# 3D Printing > General 3D Printing Discussion >  Help narrow down 3d printer?

## aeviaanah

Looking to buy a 3d printer. So far the lulzbot ao-101, ultimaker 3d and makergear m2 are on my list of potentials. Im finding this difficult-so much to compare and without the knowledge of 3d printing. 

Any help here? Can someone point me in the right direction for honest comparisons?

I am willing to spend up to 2,000 dollars.

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## JohnA136

Get yourself a copy of MAKE Magazine's Special 3D Printer Shoot-out edition that just came out this week.  It compares 20+ printers.

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## MeoWorks

Or feel free to just ask anything that's on your mind. JohnA136's suggestion is almost a requirement though lol, the issue is like a bible. If money is not an issue, that opens a lot of doors for you in terms of tech you can buy.

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## Vanguard

To really get something that completely suits your needs the only way to do it is build your own.  This does take a LOT more time, but the learning experience is MUCH much more, and you end up with twice the printer for 1/2 the price.  You can incorporate the best components,  and you learn a bunch.  You can decide how far you want to go with a DIY, from building your own boards, hot end, everything, to just buying the parts and bolting them together.

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## rene1981

I've goy an up! 2 plus printer for a week and a few days now, and I am very happy with it. good qualitiy prints. 
People from fablab I spoke, said that the ultimaker is not so good, because of the bow extruder.

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## JohnA136

I am not sure why people do not like the bowden extruder?  We used an Ultimaker for 6 months (over 800 print hours) and never had an issue with it.  If it is set up properly, it is a gem.  I wish I could say the same for our Replicator XL?  The main advantage is the lower head mass allows for very fast printing without shaking the bot to bits, something you can not do with a lot of printers.

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## aeviaanah

> To really get something that completely suits your needs the only way to do it is build your own.  This does take a LOT more time, but the learning experience is MUCH much more, and you end up with twice the printer for 1/2 the price.  You can incorporate the best components,  and you learn a bunch.  You can decide how far you want to go with a DIY, from building your own boards, hot end, everything, to just buying the parts and bolting them together.


This is an option too! I have no idea where to start in terms of building my own. Can you point me to any resources?

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## aeviaanah

Are there any pre made printers with the option of upgrading (DIY style) as you learn?

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## JohnA136

Every kit printer we have bought has been upgraded extensively as 3D Printing technology has improved.  Even our Replicator 1 has upgraded extruders and a stretched frame to make it into a Replicator XL with ~200mm added to the Z Axis.

We have build box printers, threaded rod printers and lately, the Prusa i3 Printers. Currently, I would recommend building a Pruse i3 to anyone wanting to build their own.  It is FAST to build ( we go from boxes to printing in one day!), has very large print volume and can print ABS, PLA as well as other types of filaments.  It can be run tethered, off an SD Card or wirelessly with a Rasberry Pi.

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## aeviaanah

So, I've read the Make Magazine special and I've narrowed my search down  to 3 printers. Id like to compare the Prusa i3 but need to see some  specs. 

The three I am currently comparing are Maker Gear M2, Type A Series 1 and Ultimaker (or ultimaker 2)

Open  source is a big priority for me, this is one of the major deciding  factors. The quality and print volume are all pretty comparable. Not  sure what it takes to better the resolution from .2mm to .02 possible?? 

The  prices are comparable and being able to assemble myself- I'll be able  to save some money. The ultimaker 2 is getting pretty expensive and am  not sure if ill be able to get that one. Is it much better than the  ultimaker? 

A few more questions.

1. The models that have plywood frames- I have access to a CNC plasma, am I able to cut new aluminum frames instead? 
2. The type A Series 1 is the only printer (within my comparisons) that can print PVA. Is this something of value? 
3.  Are there benefits to different pedigrees? Makergear M2 uses  reprap/mendel prusa. While both Type A Series 1 and Ultimaker are of  original pedigree.
4. Should I rule out solidoodle? 

Please list anything I may have overlooked about each specific printer. I appreciate your help in advance!

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## aeviaanah

Which of these have the most upgrades or user based modifications out there? Curious if any have a much larger community based around them?

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## Vanguard

You are going about this in a very good way, researching everything.   It would be very nice of you if you let us all know what your final decision is, please post the outcome.   No printer can be everything to everybody, but it would be very handy to know what you picked, and the criteria you used.  What made you decide on a certain printer, or method.  A new thread would probably be best for that, it would greatly help a lot of  people.  If a lot of people researched their printers this well, the unreliable printers would quickly fade away.

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## aeviaanah

> You are going about this in a very good way, researching everything.   It would be very nice of you if you let us all know what your final decision is, please post the outcome.   No printer can be everything to everybody, but it would be very handy to know what you picked, and the criteria you used.  What made you decide on a certain printer, or method.  A new thread would probably be best for that, it would greatly help a lot of  people.  If a lot of people researched their printers this well, the unreliable printers would quickly fade away.


Thankyou for the words of encouragement. Ill be sure to let everyone know what I settle on and for which reasons.

I still need help with this tho!

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## jimc

I personally have a makergear m2. I can tell you it's probably one of the best printer out there. It rock solid. The build quality absolutely fantastic. Everything is precision and repeatability is great. The company is fantastic as well. customer service is super. They always respond to emails in a couple hours. You can look at the printer and see the quality of it but you never know about the company. The big selling point for me was I searched all over the internet and I couldn't find anything where a customer had a bad thing to say about the support or company itself. They are simply fantastic to deal with.

