Best 3D printer for $2000 or less?

I've been researching 3D printers for several weeks now trying to figure out which one to buy. I want to print ABS plastic and I am going to be making parts for some electronics projects I am working on. I am quite experienced in Sketchup. I've downloaded the software for several of the popular printers to make sure I could export an STL from sketchup and import it into the printing software. I seem to have that down pat.

The trouble is, I can't decide on a printer. When I read reviews on the internet just about every one of them are filled with complaints of people saying the product breaks often, support is terrible, etc. I have looked over and over at printers from Makerbot, Cube, Flashforge, Ultimaker, Lulzbot Taz, etc. I've watched tons of youtube videos on each.

I can't decide. So here's the criteria important to me:

• Needs to be around $2,000 or less. Preferably less.
• Must print ABS plastic well.
• 1 extruder is fine, I have no need for 2.
• Must be reliable
• I do not care about speed, I won't be printing more than 1 item per day, usually.
• I do not care about resolution, most of the stuff I'm printing will be flat surfaces with 90 degree angles. I won't be printing figurines, dolls, etc.
• Larger print area is desirable.
• I've already ruled out Cube Systems because I don't want to buy their expensive filament rolls.
• Must work with Mac OS X or at least use an SD card so I can copy my files over to it.

So, some of you more experienced guys, can you give me a recommendation of what to buy?

SeeMeCNC is what I have and I am very happy with it. The Delta Orion assembled is on sale now for $1299.

Look into a makergear m2. You wont really find a better printer with a higher quality build and components for the money.

I second the Makergear M2. I've had mine for 3+ months and I was printing without issue a few hours after uncrating it. Well built, good response time to questions (from support) and well priced.

Mike H.

I've had very good experiences with the lulzbot, and the TAZ 4 is very well built.

Go with some "open" 3D printer, a RepRap that is alraedy assembled. Or check in my signature, the marketspace in my signature have bunch of printers that fits your criteria.

My preferences are for Ultimaker or Lulzbot because they are trusted brands with good support, part availability and reliable for the long run.

ave you ever use ultimaker before? many people suggest that 3d printer i just want to know is it worth buying or not? hahah

ralph is kinda the professional lulzbot and ultimaker proposer, at least I'm assuming he's getting paid ;-)

thread is 3 years old, industry moved on a LOT since then.

And the other thing I am learning... after another Qidi X One issue (noise, grinding, stuttering in x-axis, I think bad stepper motor cable) is that a lot of these parts are generic... limit cables, stepper motor cables, etc. No need to get from the manufacturer so the "parts availability" argument isn't valid for many items. 4x reprap stepper motor cables Amazon prime $9.99 US. No need to get them directly from Qidi in China.

Edit: Or maybe not... I just looked more closely at the connectors and the Qidi cables might have different connectors, at least on one end. :-/

The problem with asking a question like this ("what is the best...") is that very few of us have experience with a wide variety of 3D printers. It's a rare person who owns more than one, but if that person had a relatively good experience they'll recommend the one they happened to buy, even if there's another one for half the price that's better. So do the research, decide on a couple of alternative machines, and ask specifically about them. People who had good or bad experiences will be able to comment knowledgeably, without having to compare them to machines they've only heard about.

And 3 years after the question has been asked the number of machines under $2000 has increased astronomically.

Read the dates on the posts people :-)