Hi @sn4k3 of the three printers you’ve listed, I’d say the Prusa i3 wins easily. The Wanhao is a clone of the i3 anyway, so all you’re really doing is buying a cheaper copy of a printer that’s already in your list - and the Wanhao is based upon the earlier i3, not the mk2… The Flashforge is also a copy (of the Makerbot Replicator) and I have one, but wish I’d had the option of the Prusa (I bought my Flashforge about 2 months before the i3 mk2 came out).
Dual-colour. For me it’s been a waste of time buying a dual colour printer. I’ve had no orders for any dual prints, I’ve really needed none myself and the penalty in terms of weight at the head (if you’ve got a direct-drive printer) far outweighs any possible value in terms of having two filaments “ready to print”. I’d think really carefully about whether you have enough work of your own to need dual colour, because right now I’m not convinced. IF you did demand dual-colour you could look at the BCN 3D (probably out of your price range) but it’s worth bearing in mind Prusa are working on a multi-filament mod to the i3 so if you bought an i3, you may well be able to dual print before long anyway using that and it already has the handy pause/change option.
Look at the QIDI Tech-1 as an alternative to the Flashforge. I have both and like them equally. When I got my QIDI it was a fair amount less then the FFCP.
I agree on the i3, I just ordered a MK2 - go with the original. Good support forum.
Hello @cobnut very nice tips. I know Prusa easy wins any clone still does the extrusion upgrade i have mention worth?
Dual extrusion for me is nothing more than convenience and a little future proof, i would use more to print with different colors but not in same piece, just to not have to change colors, so i had always 2 colors ready to print without the need of change the roll.
But as i look more for quality i may go for Pursa i3, still i can only find it on Original Website, does another retailer inside EU sell them?
I just bought the Prusa and the 4 color mod, this will make 5 printers now. I have to say I like dual extruder because I can do PLA on the left and ABS on the right with little headache.
3-D printing has progressed over the last decade to include multi-material fabrication, enabling production of powerful, functional objects. While many advances have been made, it still has been difficult for non-programmers to create objects made of many materials (or mixtures of materials) without a more user-friendly interface.
But this week, a team from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) will present “Foundry,” a system for custom-designing a variety of 3-D printed objects with multiple materials.
In traditional manufacturing, objects made of different materials are manufactured via separate processes and then assembled with an adhesive or another binding process. Even existing multi-material 3-D printers have a similar workflow: parts are designed in traditional CAD [computer-aided-design] systems one at a time and then the print software allows the user to assign a single material to each part.
In contrast, Foundry allows users to vary the material properties at a very fine resolution that hasn’t been possible before.
It’s like Photoshop for 3-D materials, allowing you to design objects made of new composite materials that have the optimal mechanical, thermal, and conductive properties that you need for a given task
OK, One suggestion: Investigate the new Volcano 3 input print head.
It allows you to switch print material or color on the fly with very little delay in the change and it mounts as one head.
I do not have anything to do with this product, I just saw an ad for it when I was looking for a replacement printer.
Root Issue: Choice of Printer; You can get a Copy of the Prusa i3 Pro B on the cheap now. This is recognised as a good printer, you will have to do some assembly, adjustment, and tuning. I’m doing the adjustment step now. Getting the Z axis set and leveling the bed was picky but not difficult. Now I’m adjusting the Drivers for the Steppers.
Mine came in 3 major sections, The Bed on the Y axis, the Z axis frame with steppers, and the X assembly with extruder.
Assembly took about 3 hours taking my time to check everything. NOTE, the width of the X axis may need adjustment, mine did, was a couple millimeters narrow. That means you might have to adjust the belt length as well.
Note: This is not my first printer, I got Burned with a Solidoodle Press on the first try. Piece of junk, now dead, I did get a few good prints after much tweaking, then the control board smoked during a print. Time for a replacement Printer.
Funny enough, the year of use on the Press let prices come down significantly.
