12" i3v for first printer

[jackal24]

I am looking at getting my first printer. I am thinking of the 12" i3v with a .4 hexagon for 1.75. Would this be a good first printer?

[printbus]

The 12-inch version must be brand new. It's great to see MakerFarm extending the product line.

The MakerFarm printers are great. Colin (owner of MakerFarm) is stellar at providing near 24/7 email support, and there are a number of people on the forum here that can also provide great support.

EDIT: Our biggest gripe with the MakerFarm printers has been the use of a relatively crude method for adjusting the Z endstop switch. It looks like Colin has implemented a new micro-adjustable approach on the 12-inch printer, so that's good.

[jackal24]

Would there be any reason to get the 8 or 10 inch version other than price and machine footprint size?
Is the 1.75 hexagon a good choice for a first hot end?

[andyschneider]

I believe I'm in the same boat as you jackal. Also looking to get my first printer and have decided on MakerFarm i3v based on reading a lot of posts on this forum. I was about to pull the trigger on the 10" but then the 12" came out last night...

The only other thing the 12" version has besides a bigger build area is the graphical LCD interface as opposed to just the regular LCD interface. I do not know whether this is as important an upgrade as the bigger build area is, hopefully an experienced user can give their opinion on this.

The price increase from the 10" to the 12" is $60, compared to $50 from the 8" to the 10". 10 extra bucks for the graphical LCD seems like a good deal as they are sold for a $60 standalone upgrade.

[printbus]

The 12-inch printer also switched from RAMPS electronics to Rambo electronics. I don't know if that is significant - just pointing out the additional difference.

The micro adjustable Z endstop change on the 12-inch printer can be argued as a big deal. Without that, you were pretty much frustrated with the bed height adjustment or forced to retrofit in either a different Z endstop approach or implement an automatic bed leveling scheme that measures the out-of-level characteristics of your print bed and compensates for it in the printing process.

In the migration from 8-inch to 10-inch printers, I believe there's been a higher percentage of people who have had issues with the wood Y-bed warping. It seems like increasing the size to 12-inches could further increase this risk. Colin, however, appears to have taken care of people and replaced their warped Y-beds as they've came up. Some people have also been having problems getting the 10-inch heat bed up to temperature for use with ABS; heat beds draw more current as they get larger, so you need to pay more attention to the wire size being used for it. The concern for this would be higher with the 12-inch printer.

Beyond that, your printing needs probably drives the size you'd want more than anything. Printing takes a long time. I have an 8-inch printer. I can't fathom the time it would take to print something that would fully utilize even my 8-inch printer, what yet a 10 or 12-inch. But to each their own.

A number of people use and like the hex hot end. It probably has a larger percentage of i3v users here than the other hot ends offered by MakerFarm combined.

On 1.75mm vs 3mm, that seems to be a common discussion. Either will likely work once you get the proper settings for it figured out. With less diameter involved in the extrusion process, working with 1.75mm filament is arguably a bit easier/forgiving on settings.

The LCD panels provide a subset of controls local to the printer. From what I read on the forum here, there are a few that take advantage of them for standalone operation, but most do all their printing from a laptop or computer using host software that provides a better user interface. Again, to each their own. I can't speak to the advantage of the graphical display over the 20x4 character display. I'll admit there are days where the character display looks pretty crude (1970's technology).

[AbuMaia]

Sometimes I wish the Hexagon wasn't offered with the MakerFarm series. I use an E3D, and all the cooling fan mounts designed for MakerFarm are designed around the Hexagon. It's quite frustrating sometimes.

[pbmass]

I ordered the new Prusa i3v 12" today. With the build volume of 12" x 12" x 13.5" and layer thickness of 50 microns it appears to be the best printer for the price.
And the support from Makerfarm is terrific. Any suggestions for a hotend?
I purchased the Hexagon 1.75 with a .3mm nozzle. Later may go to dual nozzles and upgrade to E3D V6 or Prometheus V 1.1.

Should I seal the Baltic Birch frame or leave it natural. We are 1 mile from the Merrimack River and twenty miles from the Atlantic so it gets humid here in the Summer and the Winters are very dry. I was planning on using a seal/stain product from Minwax.

[AbuMaia]

I painted mine with spray paint. But I'm in the flats of CO, so humidity isn't a worry.

[gmay3]

Wow 12"! I bet you could cook a pizza on that heat bed if you wanted to!

[printbus]

... the Baltic Birch frame...

Just so you know, the frame material isn't the usual Baltic birch plywood. It's really something like veneered MDF or other hardboard material. The MDF/hardboard should be more stable than the usual plywood, and the laser cutting process leaves behind a glazed surface on the cut edges. I'm not trying to imply you shouldn't seal or paint the veneer - just trying to give you a heads up on what you'll be seeing when you open the box from MakerFarm.