazon Vacuum Bags and Hand Pump; for storing your filament away from moisture.
£3 Desiccant; orange reusable silica gel beads for keeping moisture away from your filament in storage. Allow 50g per spool. In v.sunny weather you can even dry them outdoors.
£50 Ikea Air purifier; in my tests it does a good job filtering PM2.5 particles. New filters are £5 each.
£6 Dust Cover; There are times that you won’t be using your 3D printer for a while, so a dust cover is a good investment for the A1 Mini (45x45x48cm).

RE: I am thinking to buy a 3d printer but my budget hangs around 200 dollars, i am a student and need it for small non-comlex designs

Aniket_kumar_raj — Tue, 05 May 2026 16:08:17 GMT

Taking notes...

RE: I am thinking to buy a 3d printer but my budget hangs around 200 dollars, i am a student and need it for small non-comlex designs

Matt — Tue, 05 May 2026 16:04:09 GMT

Absolutely.. they're often on sale. Then you can get some filament without breaking the budget.

RE: I am thinking to buy a 3d printer but my budget hangs around 200 dollars, i am a student and need it for small non-comlex designs

rsjawale24 — Tue, 05 May 2026 15:54:17 GMT

Bambu Lab A1 or A1 mini. They were on sale few months back. Keep checking the website for future sale

RE: I am thinking to buy a 3d printer but my budget hangs around 200 dollars, i am a student and need it for small non-comlex designs

Matt — Tue, 05 May 2026 13:24:11 GMT

I'm relatively new to 3D printing after buying a Bambulab A1 Mini last year, which has been brilliant.

It took about 20 minutes to set up and is very much plug-and-play. I've been using PLA for all my prints.. nothing more exotic than that, and have maybe had 2 failed prints in over 100.

For designing my own stuff I've used OnShape, and have loved how it all works in a browser, letting me jump from my laptop to my gaming PC to pick up where I left off.

RE: I am thinking to buy a 3d printer but my budget hangs around 200 dollars, i am a student and need it for small non-comlex designs

Robert Peter Oakes — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 22:44:52 GMT

Your not going to get much for the 200$ but as said, just google "3d printers under 250$" for example. creality, anycubic etc all have offerings in that category and all big enough for printing PI Cases etc. just dont expect a lot of features

RE: I am thinking to buy a 3d printer but my budget hangs around 200 dollars, i am a student and need it for small non-comlex designs

Aniket_kumar_raj — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 05:30:48 GMT

nope,i just want somethng durabe and of rnough size to ringt rasberry case,it wont bother me if its time consuming

RE: I am thinking to buy a 3d printer but my budget hangs around 200 dollars, i am a student and need it for small non-comlex designs

vmate — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 21:40:10 GMT

Without any description of what you want to do with it, how big, how fast, what materials, want to upgrade it, etc, you could've just googled it.
www.reddit.com/.../

pre-processing challenges

sonalispatil — Tue, 05 Jul 2022 08:59:09 GMT

What are the pre-processing challenges in the 3D printing process in the selection of slicer parameters which leads to thinking Artificial intelligence and Machine learning are required?

RE: pre-processing challenges

olivia_49 — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 20:49:54 GMT

Pre-processing in 3D printing is challenging because selecting optimal slicer parameters is complex, time-consuming, and highly dependent on geometry and material, which is why AI and machine learning can help.

What is the best inexpensive metal 3D printer

Graffiti2graphics — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 02:22:33 GMT

What is a good carbon fiber 3D printer, in the North American market. Whom makes a good metal based 3D printer. Where to purchase a good carbon fiber 3D printer.

RE: What is the best inexpensive metal 3D printer

olivia_49 — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 20:48:52 GMT

For carbon fiber 3D printing in North America, Markforged Mark Two, MakerBot METHOD Carbon Fiber, and QIDI X-CF Pro are popular and available from MatterHackers, Dynamism, or directly from manufacturers. For metal 3D printing, Desktop Metal, HP Metal Jet, and Velo3D are top options, usually purchased through specialized dealers or manufacturer quotes.

