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Thread: 3D Printer Suggestions

  1. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bob Falk View Post
    Anyone have experience with a Creality printer? They seem to be recommended as a lower cost but quality printer.
    I have a Prusa MK3i built from kit and I have two of the Creality ender 3 printers. We use the two Creality printers at work for prototyping cases for electronics, mounting brackets, etc.

    The Prusa is far and away the higher quality and just simply produces better results. Also its flexible bed is great. The Creality printers came with stock beds made of a coated FR4 (i.e. fiberglass) material. The stock beds were not flat. Replaced with glass beds and while I get good results we had to do a lot of fiddling to find settings that prevent lifting of corners. Turns out that having the bed temperature ramp down during about the first 10 layers does the trick. Now items are difficult to remove and of course the glass doesn't flex so that makes it interesting some times.

    With sufficient tuning and fiddling of feeds and speeds the Creality ender 3 printers work fine but I get overall better results from the Prusa. Also, the Prusa extruder pulls filament into the heater while the Creality push the filament. I'm drawing a temporary blank on the names of these two configurations... The upshot is that the Prusa is easier to load and unload if you need to mid-print. I've done several cases where we have say black PLA or PETG for the body of the case and then switch to a white filament for raised labels on the last two or three layers.

    We also use the Prusa slicer for both.

    If you are patient and OK with lots of experimenting, the Creality ender 3 (and now the 3 Pro is probably the one to get) is fine. You'll need to do some testing and experimenting to get best results. If you'd rather trade a little money for time, go for the Prusa.
    Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.

  2. #17
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    Prusa..... MKS3. By far the BEST 3d printer on the market for the price. Order the kit and put it together in a day or so, take your time. Ignore any suggestions to do what I call changes that are out there on the internet. Just follow Prusa's instructions. Spend a bit of time getting the setting right, and then just Print. I've got a $150 Tevo that while it works, it is just a tinkering toy. I can turn on the Prusa, and just print.
    I do jigs, and I sell an item that has 4 parts to it that are 3d printed from PETG, I haven't sold a million, but almost 300 and all printed on the one Prusa printer. It just works.
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  3. #18
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    Multi color Prusa

    Quote Originally Posted by Rob Young View Post
    …The upshot is that the Prusa is easier to load and unload if you need to mid-print. I've done several cases where we have say black PLA or PETG for the body of the case and then switch to a white filament for raised labels on the last two or three layers.
    ….
    For those who haven’t seen it Prusa also has a multi-material printer that will let you automatically switch colors in the middle of a print. You can see it printing starting around 1:45 in this video:



    I don’t know anyone who has one so I don’t know if there are any quirks to deal with. But the single filament printers we have just work and work; a messed up print is quite rare. I have a Raspberry Pi with a camera attached so I can easily monitor the print and get real time statistics on my iPad or phone while i’m away from the shop.

    JKJ

  4. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rob Young View Post
    I have a Prusa MK3i built from kit and I have two of the Creality ender 3 printers. We use the two Creality printers at work for prototyping cases for electronics, mounting brackets, etc.

    The Prusa is far and away the higher quality and just simply produces better results. Also its flexible bed is great. The Creality printers came with stock beds made of a coated FR4 (i.e. fiberglass) material. The stock beds were not flat. Replaced with glass beds and while I get good results we had to do a lot of fiddling to find settings that prevent lifting of corners. Turns out that having the bed temperature ramp down during about the first 10 layers does the trick. Now items are difficult to remove and of course the glass doesn't flex so that makes it interesting some times.

    With sufficient tuning and fiddling of feeds and speeds the Creality ender 3 printers work fine but I get overall better results from the Prusa. Also, the Prusa extruder pulls filament into the heater while the Creality push the filament. I'm drawing a temporary blank on the names of these two configurations... The upshot is that the Prusa is easier to load and unload if you need to mid-print. I've done several cases where we have say black PLA or PETG for the body of the case and then switch to a white filament for raised labels on the last two or three layers.

