Help with printer selection

[ajruger]

I am in engineering and have a very strong 3d modeling background and have handled various printed parts. I am having a hard time deciding a printer for my small business. I am wanting to print end use parts for various applications (mainly firearm stocks and ect.). What printer would you suggest for this?

I have looked at Ultimaker 3, Raise 3d N2, Zortrax m300, Fusion F400 and I know there are others I am missing. I keep going in circles.

Thank you

Andrew

[Asad3D]

Hey @ajruger, we just launched our 2017 3D Printer Guide yesterday! It includes user reviews from our community that can help with your decision, as well as our Printer Index where you can compare 3D printers according to price and reviews. I hope that helps and happy buying!

[cobnut]

Hi @ajruger the new printer guide is great, but to be honest it’s probably not going to stop you going in circles. All the machines listed there (and the ones you’ve mentioned that aren’t) are good machines that’ll produce great prints and it’s very difficult to pick one that stands head and shoulders above the others. This, unfortunately, is the nature of the market right now; no one manufacturer has stolen the prize in the prosumer range, Ultimakers are very popular, but that doesn’t mean they’re better than the others, the Zortrax produces great prints reliably, but isn’t open source, even requiring its own filament and so on.

Do you need the larger build volume? Do you need to spend this sort of money? If this is your first printer - even with a good engineering/3D background - I’d be really tempted to go for something cheaper to test the water first. There’s a lot to learn in 3D printing - no matter how “plug and play” all these machines say they are. Getting something cheaper (sub $1000), will still get you great looking prints, but it’ll reduce the capital investment in something that is something of a risk. If printing with the cheap machine doesn’t work out, then the reason for the failure will help guide your next steps and the spend could be worthwhile if it helps you choose the right machine. If it does work out, you’ve saved a lot of money you can spend elsewhere.

However, this still leaves you with the decision of what to go for and I think you just have to bite the bullet. If there was one “ideal” printer we’d all be using it and everyone here can give you excellent reasons why you should choose “this” printer or “that” one. At the end of the day you just have to buy one of the top reviewed ones and go with it.

[ajruger]

really appreciate the input from the both of you. I did look at the printer guide. I think it is causing more confusion than helping. I was hoping that it would have including some of these printers in it. I thought about buying a cheaper printer to learn on, but I have a friend who has a printer and is familiar with them to help set up and get it running, plus I am a quick learner. He tells me to get the Ultimaker 3 and I think mainly because of their reputation and that if the 2 and 2+ has been getting great reviews the 3 has to be good, but after seeing the other printers listed and the quality and bigger build volume I am stuck on the fence. I like the Ultimaker 3 but wish that it had more x and y build volume. The Raise 3d seems good but doesn’t have many solid reviews. Sorry for rambling it just seems like the market is flooded with great printers lately and every time I turn around another one is released.

[jcamper]

Andrew,

I’m in the same boat and we seem to be considering some of the same units . But I’m continuing to research and I’m open to input from anyone

1. Fusion3 F400 – I REALLY like this build size on this unit of 14.2 x 14.8 x 12.6. I’ve also heard there customer service is above and beyond
2. Airwolf Axiom 20 – it also had a good build size of 12.5 x 12 x 20” and a dual extruder
3. Makerbot Z18 – really good size and I like the idea of having a app but I’ve heard it has A LOT of issues
4. Zortrax 300 – I keep hearing great things and a decent build size of 12 x 12 x 12.

I’m glad I’m not the only one going in circles

[ajruger]

I was looking at the Airwolf also but the machine components don’t look as refined as the other machines. Makerbot was never really on my list due to the same issues I kept hearing about it. I like the idea of dual extruders and that is why I am leaning towards the Raise3d N2 or Ultimaker 3 (even though I am not fond of the build size). I do like the Airwolf but just like some of the other printers, there are not a whole lot of good solid reviews yet. Then I keep going back and forth with single or dual extrusion. The F400 and m300 look great. I guess I just need to do more research and hope I can make up my mind sooner than later.

Thanks for the reply. I thought I was the only one.

Andrew

[jcamper]

I have not even looked at the Raise3d N2. I’m going to check it out

[saturnprime]

Andrew, what did you ever decide on?

[jcamper]

I know you aren’t asking me but I ended up buying the Raise 3D N2 Plus and the FormLabs Form 2 and I love them both I would highly recommend them both

[saturnprime]

Hey, no worries man, thanks for the info. The Raise also looks good. Like the OP, trying to decide between FusionF400, Zortrax M300 and Raise N2.

Zortrax just dropped their price by about 1k.

That Fusion, it the most expensive at 6kCAD.

Printing quality on that Raise is good? No one seems to like that manual bed leveling either.

[jcamper]

The print quality is great! I was worried about the bed leveling but it’s really no big deal. It’s pre- leveled when you get it I’ve had it since April and only had to level it once and that was because I replaced the nozzle from a .4 to a .6 I have a .6mm nozzle on the left extruder and a .4 nozzle on the right I would definitely stick with the raise or fusion Lastly Raise support is great and getting better

[saturnprime]

The Raise also has no control over their fans on the parts? Or this been addressed? Seems silly to mount blockers to stop the fans from cooling when we print PLA?

What plastic have you been using?

[jcamper]

I believe it will be resolved on future models but not my N2 Plus To me it’s not a big deal though. (I do agree this should have been addressed sooner) I primarily print PLA, ABS, and nylon. I use to print PolyFlex some but now since I have the formlabs form 2 I simply print it using the flexible resin

[saturnprime]

Ok thanks, no issues printing abs with fans blowing?

[jcamper]

None at all Only recommendation I have is buy a purple elmers glue stick. Lol

[saturnprime]

Haha, ok i hear ya. Id probably put some pei down.

Thanks for the info!

[jcamper]

I wonder when they are going to release the N3??? It supposed to have a auto level, a filament monitor, and have the ability to turn on and off the fans What kind of printer do you have now? Have you printed polycarbonate yet?

[jcamper]

I wonder when they are going to release the N3??? It supposed to have a auto level, a filament monitor, and have the ability to turn on and off the fans What kind of printer do you have now? Have you printed polycarbonate yet?

[saturnprime]

I built and FT5, which hasn’t printed a damn thing yet. I’m normally pretty handy, but this printer kicked my ass a bit. But I had missing parts and now the bed won’t warm up over 30degrees, so it hasn’t been the best experience. I just want to print some drone parts!

[jcamper]

Very cool! I have a buddy that bought a TAZ. That one might not be bad