First 3-d printer
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Regarding soluble support...I have used it with my first 3d printer (almost 10 years ago), but never use it. It's such a hassle to set up correctly that unless you absolutely need a perfect surface finish with no break-off or razor marks, it's not worth the effort. Another thing that nobody ever discusses is how many hours it takes to disolve the support...it takes forever.
one more thing...you cannot trust the online reviews, even from reputable youtube stars. Those people are often given units that are better tested/debugged than what is available to us in the general population. My choice had raving reviews from dozens of "reputable experts" online, but I regret not getting a common brand.
What you can trust is the millions of reddit threads of people discussing their issues.
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@markjohnston09 At the low end of the range I would definitely stay away from dual extruder machines. It's hard enough to get a single low cost extruder working well, let alone two of them.
I would also ignore any claims about ABS print capability. It isn't going to happen in a low-end printer, or even in a lot of mid to high-end machines, without a lot of modification.
Low end printers will usually come with cheesy controllers that use plug in motor driver modules. I'd order a bunch of spares along with the printer. You're going to need them and nothing is more frustrating than waiting, unable to print for a month, for a $5 motor driver to arrive from China.
Finally, understand that when you swim in the shallow end of the pool, there's no path to the deep end that doesn't leave you gasping for air. Cheap printers are made of cheap parts that you can't modify into a good printer without replacing almost everything.
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I would suggest starting with a simple ender 3. It's a fundamentally solid design and just works. It has a large community and lots of mods available. There's still enough challenge to tuning and tweaking and upgrading that it's still a fun challenge without just being a pile of crap.
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What's your budget.
The Prusa Mini is not cheap but it makes a good first printer, IMO.
Just know that 3D printers can be money pits - it's a great and challenging hobby that can suck you in.
I'm building my 8th printer with two more waiting in boxes.
Frederick
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@fcwilt said in First 3-d printer:
I'm building my 8th printer with two more waiting in boxes.
There must be rehab places for that sort of an addiction! Get help, get it fast !
I am in the early stages - I still wait until one printer is built before all the components for the next printer are on hand. -
@jens55 I had a few printers on my short list, but after digging deeper, there was a number of comments that "After I replaced the hotend, extruder, Bowden tube, fans, display, and controller, my Brand X is awesome!" My reasoning then switched to "well if a printer only becomes 'awesome' after replacing everything, then I'll make one from scratch." And yes, it can get pretty expensive...
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@kb58, I would never suggest to do a self built printer for the first printer. You don't know what you don't know. Better to start with something that basically works and then discover what and how you would like to tweak things. I started with a Creality CR10 which was a pretty decent printer the way it came out of the box.
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Just buy a Prusa. Save yourself a load of faff
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@blacksheep99 said in First 3-d printer:
Just buy a Prusa. Save yourself a load of faff
Faff - never heard that word before - had to look it up.
Frederick
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@jens55 said in First 3-d printer:
@fcwilt said in First 3-d printer:
I'm building my 8th printer with two more waiting in boxes.
There must be rehab places for that sort of an addiction! Get help, get it fast !
I am in the early stages - I still wait until one printer is built before all the components for the next printer are on hand.I always finish each printer and get it working but I do sometimes go back later on with an upgrade or two - or three, or four, or five...
It's that "money pit" thing I mentioned.
My wife shakes her head a lot - she says I have too many cents and too little sense.
Frederick
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Too late to tell me to buy one - I enjoy learning new things and that included building a printer from scratch. It's a pretty decent learning curve, but having built two cars from scratch, I'm used to doing things the hard way - much more rewarding.
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@markjohnston09 I am also looking for the best 3d printer. I have been doing some research on the same and I soon share my findings. Else let me stick around this valuable thread.
Thanks