Experience with custom 3D-printed Raspberry Pi cases?

lichurbagan — Sat, 27 Dec 2025 07:12:59 GMT

I want a custom Raspberry Pi case. I found this open-source case design: https://github.com/marceloeatworld/OpenPiCase Has anyone used a service or printed open-source designs themselves? Any tips for modifying designs for Pi 4 or Pi 5?

RE: Experience with custom 3D-printed Raspberry Pi cases?

Robert Peter Oakes — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 17:14:06 GMT

there are plenty of options on printables and thingiverse with or without fans for cooling

https://www.thingiverse.com/search?q=pi+4%2C5+case&page=1

https://www.printables.com/search/models?q=pi+4+or+5+case

over the years I have used many models from both sites without issues, but as already stated, Pi 4 and 5 do need a cooling solution if enclosed so pick wisely

RE: Experience with custom 3D-printed Raspberry Pi cases?

Workshopshed — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 16:55:44 GMT

I have used a 3D printed ABS case with a Pi for many years with no issues, would need to check, it is probably a Pi3.

The 4 and 5 run a lot hotter so you'd want more space for heatsinks and fans along with airvents

RE: Experience with custom 3D-printed Raspberry Pi cases?

DAB — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 19:27:33 GMT

I have used some enclosures, but I am with Douglas on this one.

I want as much air around my Pi as I can get.

RE: Experience with custom 3D-printed Raspberry Pi cases?

olivia_49 — Mon, 29 Dec 2025 19:23:03 GMT

I’ve 3D-printed a few open-source Pi cases myself, and it’s pretty straightforward. For Pi 4 or 5, just double-check the ports and mounting holes, you might need to tweak the design a bit to fit perfectly.

RE: Experience with custom 3D-printed Raspberry Pi cases?

dougw — Mon, 29 Dec 2025 17:47:21 GMT

Black Box Surprise Prize

Raspberry Pi 4 Model B Review

I modify the cases if needed.

RE: Experience with custom 3D-printed Raspberry Pi cases?

embeddedguy — Mon, 29 Dec 2025 11:18:29 GMT

If you are comfortable using CAD design tools than you can make your own Pi case all yourself and then use 3D printing service near to you. This way you would get to learn 3D printing. You can use tools such as Fusion-360, Thinker Cad, etc.

RE: Experience with custom 3D-printed Raspberry Pi cases?

lichurbagan — Sat, 27 Dec 2025 15:45:27 GMT

Sir, which metal cases do you use? Do you customize them or buy directly from The Pi Hut?

RE: Experience with custom 3D-printed Raspberry Pi cases?

dougw — Sat, 27 Dec 2025 15:26:01 GMT

I have a 3D printer and lots of Raspberry Pi modules, but I don't print cases for them. I am worried that the heat from the Pi will cause the printed case to sag. I use metal cases for Raspberry Pi modules. If you want to use printed cases I would suggest using higher temperature plastic or at least a design that incorporates a good fan solution . There are lots of good looking case designs available on the net, and lots of places that will provide 3D printing services.

Ender 3 pro

Jokerschild666 — Tue, 27 Feb 2024 22:21:36 GMT

I have had my ender for about a year now and I just replaced the z motor on it the wires are good but when I try to home the motor just humms and doesn't move then a home error shows on screen and says reset printer is it a software issue help

RE: Ender 3 pro

devinsheppard — Sun, 14 Dec 2025 06:43:58 GMT

I had something similar. By any chance did you turn the motors while the priner was powered off but the motors were still connected to the mainboard? Because DC motors will become generators and send a charge back through the mainboard. There are no diodes to prevent this, because DC motors require flow of current both ways to turn both ways. If this is what has happened, the only fix is to replace the mainboard and make sure when you move the print bed or z carriage, the printer is powered on or the motors are NOT connected to the main board.

After writing this, I see that the thread is more than 2 years old. Probably forgotten or solved by now.

RE: I have an Ender 3 V2, but my bed and hotend temps sit prrox 15c higher than ambient... then dont heat

lethal350 — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 14:45:09 GMT

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I had move to klipper from maelin about a week prior. Probably a solid 10 hours printing. Or wasnit.... damn you got me thinking now.... maybe it wasnt long on this printer...