3DPrinting

15628 readers

425 users here now

3DPrinting is a place where makers of all skill levels and walks of life can learn about and discuss 3D printing and development of 3D printed parts and devices.

The r/functionalprint community is now located at: [email protected] or [email protected]

There are CAD communities available at: [email protected] or [email protected]

Rules

No bigotry - including racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, or xenophobia. Code of Conduct.
Be respectful, especially when disagreeing. Everyone should feel welcome here.
No porn (NSFW prints are acceptable but must be marked NSFW)
No Ads / Spamming / Guerrilla Marketing
Do not create links to reddit
If you see an issue please flag it
No guns
No injury gore posts

If you need an easy way to host pictures, https://catbox.moe may be an option. Be ethical about what you post and donate if you are able or use this a lot. It is just an individual hosting content, not a company. The image embedding syntax for Lemmy is ![](URL)

Moderation policy: Light, mostly invisible

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

Please help me choose my first 3D printer, with the features I need (self.3dprinting)

submitted 1 year ago by PlutoniumAcid to c/3dprinting

57 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I am looking to buy a 3D printer for my son (and for myself too). We want to print, not tinker, so it should be something that gives great results right from the start.

Can you guide me to a sensible choice?

My first choice would have to be the Prusa MK3S Plus but it is outside the price range I am shopping for, except if I buy used -- would that be bad to do?

Realistic choices:

€380 used Prusa MK3S+, with 10 days printing time
€400 new Prusa Mini+
€250 new Ender 3 V2 Neo

Criteria:

High quality, no hassle. I want to print, not tinker.
Preferably (semi)assembled.
Auto bed leveling.
Auto error detection (filament, power, etc.?).
Budget up to 600 EUR/USD including extras, excluding filament.
Speed is not important.
Size is not important.
Must not be cloud-based.

Questions:

Surface?! Smooth, os satin, or textured? (Why) Should I have more than one kind?
(Why) Do I need an enclosure?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

Speed is not important? Are you sure? Is this your first printer? I though that too at first, but trust me, you are most likely going to want speed more and more once you get going. Also, 3D printing is pretty much synonymous with tinkering unless you have some sort of business model in mind, but if you do... (see comments about speed).

My take, go with lightly used mk3. Market is primed for two reasons - first, in US at least there is just less of a sellers market lately for anything used and with recent Mk4 release people are looking to sell to upgrade.

Wish you luck with whatever you end up with and have fun and don't be afraid to tinker!