How pick a suitable 3D printer

[laoadam]

Hi,
I am going to buy a 3D printer, there are so many models and prices on the market, how to find a proper one please?
I used in home generally.
Thanks
Adam

[Martin_au]

How's your computing/mechanical/electrical skill level?What sort of budget?

[curious aardvark]

basically start with the most money you can afford and where you want to keep it.

They can be both noisy and smelly. The noise levels are rapidly coming down as silent motor srivers become more common. But some filaments still create quite an obnoxious smell.

But the main thing is how much can you afford.

[laoadam]

How's your computing/mechanical/electrical skill level?What sort of budget?

Thanks.
I am a mechanical engineer, and good at DIY, I can make one, but the time...
Willing to spend ~300.

[laoadam]

basically start with the most money you can afford and where you want to keep it.

They can be both noisy and smelly. The noise levels are rapidly coming down as silent motor srivers become more common. But some filaments still create quite an obnoxious smell.

But the main thing is how much can you afford.

Thanks.
I was planed around $300? and put into garage. actually I am looking for a quite machine if the smell is inevitable?

[SKP Global]

• Choose the Right Printing Technology.
• Find the Compatible Material.
• Determine the Size of the Object You Want to Print.
• Consider the Printing Speed.
• Think About Your Skill Level.
• Find a Suitable Location for the Printer.
• Wrap Up.

[curious aardvark]

I'm still trying to work out if mr SKP is a particularly astute Ai spam bot, or an actual person who talks in bulletpoints lol

$300 is an interesting area.
if you buy direct from the chinese market websites you can get a lot more machine than from amazon. But there is usually import tax - so it probably evens out in the long run.

Dollars - right so you're most likely in the states. