Is a large printer worth it?

[Firemandivi]

My oldest son has gotten into 3d printing at school and after seeing some of the things he has made, it has made me want to get into 3d printing and there are a bunch of things I would like to print such as some rc airplanes, a sporting shotgun case, misc. tools and such. I did my research and had my heart set on a Neptune 3 Plus which has a build size of 320x320x400. It hasn't been available for a number of months now and I'm looking at getting the Neptune 3 Max which has a build volume of 420x420x500. The max is more then I need and I'm wondering what exactly am I sacrificing by going to a larger printer. From my research it seems the bed can get deformed after prolonged use and on larger printers this is an issue and also on a larger printer the quality may not be as good. I have no experience here and am looking for the advice of people who have both large and midscale printers. What do you think? Thanks for any help you can give me.

[Bikeracer2020]

There's an old addage that you can make small things on a big lathe, but you can't make big things on a small lathe.

It can be frustrating trying to design things and then split them into more than one part just because they won't quite fit on the build plate in one piece.

The new Prusa XL might be what you are looking for and Prusa seem to have very good customer support.

[AutoWiz]

You'd do better in these days to stay away from the bed slingers. It doesn't matter which firmware you run today Klipper or Marlin they both support input shaper and tuning X and Y resonance with an adxl sensor. Doing this greatly increases the quality of our prints however it can be done with a varying load being applied to Y.

If you are already toying with the idea of a larger format printer you should consider a coreXY printer. Where the bed can stay stationary or just be on Z. I have a reworked TronXY X5SA 500 Pro that has an actual build volume of 500x500x600. This printer has a 0.8mm nozzle and prints with 0.6mm layer heights. It makes the big things in a good amount of time and without shaking the printer apart..



There is also a bigger version available with 600x600x600 build volume. The link to that one is here: Tronxy VEHO 600 Large 3D Printer Kit Direct Drive Beginner 3D Printer – Tronxy3dprinter.com

Here is a link to the 600x600x600 printer with dual extruders: Tronxy VEHO 600 2E Multicolor 2-In-1-Out Dual Extruder Large Size Dire – Tronxy3dprinter.com

If you still want more there is a TronXY that will let you build up to 800x800x800 here: Tronxy VEHO 800 / VEHO 1000 Large Scale 3D Printer Big Format Direct D – Tronxy3dprinter.com

And if you want it all there is a dual extruder version of the 800 printer here: Tronxy VEHO 800 2E / VEHO 100 2E Large Scale 3D Printer Multi Color Bi – Tronxy3dprinter.com

The great thing about these printers is despite the problems they come with a lot of people convert them to VZBot or Voron or they custom modify them as I have.

[Firemandivi]

Thanks for the info. The Prusa XL is way outside my price range. AutoWizz - I agree that the sliding bed is not the best for a 3d printer but in that price range it seems to be the way most printers are going. As for the Tronxy, I looked into them and from some older reviews they don't seem to fit my needs and have some issues, nothing crazy but not something I would want to tackle for my first printer. But I do appreciate your advice. I don't want to go bigger and a 320x320 bed plate would suit my needs and what I want to build just fine. I only mentioned the Neptune 3 Max as I believe I can get my hands on one in the next month or so. While the Neptune Plus is what I want but I just can't find one.