3D Printing. Should I?

[big10p]

I'm toying with the idea of getting a 3D printer, but fear I may be entering a world of pain - including financially. Decent ones are still pretty expensive it seems, and I assume the cheapo ones are crap? There's a couple of things I would like to print, one of which is around 25cm long, so assume I'd need one with a bed at least that wide/deep, or could it be printed diagonally on the bed?

As you can see, I'm a complete noob to all this 3D printing lark, so any advice and recommendations would be appreciated. What make/model printers are you guys using? What modelling/slicing software do you use?

Cheers.

 

[Lurch666]

As long as you are ok with tinkering,modding and repairing you should be ok with a 3D printer.

They can be a lot of work but when you need certain things it's the way to go.

I've had mine for quite a few years now so it's probably best if you research into what is better now.

There are some resin printers coming down in price but I have heard they can be messy to use.

I think you will be looking at £200-£300 for a decent MDF printer.

 

[big10p]

As long as you are ok with tinkering,modding and repairing you should be ok with a 3D printer.

They can be a lot of work but when you need certain things it's the way to go.

I've had mine for quite a few years now so it's probably best if you research into what is better now.

There are some resin printers coming down in price but I have heard they can be messy to use.

I think you will be looking at £200-£300 for a decent MDF printer.

MDF?! I guess you mean't FDM.

Out of interest, what printer do you have? I quite like the look of the Dremel 3D40, but it's expensive, so will probably go with something like this Anycubic, if I do decide to dip my toe int the 3D printing water. Cheers.

 

[penrhos]

I've got a balco - aldi sold them but the bed isn't big enough for what you want to print.

It's ok but suffers from poor bed adhesion so I've had a few failed prints where its curled up during printing or come off altogether. Wish I'd spent more on a better one, but for the dummy coin mech's and housings for RPI's and lcd panels it's been handy.

I even printed a gdemu mounting plate for my dreamcast with it.

 

[thesharkfactor]

MDF printer? I'll take one, I'll print some cabs... and a kitchen

 

[big10p]

From what I've read and seen in vids, problems with prints coming unstuck from the bed seem common. Several people seem to be using glue sticks on the beds. Someone also recommended replacing the bed with a mirror. There are also printers with heated beds, but they seem to only be on the more expensive models.

 

[Lurch666]

Been drinking-Yes FDM.

I have a heavily modified Rigidbot.

As for getting prints to stick.

I just print in PLA and use blue painters tape.

Works a treat to hold the print down without having to worry about a heated bed.

 

[bbz149]

I saw an amazing metal 3d Printer on How it's made, uses metal particles then a Laser to melt them, obviously this is an industrial machine and not for the home! But looked awesome

 

[big10p]

OK, I've gone for a Creality Ender 3 Pro (£235 from Farnell), so will see how I get on with that. I'm also going to get the tempered glass build plate for it, as it seems highly recommended.

Thanks all!

 

[prof5]

I have an ender 3 not pro, I use glass on the print bed just make sure you clean it while cold as it seems to work better than cleaning when hot, cheaper printers can get good results just take more time to get them right, one thing you want to look at is building yourself an enclosure to stop drafts affecting your print, even a photo tent will help a lot,

another massive improvement is tl smothers make sure you get the ones with 8 diodes, google 0761330275123, bring up amazon pack of 3 for £9, you only need them on the x and y axis.

I print with petg as it shrinks less but try different filament to see what you get on with the best

 

[big10p]

I have an ender 3 not pro, I use glass on the print bed just make sure you clean it while cold as it seems to work better than cleaning when hot, cheaper printers can get good results just take more time to get them right, one thing you want to look at is building yourself an enclosure to stop drafts affecting your print, even a photo tent will help a lot,

another massive improvement is tl smothers make sure you get the ones with 8 diodes, google 0761330275123, bring up amazon pack of 3 for £9, you only need them on the x and y axis.

I print with petg as it shrinks less but try different filament to see what you get on with the best

Great stuff - thanks for the tips! I haven't heard of those tl smoothers and didn't know about shrinkage.

 

[chubsta]

I have an ender 3 and love it, but they do take a fair bit of modding and setting up to get good prints.

Best thing you can do is check out youtube for videos by 'teachingtech', he does a lot of ender 3 stuff and his recommendations for upgrades and settings are very good.

personally, i have added a glass bed, tlsmoothers, rubber mounts for the motors, a set of feet which greatly reduce noise from vibration, and have upgraded the firmware. i also use a pi zero so i can control via octoprint which is very useful. One of the best upgrades you can do, and one which i think is basically essential, is to add a BLTouch auto-bed level sensor - saves having to constantly adjust the z offset.

Be prepared to spend a lot of time and effort setting it alkl up though, they are definately not 'plug and play' just yet if you want good results.

chubsta2020-06-01 03:27:29

 

[big10p]

I have an ender 3 and love it, but they do take a fair bit of modding and setting up to get good prints.

Best thing you can do is check out youtube for videos by 'teachingtech', he does a lot of ender 3 stuff and his recommendations for upgrades and settings are very good.

personally, i have added a glass bed, tlsmoothers, rubber mounts for the motors, a set of feet which greatly reduce noise from vibration, and have upgraded the firmware. i also use a pi zero so i can control via octoprint which is very useful. One of the best upgrades you can do, and one which i think is basically essential, is to add a BLTouch auto-bed level sensor - saves having to constantly adjust the z offset.

Be prepared to spend a lot of time and effort setting it alkl up though, they are definately not 'plug and play' just yet if you want good results.

Wow, there sure seems to be a lot of upgrades and mods out there that I'll look into once I get set up. I've watched a few vids which have been helpful. There's a lot to learn, it seems! I didn't really want to get into a whole new hobby as such, just print a few parts, widgets and gizmos that have practical use, rather than decorative stuff. No doubt I won't be able resist printing my fair share of ornamental stuff, though.

I'll check out that youtube channel you mention. Thanks!