10" Regret?

[super fly]

Hello, I am torn between the 8" and the 10". Anyone that has a 10" do you wish you would have got the 8"? Are there any cons with getting the 10" over the 8" besides the added cost? I probably wouldn't need the 10" that I can think of right now, but it would be nice to have the extra space and not need it rather than need it and not have it. Thoughts? Comments?

[BLKKROW]

Why not get the 12"?

When I started printing I had another printer that had a build volume of 6X8X8 and after using that for a year I changed to the 12" Prusa.

[printbus]

I think it mostly depends on what you plan to print. Some have plans to print R/C car bodies or full size helmets that require the large space. Some have production needs requiring printing many identical parts at the same time, also forcing a large print bed. I have an 8-inch, and for the year I've had it, I've never wanted to print anything bigger than that. But that's just me. Takes too dang long to print large items for one thing.

If you're printing with a heated bed, you're dissipating more heat into the room with the larger heat beds. Some might have issue with that. Power supply and relay wiring to the larger heat beds gets to be pretty critical. Due to the higher current, connector melt-downs have been frequent on the 12-inch printer. Also, IIRC, warping issues have been minimal with the 8-inch printer. The 10 and 12 inch printers have larger wood pieces that are going to have a higher risk of warping.

EDIT: Another consideration... if you plan to do a lot with ABS, you'll likely grow to want the printer inside an enclosure in order to keep the entire print volume at a warm temperature. That gets tougher to do as the printer gets bigger.

[super fly]

The 12" is too big I think; just takes up too much real estate. I'm not too concerned over the bed warping as I planned on getting the AL bed upgrade. The weight difference between the two isn't that much. I asked Colin and although he did have numbers for the 10" bed he gave me weights for the 12" and they were only 5 ounces different. He guessed that the 10" was probably about a 4 ounce difference between the wood and AL. I was more or less concerned with the frame strength/rigidness by scaling the 8" printer to 10". I figure I can print smaller things on a bigger bed, but can't print bigger things on a small bed. I was just asking because if the 10" was plagued with issues or print quality inst the same or something else like that then I would just stick with the 8". I was just hoping for first hand experience.

[Roxy]

No matter what you get, you will wish you had some thing different. You need one to use so you can learn what is important to you.

[Chadd]

\Also, IIRC, warping issues have been minimal with the 8-inch printer. The 10 and 12 inch printers have larger wood pieces that are going to have a higher risk of warping.

I often wonder if many of the banding issues I have aren't related to this. Not sure about the 8" but the 12" frame has a bunch of flex to it and before I replaced my wooden Y axis bed with aluminum it would warp bad enough that it would hit the frame on the back that holds the Y motor.

[usarmyaircav]

I often wonder if many of the banding issues I have aren't related to this. Not sure about the 8" but the 12" frame has a bunch of flex to it and before I replaced my wooden Y axis bed with aluminum it would warp bad enough that it would hit the frame on the back that holds the Y motor.

I have the 10" printer and it works well for me. I haven't noticed any issues. I would like better resolution to my prints without working for it. I think If I go through the calibration process, re-tighten everything, things would get even better, not that they are bad now. I haven't really done much to tune it once I got it working.

[lakester]

I got the 12" on the general principle that I could think of it as an "honest" 10". I.e., I could just print things that had a 10" major axis, and not even be particularly careful about alignment. While these have been fairly rare, it has more or less worked out the way I planned.

What I didn't plan on was uneven heating across the surface of the bed. Generally, I see a significant drop-off in bed temps starting about 3/4 of the way towards the "front" edge (the y-max direction). The front 1/4 of the bed has problems keeping ABS stuck from time to time.

I do wonder if the 8" or 10" have this same problem, and if they do..., if it's to the same degree.

If I had it to do all over again..., I just MIGHT go with the 10". If I were to get a second printer..., it would be the 10" for sure (because..., well..., I've already got the 12", and the 10" would suffice for most of my prints).

[usarmyaircav]

I got the 12" on the general principle that I could think of it as an "honest" 10". I.e., I could just print things that had a 10" major axis, and not even be particularly careful about alignment. While these have been fairly rare, it has more or less worked out the way I planned.

What I didn't plan on was uneven heating across the surface of the bed. Generally, I see a significant drop-off in bed temps starting about 3/4 of the way towards the "front" edge (the y-max direction). The front 1/4 of the bed has problems keeping ABS stuck from time to time.

I do wonder if the 8" or 10" have this same problem, and if they do..., if it's to the same degree.

If I had it to do all over again..., I just MIGHT go with the 10". If I were to get a second printer..., it would be the 10" for sure (because..., well..., I've already got the 12", and the 10" would suffice for most of my prints).

I just bought an IR touchless temp sensor for another project. I will check heat disposition tonight on the 10" if I have time. Also do you have anything under your heatbed? I have 2 layers of cork tile from Lowes.

[lakester]

I just bought an IR touchless temp sensor for another project. I will check heat disposition tonight on the 10" if I have time. Also do you have anything under your heatbed? I have 2 layers of cork tile from Lowes.

Ditto the cork, yup.