Any recommendations for an entry level 3D printer?

Any funssor 1set reprap i3 anet a8 hesine m505 tronxy clone will do for starting and fairly cheap there is even clones of those clones that are cheaper I got my Hesine M505 off aliexpress many years ago now and was cheap then. Just have to find reputable sellers.

I have a cheap Zonestar Prusa that I purchased from Aliexpress.  I paid $200 if I remember well. It is very good and gives me impressive result.  You have to purchase a printer wit a heated bed and auto levelling.  Marlin firmware is a must.  with a cheap printer, you have to expect to manually adjust the bed level before each print.  It takes some time to master this step, but once you get it, you can print anything with great quality.  If you purchase a more expensive printer like a Makerbot, you won’t need to adjust it before each print.  Except for that, you can expect the same print quality.  When assembling your printer, make sure you are on a perfectly leveled surface.  wait until the very end before thightening the screws.  If you can get a heated bed fixed with 3 screws instead of 4, it will be easier to adjust.  Everthing is a matter of leveling with 3d printing.

Wesley.

Thank you for the information.  I will look into the model/clones.

Thanks again,

Gene

Veronique,

Thank you for the information.  I really appreciate the hard earned knowledge regarding setup and adjustments.  I will check out that model (or similar) and see what I can find.

Thanks again,

Gene

Just another note you can also get a Auto Leveling Position Sensor for those models as well which is usually around 20 dollars or under.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYDOZ9pUQIs   something like that

I have tried several printers including Cel Robox, Tivo Tornado and Anycubic I3 Mega. each has some nice features an some quirks. They all have features I need like heated bed that auto-releases when it cools down, and the ability to swap filament during a print.

The Robox is the most automated, including auto bed leveling and easiest to use and comes fully assembled, but hardest to take apart and repair.

The Tornado is easy to assemble and has the largest build volume, but the bed is so big it is harder to get uniform heating and bed leveling is trickier.

The I3 Mega is also easy to assemble and I have only leveled it once when I first set it up. (so far about 50 print jobs)

At the moment I like the I3 Mega the best although for big jobs the Tornado is the only one that can handle it.

Doug,

Thanks for information. This will give a few more choices to look at.

Thanks again,

Gene

Hi Gene,

I wanted to build my own, but without having to spec out all the parts myself, so I purchased the SeeMeCNC H2 kit

https://www.seemecnc.com/products/h2-delta-diy-3d-printer-kit

It works rather well, took me about 11 hours to build - I added a heated bed a few months later.

Scott

Scott,

Thanks for the recommendation.  I will look into this printer, as well as the other above, and see what might be the best approach.

Thanks again,

Gene

Hello genebren,

I would say people can give you better recommendations if you provide a little more details about your goals. These are some factors that may help you narrowing down your decision:

• Budget -because, off course-.
• Size of final prints and print quality you want to target.
• Are you ok with calibrating the printer manually (once in a while) or do you want something that does auto-calibration/bed-level-compensation.
• Are you planning to print with exotic materials like ninja-flex, nylon
• Type -there are many- but the most popular are FDM (the ones with a extruder) or SLA/DLP (the ones that use resin).
• Do you want to build your own/customize it a lot?
• Some printers use proprietary cartridges, this may be a big decision factor as usually this type of printers may provide good features but the consumables costs may be high in the long term or not worth the premium.

Options I'd consider for starters:

• Lulzbot Mini is good for beginners, period. Just click on the print button and wait for your final print . It is a very sturdy printer, comes ready to use, assembled in the USA, uses quality parts and doesn't need you to run complex calibration procedures. On the downside is a little pricey, noisy and the bed size is on the small side.
• Creality CR-10: is very popular, requires little assembly and is kinda cheap.
• Any prusa flavor: is very versatile, well known -very popular and with lots of customization projects out there-, plenty of options to chose from and fits very well the build-you-own/customize territory if that is what you are looking for.
• Looking for a little more?: there are other good options for starters worth considering but pricier like the Ultimaker, Zortrax M200 or a bigger Lulzbot.

Hope this helps.

Luis