Random 3D printing chatter

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Whats the best entry level printer available for around a £300 budget?

Asking for a friend interested in getting into this, myself I have a Zergo G Mercury (Ender 5 Core XY Conversion) and always thought the best entry level was an Ender 3, is this the case or is there anything better at this higher price mark?
 
Soldato
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SLA or resin?
Whats the best entry level printer available for around a £300 budget?

Asking for a friend interested in getting into this, myself I have a Zergo G Mercury (Ender 5 Core XY Conversion) and always thought the best entry level was an Ender 3, is this the case or is there anything better at this higher price mark?
 
Soldato
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Also worth pointing out that "best" entirely depends what route you want to take. You can go full self-build, buy something basic with the intention of upgrading it or buy something that's good enough out the box. A trade off between cash and time/sanity. The Ender is somewhere in the middle of that scale. The Prusas are well regarded for being near the top and I believe the Anker Make is supposed to be near the top too.
I've got an Ender 5 Pro as I wanted to be near the top (starting from a position of cluelessness) but it did need some upgrades: bed supports, Pi+OctoPi+webcam, fan replacements, glass bed and it needs the extruder replacing as it's naff....so I'm not sure I got all that close to the top of that scale!
 

Zaf

Zaf

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I've just published my first model to Printables - It's basically a wedge for my speakers to give them an optimal 16 degree upward tilt. Been using them for over a year now and were printed on an Ender 3.


img_8020.webp

img_8022.webp
 
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Associate
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Anyone use those metal magnetic flex plates for their resin printers? I've got one and after cleaning the plate with alcohol and making sure it was clean, I stuck on the magnet, sat it face down and placed some books on it to make sure it was stuck for a day, sadly after my first print, resin got "under" the magnet and its started to lift - I do have a spare sticky magnet, but just wondered if I can do something to ensure it wont happen again (or at least not after the first print)
 

Zaf

Zaf

Soldato
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Ended up recommending the Sovol Sv06, out of the box it's the best machine I could find for spec at this price point.
Has he ordered one yet?

Depending on his printing needs and bed size, I would recommend the Prusa mini for more of an out of the box experience without having to faff too much.

Edit / That Sovol does look decent though but I've not seen any reviews. I personally wouldn't touch a Creality printer again.

Edit edit / The Sovol doesn’t have any strain relief for the heated bed wires, for that reason alone I wouldn’t recommend it
 
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Soldato
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dit edit / The Sovol doesn’t have any strain relief for the heated bed wires, for that reason alone I wouldn’t recommend it
Neither does the Ender 5 Pro (at least when I bought it). It's something you can print yourself though and you'll probably find some ready to print at places like Thingiverse.
 
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Has he ordered one yet?

Depending on his printing needs and bed size, I would recommend the Prusa mini for more of an out of the box experience without having to faff too much.

Edit / That Sovol does look decent though but I've not seen any reviews. I personally wouldn't touch a Creality printer again.

Edit edit / The Sovol doesn’t have any strain relief for the heated bed wires, for that reason alone I wouldn’t recommend it
He Prusa mini is more like £410, the SOVOL S06+ was about £245ish.

Bed wire strain relief as mentioned by others can be printed so don't really see it being a large issue.
 

Zaf

Zaf

Soldato
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He Prusa mini is more like £410, the SOVOL S06+ was about £245ish.

Bed wire strain relief as mentioned by others can be printed so don't really see it being a large issue.
The issue for me is negligence, do you really want to be supporting a company who skips corners on safety. Would you buy a Ferrari with drum breaks :-/
 
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Putting M3x5x4 heat set inserts into prints is fun. I’ve got to put 57 of the damn, small, things in for the project I’m working on. I’m glad I did some test insertions into a dedicated practice print first as I had the soldering iron temperature far too high at first.
 
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