Looking at getting my first 3d printer and considering this one (Radio Control Planes, Drones, Cars, FPV, Quadcopters and more - Hobbyking). From what I can see it should Br a good printer, but worried I might be missing something. If anyone has a moment ti take a look I would be glad of the input. If there is one that would be a better starter let me know. Thanks,
cobnut
2
Hi @Coopstercoop like a lot of tech equipment, it really depends upon what you want to do, both in terms of what you want (or expect) to produce as finished prints and/or whether you want to learn about 3D printing technology, or just want a 3D printer that works out of the box.
Bear in mind that if this is your price range, you’re way down at the very bottom of the list, so you can’t expect much in terms of quality or reliability. That doesn’t mean any machine at this price point won’t be reliable, simply that you can’t expect it to be. If you’re new to 3D printing and do want to learn a bit about the tech, then it makes sense not to spend too much, so in that respect the price itself is not so much of a concern, but you should be looking for good “backup” in terms of online solutions and support and that really means picking a machine that has a large user base so that any problems you come across (and you will) have almost certainly been faced by one or (many) more people before you, who hopefully have solved that problem.
Looking at the one you’ve linked to, there doesn’t seem to be much direct chat in the forum for the machine but it seems decent enough in quoted specs. All I’d say is that it’s a clone of the Wanhao Duplicator i3, which (at least for the prices I see here in the UK) is not much dearer, and that machine is a version of the Prusa i3… If it were me, I’d probably try to stretch to the Wanhao as it has a lot of support around (from users).
As I said, it’s really difficult to advise without more details. If you can tell us some more about what you want to do and your interest in 3D printing, we may be able to give better advice…
Hi Cooper,
This looks like a rebadged Wanhao duplicator i3 v 2.1. It’s a good model, many 3d printers had their start with a Wanhao model. There is also a newer version of the i3 which Wanhao sells, the i3 PLUS. (Wanhao i3 duplicator plus)
All the best!
Mason
Main purpose will be printing parts for a quad walker robot I’m making, plus a couple bits for RC buggies. Happy to out in the time to learn and if need be assemble a printer, but the robot project started off a coding project, then included 3d modeling and now 3d printing. So a pre assembled one would be a nice to have, but not mandatory. Looked at a few kits (in particular the tevo Tauranga) and still considering them. Just not keen on the exposed 240v power connectors on most them.
I’ve got the M180 and it is s beautiful workhorse, albeit somewhat loud.
if you wait on the hobby King page for a while, a pop up will appear offering the product for a reduced price.
The M150 excels at PLA whereas the M180 with buildtak and steel nozzles prints everything I’ve thrown at it
cobnut
6
Hey @Coopstercoop so is it just for this one project? If so, it may be better to get someone else to print your parts for you. That’ll cut out all the learning (and failure) time and give you the potential for a higher quality finish than perhaps your own machine may offer. Plus, you haven’t bought an expensive tool for one job.
That is a definite option. The main issue I’ve got is that there isn’t anyone near me with one, so any proto type parts have to be shipped which quickly adds up. The final product though, ill probably get that done elsewhere unless my prints turn out awesome 
Where did you get a steel nozzle for the M180? And how many prints do you get out of one sheet of BuildTak?
Thanks
Micro Swiss nozzles sold locally by Bilby3D in Australia.
and I’ve done over 1000 hours and the buildtak is still going strong.
Why does the nozzle need to be steel? What is the difference with the stock nozzle? Thanks
I regularly use metal filaments, a normal nozzle would be shredded before a single print would finish