    We also use the Prusa slicer for both.

    If you are patient and OK with lots of experimenting, the Creality ender 3 (and now the 3 Pro is probably the one to get) is fine. You'll need to do some testing and experimenting to get best results. If you'd rather trade a little money for time, go for the Prusa.
    Thanks Ron for the insight

  5. #20
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    I will add my two cents here. Go with the Prusa and be done. They simply work out of the box and do not need any tweaking. I think their slicer software is the gold standard.

  6. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by John K Jordan View Post
    For those who haven’t seen it Prusa also has a multi-material printer that will let you automatically switch colors in the middle of a print. You can see it printing starting around 1:45 in this video:



    I don’t know anyone who has one so I don’t know if there are any quirks to deal with. But the single filament printers we have just work and work; a messed up print is quite rare. I have a Raspberry Pi with a camera attached so I can easily monitor the print and get real time statistics on my iPad or phone while i’m away from the shop.

    JKJ
    The MMU didn't get much love for the first year or so of its existence. It went through a lot of updates in re-printed parts and firmware issues. Now I'm seeing people posting more positive opinions and showing some pretty interesting work made using the MMU.

    At the time it was announced I almost pulled the trigger but put it off. I still haven't picked up one because most of what I do is of a mechanical nature and so I don't care about the color. Although as I mentioned I sometimes use 2 colors. And any silly little things like "missile toads" that get printed are probably destined for painting anyway.

    But I might still invest in one.
    Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.

  7. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rob Young View Post
    The MMU didn't get much love for the first year or so of its existence. It went through a lot of updates in re-printed parts and firmware issues. Now I'm seeing people posting more positive opinions and showing some pretty interesting work made using the MMU.

    At the time it was announced I almost pulled the trigger but put it off.....
    I thought about it too. But I've learned to give anything new plenty of time to settle down!

  8. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bob Falk View Post
    Anyone have experience with a Creality printer? They seem to be recommended as a lower cost but quality printer.
    I have an Ender 3 I bought used off facebook. Have been running it into the ground. Its cheap, but can do a lot and many many users. Cura is the slicer and again a large user base.

    Previous I had a Dremel.

    It might be true though, the Ender might take more fiddling than more sophisticated (the Dremel just chugged along out of the box, no issues at all. Which is what I wanted at the time because I had multiple kids using it. Although the basic Ender 'upgrades' are well known (glass bed, stiffer springs, guide tube upgrade, z sense with auto level, quiet fan if inclined, etc). You can buy one with all that already installed for around $200. A great way to get started.

    At work we had 2-3 different versions but they started at about $30k

    You can see some recent links of things I have done with the Ender 3. Mostly organization and jigs etc (some Wirth templates, the stops and guides on the F&F, hanger for my Foredom, mount for my battery charger, etc etc....

    I have wondered about upgrading. But cant say why I want to, so havent. I do like the ability to handle different materials (ABS?) but have not went down that path. PLA is pretty brittle and not suitable for everything, so depends on what you are wanting to do with it.

    Another consideration - you can get a lot more mileage from it if you already know a CAD program. Personally I like Onshape - a fully featured collaborative CAD platform. If I were not already proficient in CAD, this would be the larger learning curve than the printing.

    Pulling files off the internet works to some degree, but not always exactly what you need. 90% of what I have been printing are designed from scratch on CAD
    Last edited by Carl Beckett; 01-21-2022 at 8:59 PM.

  9. #24
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    Decided over the weekend that I was over-thinking the whole bit...just pulled the trigger on a Flashforge Adventurer 3, due from Amazon Wednesday.

    My only misgiving was the odd/small spool size, but I found a printable add-on that allows the use of standard 1KG spools fully enclosed. Even with the bump-out, it's small enough to fit the bench, and portable enough to stuff in a cabinet if I need the space.

    More when I get some time with it.
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  10. #25
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    I have a factory built Prusa and its great, don't need to build something to be able use or adjust.
    Had a Makergear M2 in the past but could not afford this time around.

