3D printers, March 2020

bpratt

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Mar 31, 2019
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I'm seriously considering getting myself a 3D printer, and am looking at recommendations as to what is currently 'top of the pops' as at March 2020 ?

As stuff happens in the tech industry, I'm sure what has been recommended previously, may or may not be the best buy at this point of time, and what might be recommended now may not be the best option in 6 months time, which is why I've dated the post, so in future we can see what's was good right now. :)
 

Dreamin

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You can’t go past a Prusa MK3. I’ve had two Aldi printers and they are great but need a lot of fiddling to get running consistently. The Prusa is pretty much click and print, auto level, 24V, great service and support with a great community.
Pre warning though it’s another time absorbing hobby, like lights. Steep learning curve but it’s so rewarding to design something, and have it in your hand within the same day. I’ve spend the last two years learning it, and feel I’ve got a good understand of it, and now I’ve started lights and I’m back at the start of the learning curve!
 

scamper

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I researched for almost a year before getting my first printer. Budget was my biggest hurdle at the time and I ended up getting an anet A6.
I still have it now, without all the mods that everyone will tell you it needs, and it prints great.
I also bought a cr10s (i really wanted a Prusa mk3 but again... funds) and that is also good in many other ways. it is larger and quieter, but takes more work in slicing etc to get a good print, I still use the A6 as my go to printer.
 

Dreamin

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I still have it now, without all the mods that everyone will tell you it needs, and it prints great.
If it's 12V you'll need a mosfet on the heatbed, and update firmware to turn on safety features. All easy to do. Saves burning down your house :)
 

Benslights

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I mostly print in ABS especially for things outside but depends on your printer also as to what it can print
 

scamper

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If it's 12V you'll need a mosfet on the heatbed, and update firmware to turn on safety features. All easy to do. Saves burning down your house :)
If you read the specs of the mosfets, the one on the printers board is actually better than the remote one, and the main problem is the plug to the heatbed so by soldering it on, you alleviate that.
And my printer is in the shed with remote monitoring ;)
 

cwguinther

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I’ve been looking at an Ender 3D Pro. Anyone have any experience with this model?
 

LawrenceDriveLights

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I have a Ender 3.

I did take a little setting up to get right but seems to print ok for me

There is also heaps of info and set up info on the net / youtube etc which i have found handy also

I mostly front just with PLA and I haven't printed ABS on it, but otters have with a enclosure etc
 

Dreamin

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Oh, and what type of filaments would be a good starting point ? as you can guess I'm still learning heaps.

Personally I like PETG. PLA is brittle when subject to any load. PETG can be a bit more flexible, screwed into easily. It also doesn't smell like ABS (styrene) and doesn't require an enclosure.

If you read the specs of the mosfets, the one on the printers board is actually better than the remote one, and the main problem is the plug to the heatbed so by soldering it on, you alleviate that.
And my printer is in the shed with remote monitoring ;)

Mine is a Cocoon Create V2 and yes it just protects the plug and stops a fire. If you've hardwired it to the board you should be all set. My printers are in my garage with Octoprint, webcams etc. All the other ones are 24V so don't have the same amps going through the bed that causes the problems with the 12v one. :) Half the issue I've found is that stock firmware didn't turn on thermal runaway on the cheaper models. The Prusa has been great, yes I've had a few issues but mostly it just prints and print and prints. Worth the extra $$$ in my opinion. The time I've wasted repairing the Cocoon!!!! It was secondhand and stuggled to do one print! Now it's pretty reliable! Did teach me a lot though about 3D printers on the journey. :)
 

scamper

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Oh, and what type of filaments would be a good starting point ? as you can guess I'm still learning heaps.
Start with PLA, it is the easiest to use, then work your way into different types.
One of the hurdles you will have though, is getting quality filament as some of the cheap ones are just plain crap.
I use https://ccdiy.com.au/ exclusively now. I tried many others and they were hit and miss, but these guys are local and I have never had an issue
 

Dreamin

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I use https://ccdiy.com.au/ exclusively now. I tried many others and they were hit and miss, but these guys are local and I have never had an issue
Local if your in Perth :) They are good though, my mate uses them and loves them.

Living in QLD, I prefer to use 3DFillies https://3dfillies.com/ for PETG (nice solid colours and variety) and Xtron https://www.xtron.com.au/ (for super accurate PLA that prints great and has less extrusion issues because the filament is consistant in size).

If you want to support a local Aussie company that is making filament here in Brisbane, check these guys out. https://progressive3d.com.au/
 

franky_888

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One very critical option you need to consider is thermal overrun protection. Many printers don't have this enabled by default - you need to upgrade the firmware to enable it. Thermal Overrun can detect a fault on your heatbed/hotend and shutdown before it overheats and sets your house on fire.

I’ve been looking at an Ender 3D Pro. Anyone have any experience with this model?

I've got one of these. Out of the box I was able to print the Ender Dog without any issues, however after trying to print a filament holder (from Thingyverse) I discovered that my build plate dips in the middle (its concave), resulting in things not sticking in the middle of the build plate.

I added a BLTouch and now I can fill my build plate and be confident that it will print. Currently printing a bunch of cable chain mounts:
1586747062594.png

I also have a Cocoon Create model maker which is a POS compared to the Ender's. If you're going to consider an Aldi printer, make sure it's the version with the heated build plate; the model maker doesn't have it, which means it can only print PLA, and even so with mine it's difficult getting things to stay stuck to the bluddy thing.
 
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