Decent Good value first 3d printer

Justnotsleeping · Sunday at 11:21

Im looking to have a go at getting into the world of 3D printing, but there is an overwhelming amount of information on line, and still not sure where to start, so though would be helpful to get opinions from normal users.

My use case to begin with will be for little day to day widgets, grips and other general bits and pieces, rather than to print 3d art type of things. Open to multi colour printing, but not hugely important to begin with.

I don't know how much i'll get into this as a hobby in the long team so I don't ant to spend a lot of money but i don't know how much i need to spend to get a decent starter 3d printer

Are there any good suggestions for a complete novice?

Ones i've looked at so far:-

Bambu Lab A1 (and mini)
Flashforge AD5X
Flashforge AD5M
Ender V3 SE

Thanks

shroomz · Sunday at 11:33

If you just want a "buy this" answer: A1 mini.

JRJ · Sunday at 11:51

Justnotsleeping said:
Im looking to have a go at getting into the world of 3D printing, but there is an overwhelming amount of information on line, and still not sure where to start, so though would be helpful to get opinions from normal users.

My use case to begin with will be for little day to day widgets, grips and other general bits and pieces, rather than to print 3d art type of things. Open to multi colour printing, but not hugely important to begin with.

I don't know how much i'll get into this as a hobby in the long team so I don't ant to spend a lot of money but i don't know how much i need to spend to get a decent starter 3d printer

Are there any good suggestions for a complete novice?

Ones i've looked at so far:-

Bambu Lab A1 (and mini)
Flashforge AD5X
Flashforge AD5M
Ender V3 SE

Thanks

shroomz said:
If you just want a "buy this" answer: A1 mini.

What @shroomz said if you're tight on space, if not go for the A1 you'll quickly outgrow the bed size of the mini.

roman59 · Sunday at 12:46

Go for the A1 you cant fault it for the print quality, price and ease of use.

BogEyes · Sunday at 14:07

shroomz said:
If you just want a "buy this" answer: A1 mini.

Seconded.

Justnotsleeping · Sunday at 14:56

Thanks for the help. I have looked at these and have not seen a bad review and it does seem to be a beginner focused printer which is what i want.

I have come across an enclosed one Elegoo Centauri Carbon 2 which has the spools on the side and which I can get for around £375, verses around £320 for the A1 and the AMS Lite Spool thing. The room i plan to use this in can get a little dustry so i was wondering if that will cause me any problems with the open printer?

shroomz · Sunday at 18:19

Honestly? Nah. Toolless nozzle changeover is a great idea, I wish I had it on my x1c or that it was somehow retrofittable. But I'm a noob and don't know it that well. I can't see any reason to prefer that one. If you want an enclosed printer you can probably pick up a p1s for a bit less. Not sure on dust as long as you wipe the plate

Justnotsleeping · Sunday at 20:05

Yes, im a complete new starter on this so maybe I was drawn to the form factor of the enclosed one. I suppose to begin with, I don't even need to get the AMS Lite thing to begin with, I can just do single colour prints for the moment. And if I wanted to changed the different types of material to print with, I should hopefully still be able to do that with the A1

Toasty · Monday at 10:27

For a newbie then its A1 or if feel its a bit too big/expensive then A1 mini

Musty Pie · Monday at 11:32

I recently got an A1 Mini and its been a GREAT introduction to the community and printing in general.

Yes a larger print bed would be nice, but the reality is, at least for me, the smaller footprint of the printer is more valuable to me.

JRJ · Monday at 19:27

Justnotsleeping said:
Yes, im a complete new starter on this so maybe I was drawn to the form factor of the enclosed one. I suppose to begin with, I don't even need to get the AMS Lite thing to begin with, I can just do single colour prints for the moment. And if I wanted to changed the different types of material to print with, I should hopefully still be able to do that with the A1

If you can 100% say you're happy with single colour skip the AMS Lite, I did that when I first got my A1 but within a week or two regretted it and ended up paying a lot more than the combo to get the AMS seperate.
Space, I have my AMS mounted on a printed top mount and it works great.

Justnotsleeping · Monday at 21:17

I have pulled trigger the trigger on the Bambu Labs one with the A1 with AMS Lite for £319. I was nearly tempted to change to the P1S when I saw it was on sale for £339 (£479 with AMS) as i guess that would have been technically a better printer.
However but figured I still need to get the rolls of filament, so decided against it and go with the A1. Easy to get carried away and this will still be great to get into the hobby.

Samueltastic · Tuesday at 21:10

Justnotsleeping said:
I have pulled trigger the trigger on the Bambu Labs one with the A1 with AMS Lite for £319. I was nearly tempted to change to the P1S when I saw it was on sale for £339 (£479 with AMS) as i guess that would have been technically a better printer.
However but figured I still need to get the rolls of filament, so decided against it and go with the A1. Easy to get carried away and this will still be great to get into the hobby.

its a great little machine ive got like 300 hours on mine now with very little issues get yourself a filament dryer if you're planning on using anything like PETG, PLA should be okay without one.

China Man · Wednesday at 13:07

Got my AD5X from Amazon resell and it was a steal at £175, has been solid for the past few months. I had a Bambu Lab P2S when it first came out and it was flawless and really beginner friendly. Bambu Lab with Makers world Stl = almost fool proof ...