new boy in town!

Hello all,

I'm brand new to 3D printing - currently trying to learn as much as I can before making my first purchase. I'm looking for opinions / help deciding on which printer. I'm looking between:

Ultimaker 2 Etended,
E3D BigBox,
Lulzbot TAZ 5,
Type A Machines Series 1 Pro,
AirWolf 3D AXIOM,
CubePro.

Basically, I'm looking for size, quality and reliability. Speed isn't my first concern - though I don't want it to take a month per print; decent speed whilst at good quality with quality being a higher priority.

As I'm new to 3D printers, I have read up a lot on the features which make things easier like auto levelling and such and am wondering about how much of a difference these actually make.

I'd also be looking to print in multiple materials which I appreciate will me to use a dual extruder (or I even seen a triple head on the CubePro?)

I've read differing things regarding enclosed vs. open and being as I have no experience would like some help on this please - this is one of the reasons I've leaned towards the AXIOM over the Lulzbot or Type A (as these have been the three I've been thinking of mostly).

I seen the AXIOM have just released a dual extruder which sounds lovely and could fit perfectly but I keep finding my way back to the others too, hence I can't decide!

Any and all help is greatly appreciated!

Take this for what its worth, but ive owned a lot of 3d printers.
Ive owned
Rostock Max V2 -- $999
Flashforge Creator pro - $1250
Makerfarm Prusa i3v - $800 all in with glass, power supply etc
Taz 5 -$2250
Gmax 1.5xt + -- $3500 w/ heated bed
and some resin ones.

Best value is Makerfarm Prusa I3V
Highest quality prints, Flashforge Creator Pro
Largest Volume - gmax 1.5xt + .... And gmax is now producing nearly the same quality as the flashforge. This printer is really really good but its also expensive.

And don't buy based on Dual extruder. You will not use the second as much as you think. Everyone thinks that they are going to be doing these multi colored masterpieces, but what they find out it is easier to just print white abs and paint...

Just say no to auto leveling. It is rarely done right and usually is in more expensive printers. Don't get tramming mixed up with leveling. Most printers auto tram, which is setting the start point of the build plate. Few auto level based on 3 point servo driven adjustments.

One thing the OP didn't mention was budget.

Thanks guys, very appreciated.

Have been looking at the gmax and am very interested. That build volume looks amazing!

What I seen is that it's a 70 micron layer height. I am looking around at what kind of quality this produces and may look to modify it.

I have been very interested in the dual extruder so I could use it for support material to print quicker. I seen "The Palette" which I'm interested in as I'd be able to create multiple colours from the extruder not being used for support structure.

After looking at the gmax I've been thinking of the gmax.. the split-heat build plate is a great idea too. I've then thought that I could look at an E3D hotend as (from my reading thus far) they're the best in the business.

My main concern is with it being an open design; I keep reading about enclosed chambers being better for keeping the temperature stable but how realistic is this or is it more of a marketing point?

Thanks. It seemed like auto-levelling was a big thing but yes, I noticed it's in the higher-end printers; why I assumed it's a quality feature and would be worth it.

Budget isn't my biggest concern - within reason. I'm not planning on buying a £30k printer but I'm looking for a quality printer and realise that you get what you pay for. So long as I do my due diligence that is. I haven't set an exact budget but realistically am hoping not to pay more than ~£5k.

Thanks again for your replies, Mark

I just finished my conversion to an E3D hotend, and it is glorious... everything works great... You need a new auto bed leveling part to print, and a new fan shroud (because the E3d is 10mm longer than the jhead stock hotend). everything is perfect.
.4 mm nozzle now (which i like) and printing like a CHAMP.
With FDM, there is no real need to go below .1mm layer height, its almost not even noticeable... with GOOD printers its not even noticeable at .2mm.

Look at the http://www.fusion3design.com/ F400 that was just released. It isn't cheap, but isn't overly expensive. Dual extruder really isn't used as much as you think even for support material. With modern slicers support material is done very well and comes off cleanly.

Don't get hung up on the 70 or 20 micron printing. It really is overkill for 95% of what you will be doing. 100 micron is really good, and 200 is the best combination of speed and quality.