Which FDM printer ~£2000~ (more details in post)

[curious aardvark]

from what i can gather 50micron layer height with a 0.4 nozzle is something like the sweet spot for FDM prints?

Nope - that's pretty much too thin a layer. 0.1mm is as low as you should sensibly go.
The sweet spot is usually around 0.16-0.2.
This is not a resin machine - so don't go into this expecting the same resolution prints
It's different :-)
If you want greater detail then a smaller diameter nozzle is a better way to go.
You can realistically go down to 0.2-0,25mm fairly easily. After that it gets really tricky working out the back pressure and extrusion settings.
I've used a 0.25 on my mini delta. impressive what you can produce.
Just don't expect it to be quick :-)

The caribou is a LOT of money for an i3 kit. Plus no heated enclosure, so you won't be able to use the hi-end filaments anyway.

Also for that kind of money, they really SHOULD be using linear rails NOT linear bearings.
I just don't see anything there to justify the cost.
Bear in mind that the I£ esign is based on good engineering and mechanics, rather than clever electronicky tricks.
So to upgrade a prusa i3, almost the only thing you could do, is to use linear rails for all three axis.

Also what is the point in using a duet board for an i3 ?
Prusa are still using 8bit driver boards on their mk3s.
It's not a design that needs a board capable of running multiple extruders and 15 axis (you want to see what the duet company builds with their boards - awesomke machines).

A good 32bit board with a 4.5 inch touchscreen and tmc 2208 drivers can be had for well under £100.
I would also argue that homing to a physically sensor is a BETTER option that sensorless homing.

The duet is really for exotic projects - six extruder machines, giant deltas with 5 extruders, that one was something worht seeing !
Duet don't use their boards for bog standard i3's - I really don't see why anyone else would either.

They don't really have any place on a basic i3.

All i see with the caribou is money being thrown away on designer brands that do not do anything the cheaper non-fashionable kit doesn't do.
If you drive a bmw and make sure people know you have the latest iphone - and are a vegan, then get a caribou and print t-shirts declaring that you have done so.
But it's really just an excuse to throw money away.

Okay so forget that :-)

You want a fully enclosed machine with 300c hotend.
Not sure we can get one for under £2000 - so lets look at sensible options instead.

I mean most filaments with the exception of abs and some nylons, will print quite happily on open frame machines and most of the new filaments that are added to the long list of materials, will usually work on open frame machines.

So the enclosure should not be a deal breaker.

The best setup at the moment is a good core-xy machine. faster, more precise and just better than any of the pother fdm setups (and I have them all)

Couple to look at:
It's big, it's fully upgraded and it's stupidly cheap: https://www.amazon.co.uk/TRONXY-Alum...7PPFVT64&psc=1

My other lower end machine would be a sapphire plus: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphire-Pr...5217986&sr=8-2
Built like a tank and once you move the extruder to the hotend and make it direct drive.
Just an awesome workhorse.
Would also be pretty simple to enclose.

This is a smaller build volume but with the idex setup it's worth a look: https://www.amazon.co.uk/FlashForge-...s%2C213&sr=8-2

Also worth a serious look is a tenlog I3 - idex, linear rails, silent steppers, good build volume. Sensible price: https://www.amazon.co.uk/TENLOG-TL-D...5218844&sr=8-8
Everything the caribou isn't and at the right price.

Quality enclosed machines tend to cost more than £2000, I'm struggling to find any with that large a build volume.

The flashforge creator 3 comes close but is around £2200.

And to be honest, you're better going for something cheaper and upgrading - if it proves necessary, and 9 times out of 10 IT ISN'T !
lol
Don't take any notice of the facebook groups. they seem to exist solely for people who want to change everything on a machine as soon as they have it and before they actually use it.

As far as automatic 'bed levelling' goes.
It's only necessary if you have a non-flat printbed.
If the printbed is flat and you swap out locking nylock nuts for normal levelling nuts, you level it physically - once.
And that's it, job done.

If the printbed is NOT physically flat, change it. buggering about with mesh levelling is a solution, but a pretty poor one. having an actually flat bed is the premium solution.
So bear in mind that mesh levelling is often the cheaper alternative to a company sourcing properly made flat beds.

To be honest I'm struggling to spend all your money. And spending other people's money is one of my favourite pastimes :-)

I'll keep looking :-)

But at the moment I'd buy 1x tronxy x5sa PRO, 1x flashforge creator pro 2, 1x tenlog tl d3 pro
And upgrade the hotends on all three to a 300c hotend.
And then spend the other money on a big box full of interesting filaments :-)
Ninjatec armadillo - a rigid polyurethane and possibly the strongest material a mainstream 3d printer will print with. And the best bit is it's as easy to use as pla. Just damned expensive.
Also get some: satin plas, hi-temp pla, nylon 240 and some polycarbonate and pc abs blends.

At the moment If I was buying a single extruder machine I'd go for the saphire plus and for an idex the tenlog.
There just doesn't seem to be snything else around worth spending more on.

If we were talking £5-10000, I have a fairly long list of damn awesome machines.

But in the £1-2000 there just doesn't seem to be anything much actually worth what they are charging.

Actually - let's dispence with the tronxy and get a creality 3d printmill instead: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...er-3dprintmill

It's the only creality machine I would consider recmmending. It is a core-xy belt printer witha 45degree hotend.
Even if you weren't doing mass production prints - the whole 45 degree print thing will create prints no other fdm system will and stronger in all stress directions.

Hmm - maybe just the belt machine and the tenlog then :-)
And an even bigger box of filament :-)
Again I'd shift the extruder to make it a direct drive.

[ADHdan]

Ok, thankyou curious_ardvark, im not going to lie, im a little worried your choices would be throwing me in at the deep end to get these machines up and running, my only experience of 3d printing to date is Anycubics MONOX which i bought and subsequently had to figure out the issues with it to make it work, in a nutshell, power cycle after EVERY print or it will crash mid print usually with the UV light stuck ON, i had to flatten the BP because it wasnt at all flat, add coke can shims to prevent BP from shifting on the mount during print that was causing horizontal lines in my prints & other stuff .....it now prints flawlessly and ive had no fails since but it wasnt the greatest experience after spending £600 on what is essentially a simple machine with 1 moving part. i watched videos of tear downs on some of the cheaper machines, i think it was creality printers & to me they just looked like the parts were 'stretched out' too thin to get the large size print beds the upgraded caribou prusa thing looks solid, has branded parts so presumably tighter tolerances and longer lifespan over that of a prusa original which from youtube looked like it produced better prints then other brand printers & i'll admit the creality mill looks cool im certainly going to look @ that one again when its been out for a whileALSO i didnt look into whats needed to print the more specialist filaments, im happy to make an extracter for fumes but i think i'll pass on anything that needs a heated chamber

[ADHdan]

sorry i forgot to mention in all that, which of the printers you suggested are the best built & most reliable @ working
thanks
Dan