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## Geoff

> Looking to buy a 3d printer. So far the lulzbot ao-101, ultimaker 3d and makergear m2 are on my list of potentials. Im finding this difficult-so much to compare and without the knowledge of 3d printing. 
> 
> Any help here? Can someone point me in the right direction for honest comparisons?
> 
> I am willing to spend up to 2,000 dollars.


I bought a flashforge 3D dual extruder, cost around $1300. Lasercut wood box as per usual, stock components but a real workhorse. I was stuck, was ABOUT to buy an UP plus, but the only redeeming feature it has is the metal casing, which at th end of the day wasnt worth an extra thousand bucks to me. No assembly required, has SD card slot so you can be printing out of the box in 15 mins.
Does ABS/PLA and doesn to 0.1mm prints , and it really does do 0.1mm prints.

I also looked at a makerbot 2 - the flashforge IS a makerbot 2, it works with makerware also.. it just wont cost you $2500!

The flashforge is really easy to use and for the price hard to beat, examples below
http://3dprintboard.com/showthread.p...ff-s-3D-Prints

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## aeviaanah

> I personally have a makergear m2. I can tell you it's probably one of the best printer out there. It rock solid. The build quality absolutely fantastic. Everything is precision and repeatability is great. The company is fantastic as well. customer service is super. They always respond to emails in a couple hours. You can look at the printer and see the quality of it but you never know about the company. The big selling point for me was I searched all over the internet and I couldn't find anything where a customer had a bad thing to say about the support or company itself. They are simply fantastic to deal with.


Awesome. Thanks for the input. What was it about the makergear m2 that made you lean towards, when you were deciding to buy a printer?



> I bought a flashforge 3D dual extruder, cost around $1300. Lasercut wood box as per usual, stock components but a real workhorse. I was stuck, was ABOUT to buy an UP plus, but the only redeeming feature it has is the metal casing, which at th end of the day wasnt worth an extra thousand bucks to me. No assembly required, has SD card slot so you can be printing out of the box in 15 mins.
> Does ABS/PLA and doesn to 0.1mm prints , and it really does do 0.1mm prints.
> 
> I also looked at a makerbot 2 - the flashforge IS a makerbot 2, it works with makerware also.. it just wont cost you $2500!
> 
> The flashforge is really easy to use and for the price hard to beat, examples below
> http://3dprintboard.com/showthread.p...ff-s-3D-Prints


Curious as to why the flashforge wasn't on the Makers Ultimate Guide to 3d printers list. It seems like a compareable option. Thankyou for letting me know about this printer. The print size is on the smaller size but it seems to compare well.

Anyone have anything to add as far as software is concerned?

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## JohnA136

I believe they were invited to send a machine for testing but declined.

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## jimc

aev.... as far as the printer goes it was just everything about the construction quality of it. no plywood at all. all steel and cnc alum parts with linear slide bearings. overall its a precision made piece. then i looked at the price of it. for the price i dont think you ll find a printer made the way the m2 is. everything is so rigid on it being steel frame. on new printers the bed heater and power supply has been upgraded from mine as well as the extruder and a new all metal one to be released shortly so they are constantly doing r&d. as for the company, i wanted one that has been around awhile. not one that just popped up yesterday and not one so big that you mean nothing to them as a customer. at anytime during the day and even at night i can email the owner, i'm guessing his wife or the guy in charge of the tech dept. they will bend over backward for you if you need something. overall thats what did it for me. there are companies like qu-bd who seems to build a fantastic super engineered machine but my god from the feedback those guys have i would be scared to death to give them my money. i didnt want that so the customer service is really important. also i wanted a company here in the US. i dont want to have to ship repair parts from europe or somewhere overseas. btw the software from simplify3d is fantastic especially if your new to printing.

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## aeviaanah

> aev.... as far as the printer goes it was just everything about the construction quality of it. no plywood at all. all steel and cnc alum parts with linear slide bearings. overall its a precision made piece. then i looked at the price of it. for the price i dont think you ll find a printer made the way the m2 is. everything is so rigid on it being steel frame. on new printers the bed heater and power supply has been upgraded from mine as well as the extruder and a new all metal one to be released shortly so they are constantly doing r&d. as for the company, i wanted one that has been around awhile. not one that just popped up yesterday and not one so big that you mean nothing to them as a customer. at anytime during the day and even at night i can email the owner, i'm guessing his wife or the guy in charge of the tech dept. they will bend over backward for you if you need something. overall thats what did it for me. there are companies like qu-bd who seems to build a fantastic super engineered machine but my god from the feedback those guys have i would be scared to death to give them my money. i didnt want that so the customer service is really important. also i wanted a company here in the US. i dont want to have to ship repair parts from europe or somewhere overseas. btw the software from simplify3d is fantastic especially if your new to printing.


Thanks man for the great review. MakerGear has been catching my eye.

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## Vanguard

To jimc, these are the kind of reviews I like to see, genuine user reviews, not here say, or hype, but what actually has happened to YOU !  First person knowledge is always best, thank you for the information, and it is great to know that some people take service and support so seriously !

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## jimc

Thanks a bunch

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## aeviaanah

I went with Makergear M2. I decided to get the kit so I could assemble it myself. If all goes well looks like it will ship tomorrow. Looking forward to the dual extruder upgrade which is supposed to be coming soon.

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## jimc

i did the kit as well. took 5hrs. not too difficult. do yourself a favor and go with the s3d creator software. most of the makergear community uses it so it will make it real easy on your learning curve when everyone can help you with settings and tuning the printer.

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