Getting started with 3d printers

Could anyone recommennd a 3d printer for a beginner

If you trawl YouTube for videos such as “Top 5 3d printers 2023” you’ll get lots of information regarding price, capability etc. Once you’ve narrowed it down a bit, there will be videos specifically for the models you think you may want.
I bought mine last year, an Artillery Hornet which is already pretty much obsolete but it’s been really useful and I’ve made many, many things with it.
It is a fairly steep learning curve, to get them away but you’d be amazed at the number of sites with ready made files to download free for printing.
I’m now even using very basic cad to make custom parts.
If I can do it, anyone can.

David,

I purchased a Solvol SV1 some three years ago now I guess. It was a little more expensive than the most basic printers available back then but not greatly so. However, I haven't had to do too much to it because it came with most of the things that folk were busy upgrading their more basic unts with then, like a heated bed, better bed levelers, powered extruder etc. I had previously watched a review of the Solvol (on YouTube) by 'Myfordboy'.

Not sure what's out there now but the Solvol is still ticking along nicely.

Regards,

IanT

I can recommend the Artilery range of printers, poarticularly the Artilery Genius(now Genius pro I think).

They come well equipped, easy to put together (4 bolts and a couple of plugs).

As has been said, there is a steep learning curve with ALL 3D printers and with the slicer software you will need.

I got mine through Banggood, as it was the best price(half the price of other sellers) and was delivered from it's UK warehouse in less than 48hrs.

It comes with an accesory bag with tools and spare parts (not needed any of them yet).

Bed leveling, first layer height and temperatures of bed and extruder are the first things to get to grips with then move on to the slicer opotions of which there are hundreds (not putting you off am I )

I have used Cura and Prusa and generally turn to Cura.

Don't forget you will need some printer filament, plenty to chose from and lots of colours, and of course Thingiverse for projects to get you going.

Then of course, the 3D drawing software, Openscad and Freecad are worth looking at for starters.

3D printing is the ultimate Pandoras box, but it is great fun (and frustrating at times), just don';t get hung up on bed leveling, once you get it set leave it alone.

One last thing, auto bed leveling DOES NOT level the bed.............

Edited By Howi on 17/04/2023 10:06:54

I'm very happy with my Creality CR6, especially the auto-level function.

My Ender3 is now two years old and I have had very few failed prints. It clunks and groans a bit, but don't me all?

Highly recommended.

I also have a Anycubic Photon Mono 4K resin printer. It has a small build plate but was at a good price when I bought it. The resin is very expensive.

Again, highly recommended.

I too watched the Solvol video by Myfordboy. It is tempting, maybe when the Ender gives up.

My son gave me his Anycubic MegaS and reels of filament when he moved abroad. It is a very good machine once you get it set up. Setting the Z height is very crude, but only needs to be done after a nozzle change, so very rarely.

It has a heated bed, which is surely essential? PETG needs about an 80°C bed to prevent it lifting during the print.

But the machine is very good, and I am getting up to speed making all sorts of useful things and gizmos for around the house - a new lid for the bird feeder, brackets to mend the clothes drying horse, or a rack to store special plumbing adaptors. I use Shaper3D and Cura.

The learning curve is indeed steep. A couple of things I have learned so far:

Prints can take a very long time - my longest so far took 35 hours.

Keep your filaments somewhere warm and dry - they can absorb moisture which will cause problems when printing.

The printer is noisy during operation - put it somewhere remote otherwise it will keep you awake.

Don't put it in a really cold place though otherwise some prints, e.g. nylon might not work very well.

Use a memory card to transfer your Gcode files to your printer. If you use the USB lead connected to your computer, your print might get interrupted - mine stopped every time my computer screen saver came on.

Make sure your filament is free to feed - the print will stop if it jams or becomes hard to pull off the reel.

I find that best results are obtained using the lowest extruder temperature specified on the filament reel. On the AnyCubic, you can change the extruder and bed temperatures "on the fly" , allowing you to optimise the print quality, but you will need to experiment..

Make sure your settings are specified correctly, e.g. filament and extruder diameters in Cura

Start with something simple to get the hang of all aspects of CAD and 3D printing

Use dial callipers to measure and specify dimensions in millimetres in your CAD and work to 2 decimal places. Add 0.25mm all round to any dimension that has to fit something else, e.g. for a tool in a tool rack; to allow clearance for the item to fit snugly but slide in and out freely.

Clean the bed with Acetone or Isopropyl alcohol before a print.

An old woodworking chisel that is square and true but NOT sharp is useful for gently lifting prints off the bed and clearing old filament tracks - be careful though.

Be prepared for mistakes and failed prints !

Resist the temptation to touch or fiddle with the item during printing !

Be prepared to get addicted ! I think I am already.

Edited By John Doe 2 on 17/04/2023 10:35:45

I have an Ender3-Pro : so far no problems, though I only print in PLA

Dave

In late 2019 there was a thread on this forum about the Ender 3. It pretty much became the recommended starter point in low cost value for money even if you swap it out later for bigger/fancier/fine-resloultion/faster whizzbangs. They do keep updating it with 'pro', '+' etc names to boost the price. but the original is ok.
The Ender is a filament printer. Use it for bigger things but will have less fine detail.
If you are wanting to make 00 scale railway models with rivets you will need to consider a resin printer. They do detail down to a few thou but tend to be slower and better fro small things. The latest copy of MEW magazine has a review of one that is top of the range but the same mfr has an intro model currently on offer at £100.

People are printing wagons from n-gauge to 5in gauge, yes that big is possible.

Some more recent printers and faster and easier to use. What is the budget? How much do you value plugnplay over tinkering? Right now, I might consider going from my upgraded Ender 3 to Pruas mk 4 (expensive) or bambu lab.

But maybe you should consider resin - what you want to print?

I've just purchased a Creality resin printer to experiment with...

But for a beginner, then a filament (FDM) printer is more versatile and easier to set-up in my view. The resin is far messier and you need a wash and cure process too. The main advantage of resin is the level of detail available but I'm pretty sure my Solvol (FDM) printer is going to continue to be my main 3D Printer...

There is also a safety issue with the VOCs generated - not really a problem with PLA filament but much more so with Resins.

Regards,

IanT

I think I will continue to run both a resin and a filament printer. I may replace my Prusa clone, or just rewire all of the hot end to make it more robust. Endlessly shifting cables do gradually fail.

Horses for courses!

The quality of resin prints is amazing though.

Neil