hazyj
1
This is my first post - I’ve come here because I’m new to 3D printing and am overwhelmed with the number 3D printers available to me. I want to purchase asap, but I’m concerned I’m missing some printers that might be more appropriate for me at the right price. I really just want to get on with the actual printing rather than continue to research printers! Not sure if anyone can help, but here are my criteria for finding a printer:
- Large print volume - one dimension at least 11" - hopefully more
- lower cost filament - this doesn’t mean cheap. just means I’ll be using a lot of material
- dual extrusion is preferred. I realize some machines can be upgraded later with a dual head
- a large array of filament choices especially flexible and elastic plastics as well as nylon
- build quality does *not* have to be excellent. I want good builds of course, but I don’t want my $$ to go into the most precise printers right now. If I have projects requiring such a thing in the future I’ll fork out more for a different printer later.
- good warranty
- excellent reliability - regardless of reality I can hope can’t I?
- good value
I’m intentionally not listing my price range although ideally I’d like to find all this between $300 and $2200.
Thank you!
Update: although not a dual extruder, I currently see Rostock Max as being an excellent choice for me to get started with - I welcome the 30+ hours of setup as it will help to understand how it all works and the limitations. I also see the Witbox 2 is affordable and worth more consideration. Any opinions on these two?
1 Like
A refurbished Lulzbot Taz 5 is 1399 and a very good machine that fits all the things you are looking for. https://itworks3d.com/product-category/3dprinters/lulzbot\_taz-3d-printers/
9 Likes
I build my own machines so I cannot recommend a specific manufacturer but I’ll make a few comments.
Filament
Don’t buy cheap filament. You will regret it.
Don’t worry about printing, nylon, flexible materials, adamantium, etc right now. Master the basics first.
If you want to play with different materials some day then don’t get a machine that uses proprietary filament and make sure it has an all metal hotend.
good warranty & excellent reliability
You might be getting into the wrong hobby
build quality does *not* have to be excellent
This should be your #1 priority. You want a rigid frame and quality linear motion. Almost everything else on the machine is a consumable and will break and need to be replaced eventually if not upgraded as your skills grow.
I recommend getting a decent kit and putting it together yourself. Aside from maintenance/calibration, boards fry, motors fail, wires can only bend so many times before they fail, sensors fail, etc. You can either learn to fix this stuff yourself or you will be sending away your machine every time(this is where many people sell the machine and find a new hobby).
The best way to get your money’s worth is to spend your money in proportion to your experience. I would keep the budget low. Better to throw the $1000+ at the second machine when you know what’s important to you. You will actually save money in the long run.
-Jesse
2 Likes
cobnut
4
Hi @hazyj, @MindFuLL has already given you some excellent advice, I’ll just add a few points.
If this is your first printer, I’d echo the sentiment that you should look to spend in the lower end of your price range rather than going for a more expensive machine. There’s an awful lot to learn with 3D printing, it’s a long way from point and click and the learning process you go through will help define what you actually need in a printer as opposed to what seems to be useful features. For example, dual print heads sound cool, but I can say from my own experience that I rarely use them and they can add complication that’s unnecessary. As far as filament goes, you definitely don’t want to buy cheap, but I suspect what you’re really saying is that you don’t want to be tied to machine specific filament, but that shouldn’t be a problem.
Right now, I’d say go for the new Prusa i3 MK2. For the cost it looks to be an excellent machine and I’m going to be buying one in the next couple of weeks. There’s only a single head, but it has some clever features to enable multi-colour printing and for me the value of the printer itself outweighs the value of having dual heads unless you’re absolutely certain you need dual printing. The Prusa comes in kit or fully assembled, and the decision over which to buy can only be yours based upon your skills/experience. Building from the kit will help a lot when it comes to maintenance and will be an excellent learning experience, but if you need to get printing asap, perhaps the pre-built will be a better option. It has a decent sized bed, a good hot end that’ll allow all manner of filaments and (with inexpensive replacement nozzles) even the more abrasive exotics, is open source and has an excellent following (hence good online problem solving).
Check out this recent YouTube review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kfe_84FGJ8c
If you absolutely must have dual extrusion (and again, I’d think about this long and hard), I’d probably go for the BCN Sigma because of its neat “wiping” process, but it’s right up at the top of your price range and it has little to offer over the Prusa in any other respect other than a closed build space. The Flashforge Creator Pro has dual extrusion (I have one) but I bought this before the Prusa was released and if I’d known then what I know now, I’d have gone for the Prusa and abandoned dual extrusion. In short, I simply don’t use it. None of my customers have needed it, the extra head adds weight to the transport, and dual-printing itself is really tricky to get right.
2 Likes
Asad3D
5
Hey @hazyj, welcome to the world of 3D printing! Choosing your first printer can be a bit daunting, so we publish an annual Buyer’s Guide to help navigate the vast 3D printing world. You can find it here. Good luck and happy buying 
2 Likes
hazyj
6
All very helpful - I need to edit my post further in this case. Thanks and now am wishing I had jumped on the refurbed Taz 5 when I could. Can always add that dual head later.
The Prusa sounds amazing for the $$, but I’ve decided I’ll be better off with a build volume having one large dimension approx. 12". Looks like this will restrict my choices considerably, and is why I’m still looking at the TAZ 5. Restricted choices probably not a bad thing;-)
The BCN Sigma sounds perfect for me except for two things: expensive (maybe not too much tho), and as your comments clearly indicate my first machine will have me riding without training wheels. Normally this wouldn’t bother me regardless of learning curve, but if I understand correctly your meaning(s) are that while I’m learning and using the printer I’ll be spending more $$ on fixes and parts and possibly waiting on shipping, etc. I agree this isn’t what I want.
Regarding dual or mono heads, I don’t know if I want to restrict myself to a machine that can’t dual extrude now or in the future (unlike the TAZ 5 which has what appears to be an affordable replacement dual extruder). I have a few projects that will require some bit of encapsulation where one material needs to be partially surrounded or covered by another. I do understand this is a challenge so I take your advice seriously: at least put those projects off til later.
Thanks!!
1 Like
hazyj
7
Thanks everyone and especially @keebie81 who pointed me to the refurbed Taz5s on it-works. I just purchased a refurbed Taz 5 for $1200.
OK!
