Please help me choose a 3D printer

[BoozeKashi]

So??? How is it going? I've never used one personally, but have heard good things about the Creator Pro all the time. A lot of "prints great right out of the box" type comments.

Have you set it up? First print done yet? Learning all you can?

[Jeff B]

So??? How is it going? I've never used one personally, but have heard good things about the Creator Pro all the time. A lot of "prints great right out of the box" type comments.

Have you set it up? First print done yet? Learning all you can?

Thanks for asking, BoozeKashi! I received the machine last Thursday, but didn't get to do my first test print until yesterday - just a 1 1/2" X 3/4" box that's included as a test object, in ABS. It was fascinating to watch - first just to see the process but also because the Creator Pro puts on quite a show It glows purple when heating, blue when printing, there's a red light on the bed that blinks for reasons that are mysterious to me, and it makes various assorted boops and beeps.

My first print had some "ringing" - wavy patterns on the sides that Simplify 3D's troubleshooting guides says are caused by vibrations. There's settings I can change but I think the problem is what I have the machine set on - I put rubber pads under the stand's legs to try to cut down noise transmission through the floor, but I think they allowed the whole stand to vibrate too much. And now I know the noise is not that bad - and neither is the smell. I'm trying to improve the base before I do my next test.

I still have work to do in Blender before I can test one of my own designs - that will be the real test of whether I can get the detail I'm after. And I'm going to buy Simplify 3D today or tomorrow - I haven't even bothered installing Flashprint. But I am relieved that the machine made it from China and seems to work!

I'll keep ya posted.

ETA:I meant to mention that the Creator Pro now ships with Buildtak on the bed, and two extra sheets of it. No Kaptan tape, no blue tape. Adhesion of ABS to the Buildtak was excellent - almost too good. I had a really hard time getting the piece off the bed. I had to let it cool almost to room temperature, then I ended up dousing the piece and the bed around it with isopropyl alcohol. It gets cold as it evaporates, and that helped the piece pop off.