Buying a 3D printer

[cayal]

Hi all,

I am looking at the possibility of buying a 3D printer. I mainly want to print/build full size movie/game props for my theater room/"man cave".

In saying this I understand I couldn't print off a single full size prop and am happy for assembly but when looking for something with what I hope to achieve, what should I look out for?

Basically I don't care if assembly is required, I am happy to do it and happy to do colouring afterwards as well.

I just want to be able to create and print out the replicas and detail it afterwards.

Is there anything I should be specifically looking for in a printer considering those needs?

Thanks for your help.

[taskman]

Hi

I believe you should look at the following:

cost of printer
How much are you willing to spend is probably the biggest question that will influence all other answers

your material cost
Are you willing to spend $30 on a kg or $300?

type of material
Do you want it in plastic or some other special materials or do you want to cast?

your failure rate according to the community or third party reviewers
Will you be printing the same thing over and over and using alot of time and materials to produce what you want?

reproducibility
Can you print the same model over and over and get the same result from the printer.
detail that can actually be printed
Do you need micron details that a resin printer can give you or is FDM detail enough
support from manufacturer
Does the manufacturer listen to problems about the printer and try to fix it and make the printer better or will you be stranded after buying the printer

support from community
Is there a forum of users that can help you with the printer if something goes wrong

assembly
Do you want to assemble the printer yourself or do you want to get one that has been assembled by the manufacturer and hopefully also tested


I think those are the questions you should decide on, others can probably come up with more