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What is your must have 3D printer option?

colporteur

Can you provide a list of three options that must be included, if you are going to purchase of a 3D printer?

 

I have been asked to provide a list of options for evaluating the selecting of a 3D printer. A friend of mine is considering making a purchase.  He has no experience with 3D printers. He is looking for some insight before making the purchase. The only experience I have with 3D printers is, having attended a few of the sessions of 3D Printing For Makers: Free 4 Part Webinar Series . After reviewing my notes I came up with the following list.

 

  • Number of extruders
  • Type of polymer supported
  • Closed or open case
  • Heated deck
  • Software

 

The list is pretty short. I am unable to rank importance. I'm looking for input from the Experts or rather those people that have or have used a 3D printer. These people from experience have insight into the printing. I'm thinking they can provide a recommendation on options they feel can make or break a 3D printer. If you are aware of a gotchas to avoid that would be appreciated.

 

The printer purchase is for a resident of Canada. The budget for the project is less than thousand in Canadian dollars. I would speculate the printer will be used to support primarily designs within a model railroad environment. The user is not experienced and has basis computer user skills.

 

If you were looking to purchase a 3D printer, what would be your must have options?

  • Number one feature needed is the ability to change filament in the middle of a print - so you don't need to worry if there is enough to complete the print and you can use spools all the way to the end.

    Number two is a heated bed with auto-release surface - hot plastic sticks to it but when it cools, the part is no longer stuck.

    Number three is an open chassis that allows easy access to all parts - some closed chassis machines are extremely difficult to service and maintain.

    Number four is a quiet machine, but it doesn't trump easy access.

  • For a filament printer:

    • Open source filament.  (meaning, you don't have to buy their cartridges like XYZ Printing)
    • Software that allows full control of settings throughout the process like Repetier
    • Aluminum Bed
    • Minimum bed size of 6x6x6
    • <$400 US dollars

     

    For an SLA:

    • >40 UV LEDs
    • 1080p display
    • Software:  Chitubox
    • <$200 US Dollars
  • in reply to dougw

    DW, you indicate close chassis. I read a review where the case being closed reduces problems with the model during cooling (i.e.no drafts in a closed case.) Care to comment?

     

    Break...Break...

    What printer are you currently using? Are you satisfied with it performance?

  • in reply to colporteur

    Enclosed cases do seem to maintain warmer ambient air and contain noise better but the printer I use most (Anycubic I3 Mega) is open and it has no problems with delamination or other thermal issues. I have used it for several years and hundreds of prints and never even had to relevel it.

    Before this printer, I would have rated automatic bed levelling as a pretty important feature, so that is probably still useful if bed leveling performance is unknown.

    I have a larger printer that had some issues keeping the large bed uniformly hot so I built an insulated thermal enclosure and monitored the temperature at various locations inside. I also used a heat gun to try and ensure the temperature was what I wanted at all locations. It was a lot of work throughout the print but it did help. For that printer, and printing large objects, just the enclosure was not helping enough to be a useful feature. The heat gun without the enclosure was far more effective in achieving desired temperatures - mainly it was needed during the first 15 minutes of a print job.

  • Let me tell you this first I am not an expert in 3D printing or printers but a few years back I had a similar question while choosing which 3D printer to buy. So I am sharing my experience with you here. Hope it helps!

     

    I knew only a little bit about 3D printers when I started searching for one to buy. I watched many videos and read many articles to first determine what all a 3D printer requires. I am sharing a few among the links which I referred to below,

     

    Buyer's Guides | All3DP

    10 Things You Need to Know Before Buying A 3D Printer - Pick 3D Printer

    YouTube Video - https://youtu.be/RbtINaQOzDE

     

    Mostly, it was these which decided a buy or not a buy,

     

    • Usage - Why do I need a 3D printer? For printing prototypes? or for printing industry-grade finished products?
    • Size of the print bed - Bigger the better (because mostly we won't be upgrading the printer often). You can also be innovative in smaller printers where you can build bigger products by joining smaller prints. has done an excellent job in explaining the features a print bed needs. So have a look at his comment above as well.
    • Customer and Community Support - How much information about the 3D printer is available on the internet and how is the support in case anything goes wrong with the printer.
    • Materials which the printer can print
    • Customizable/ Repairable - Will you yourself be able to modify the parts of the printer like place a new print bed, new extruder, etc. An open case is my personal choice which enables easier customization/ repair.

     

    I ended buying Creality CR-10. The main reason (even though it shouldn't have been the main reason) is the price and shipping availability to my country from Element14 online stores (because I had got a $500 shopping cart from Element14 Community). But I am satisfied with my choice because it fits my needs (prototypes - print quality is not industry-grade), the size of the print bed is big (300*300*400), has good customer and community support, can print PLA, ABS, Carbon Fiber, Wood, and customizable/repairable (open case).

     

    image

     

    Leveling the bed initially was a bit tough but once set you are good to go for a long duration. If I leave the printer unused for a long time and then when I use it, I face some bad prints, and even at times, the machine would go crazy. But a simple restart would fix them all. So I would suggest a periodic usage of the printer, if not a big print at least a test print would be fine.

  • I have been monitoring commentary. Appreciate the feedback.

     

    My apologies for not responding, those retirement cycles that I had nothing scheduled have filled up all of a sudden. If anyone has some spare time, my spouse would like the taps changed in the kitchen sink.

     

    COVID19 has me in lockdown, at least I think I have nothing to do and then I get a flood of requests. Hey wait, I don't have time!

  • Sean, thank you for the original post.

     

    I have been monitoring the replies as well and find them extremely useful.

     

    I would like to invest in a 3D printer because so many projects would/could benefit from custom plastic components.

     

    Sadly, at the moment (and for the forseeable future!!) I have nowhere suitable where I could keep one set-up and ready to go image

     

    I hope you can help your friend reach a decision!

     

    Neil