  11. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lee DeRaud View Post
    Decided over the weekend that I was over-thinking the whole bit...just pulled the trigger on a Flashforge Adventurer 3, due from Amazon Wednesday.

    My only misgiving was the odd/small spool size, but I found a printable add-on that allows the use of standard 1KG spools fully enclosed. Even with the bump-out, it's small enough to fit the bench, and portable enough to stuff in a cabinet if I need the space.

    More when I get some time with it.
    Lee - I think you made the right choice. I have the Monoprice Voxel MP3 version and it works great, is totally enclosed, and very-very quiet. Depending on how much you are printing, even the 1/2 KG spools last a long time - and replacements are readily available in a variety of colors. You can also just hang one of the 1KG spools off to the side and it will feed fine. I will look forward to seeing some of you printed projects. I have linked to the 1/2 kg spools below, but as you most likely already know the 1 kg. spools are only a few dollars more for twice the material. Do if you are doing a lot of printing, the large spools are definitely the way to go.
    David

    https://www.flashforgeshop.com/produ...QaAmkeEALw_wcB
    Last edited by David Buchhauser; 01-26-2022 at 11:51 PM.

  12. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by David Buchhauser View Post
    I have linked to the 1/2 kg spools below, but as you most likely already know the 1 kg. spools are only a few dollars more for twice the material. Do if you are doing a lot of printing, the large spools are definitely the way to go.
    David

    https://www.flashforgeshop.com/produ...QaAmkeEALw_wcB
    Their price is absolutely insane: $18 for 500g spools vs $22 for 1kg is bad enough, but they want $40 shipping for 3 of them...over $31 each delivered.
    Yoga class makes me feel like a total stud, mostly because I'm about as flexible as a 2x4.
    "Design"? Possibly. "Intelligent"? Sure doesn't look like it from this angle.
    We used to be hunter gatherers. Now we're shopper borrowers.
    The three most important words in the English language: "Front Towards Enemy".
    The world makes a lot more sense when you remember that Butthead was the smart one.
    You can never be too rich, too thin, or have too much ammo.

  13. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lee DeRaud View Post
    Their price is absolutely insane: $18 for 500g spools vs $22 for 1kg is bad enough, but they want $40 shipping for 3 of them...over $31 each delivered.

    Ok Lee - don't shoot the messenger! There are plenty of deals to be had - I was just pointing out the savings of buying the larger spools as opposed to the smaller ones.
    David

  14. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lee DeRaud View Post
    Their price is absolutely insane: $18 for 500g spools vs $22 for 1kg is bad enough, but they want $40 shipping for 3 of them...over $31 each delivered.
    I've had very good luck using Printed Solid branded "Jessie" filament. https://www.printedsolid.com/collections/jessie

    They have been offering free shipping on orders of $45 or more for a while now (UPS or Fedex Ground) for the lower 48. Average price for 1kg is $21 but if you just want filament for structural printing and don't care about color you can get change-over spools for $18.

    For local purchases I've been using the PLA and PLA+ labeled as "Inland" from MicroCenter. Also around $22 per kg but it is more cost effective to get the Jessie branded filament.
    Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.

  15. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by David Buchhauser View Post
    Ok Lee - don't shoot the messenger! There are plenty of deals to be had - I was just pointing out the savings of buying the larger spools as opposed to the smaller ones.
    David
    No doubt, given that I can get (already have, actually) $22/kg PLA from Amazon. The parts to house the 8"x3" reels will get started as soon as I do a few test prints.
    Yoga class makes me feel like a total stud, mostly because I'm about as flexible as a 2x4.
    "Design"? Possibly. "Intelligent"? Sure doesn't look like it from this angle.
    We used to be hunter gatherers. Now we're shopper borrowers.
    The three most important words in the English language: "Front Towards Enemy".
    The world makes a lot more sense when you remember that Butthead was the smart one.
    You can never be too rich, too thin, or have too much ammo.

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