Looking For A 3D printer

Soldato
Joined
9 Feb 2009
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3,220
Location
Sunny Fife
I've been looking for a while and never actually bought one.

What people on here need to know is-

Your price range.
Printing size needed.
Type of things you want to print.

I'm sure someone will be along to help once they know a few more things that you expect from a printer. Also if you have a read of the 3d printer section topics there are a lot of similar posts to your one which might help guide you.
 
Associate
Joined
15 Sep 2005
Posts
1,744
I've not bought in yet but here's what I've got from a lot of research while I procrastinate.

If you want to tinker with the kit (a lot) then look at an Ender 3, massive community support, cheapish, quality variable, expect downtime and problems that need investigating and upgrading.

If you want setup and go with minimal maintenance and fantastic manufacturer support save up and get a Prussa (when they get around to selling to the UK again due to brexit issues).

If you want insane detail for dnd/warhammer miniatures, look at the resin printers (Elegoo Mars / Anycubic Photon etc). More process and mess involved but ridiculously impressive results.

At the moment I'm probably going to wait on Prussa getting their act together and then jump on a Mini. But I'll probably change my mind another 3 times first.
 
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Associate
Joined
25 Sep 2011
Posts
10
I have a Geeetech A20 in fact i started with an A10 and whilst happy with it i found the support on the Geeetech forums absolutely crap.

How many guides did i go through setting up the BL touch sensor which is supposed to help you never need to autolevel the bed again. My extruder head ploughed through the mylar base sheet and left a permanent mark there i had to buy a replacement, ****** useless.

I dont think ive ever managed a good adhesion to work like i did with my A10.

I personally could recommend someone other than GEEEtech that offers good support.
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
2,830
Location
Stoke-on-Trent
Ender 3 v2 all the way but id buy one from a UK dealer. Buying direct from creality or other Chinese websites can have you hitting your head against a brick wall if you get issues.
My first ender 3 v2 had a bent axis, luckily it was from a UK retailer so got it exchanged. I've heard of lots of horror stories with support from creality!
Worth paying that bit extra to get a UK backed warranty.

A ender 3 v2 isn't plug and play though and they all take some tinkering to get a near perfect print
 
Soldato
Joined
21 Jan 2016
Posts
2,915
There’s a new decent entry level printer that’s just about to release from anycubic - the Vyper.

Has a few advantages over the stock ender and if I was looking at an “affordable” entry point right now that’d probably be my choice.

Higher end but still not daft money I’d get the rat rig V-core 3 personally.

What I’ll actually be doing though at some point (once I get other projects out the way!) is retiring my old makergear M2 and building a HevORT.
 
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Associate
Joined
29 Mar 2008
Posts
226
There’s a new decent entry level printer that’s just about to release from anycubic - the Vyper.

Has a few advantages over the stock ender and if I was looking at an “affordable” entry point right now that’d probably be my choice.

Higher end but still not daft money I’d get the rat rig V-core 3 personally.

What I’ll actually be doing though at some point (once I get other projects out the way!) is retiring my old makergear M2 and building a HevORT.
I'd agree with most of this. In my experience the Anycubic printers tend to be decent starting points.

As someone who owns a V-Core 3, I'm slightly biased towards it. I prefer the design over the HevORT and other machines.

The Ender 3 is also a fantastic entry level printer. Really it comes down to budget.
 
Soldato
Joined
21 Jan 2016
Posts
2,915
V-core 3 does look really nice so I can see why you’d like it.

The HevORT appeals a little more to me because it’s ridiculously over engineered and a fun tinkering project… I would probably put my own spin on the basic design. V-core 3 is much more sensible all round.
 
Associate
Joined
15 Jul 2021
Posts
1
Location
England
I have just taken the plunge and bought the Creality CR-6 SE. The auto levelling sold it to me although a number of YouTube videos suggested the Ender 3 instead.

It arrives tomorrow so hopefully turns out to be a good investment. *fingers crossed* I look forward to joining this community and sharing some experiences.
 
Soldato
Joined
1 Jul 2008
Posts
2,539
Location
Birmingham
I have just taken the plunge and bought the Creality CR-6 SE. The auto levelling sold it to me although a number of YouTube videos suggested the Ender 3 instead.

It arrives tomorrow so hopefully turns out to be a good investment. *fingers crossed* I look forward to joining this community and sharing some experiences.

How did you get on with this? I'm considering buying an Ender 3 v2

the items i wish to print dont need to be too detailed, i have few bits planned. Maybe a new coffee dosing funnel first :)
 
Soldato
Joined
1 Jul 2008
Posts
2,539
Location
Birmingham
I've swapped from an anycubic mega s to a creality cr-6 se and so far I'm really impressed with it.
easy set up, bed levelling is spot on and the prints are brilliant.

Quite a big jump in price vs Ender. Although the auto levelling sounds ideal!

May i ask, what type of size space does it take up?
 
Associate
Joined
1 Dec 2002
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1,073
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Portrush, N.Ireland
It doesn't seem a huge difference in size compared to my mega s frame-wise etc. The biggest space used is the filament holder as it sits out quite a bit from the machine, so about 75cm across from the holder to the other side of the user panel.
 
Soldato
Joined
1 Jul 2008
Posts
2,539
Location
Birmingham
It doesn't seem a huge difference in size compared to my mega s frame-wise etc. The biggest space used is the filament holder as it sits out quite a bit from the machine, so about 75cm across from the holder to the other side of the user panel.

I think i need to do some measuring up and clear more things :D

Ideally, I'm after a relatively "simple" printer. It will be used for prints i plan to use and potentially sell on ebay. Hence print uality is important, as well as pause/resume so i can change filament colour at a certain point(s). :)
 
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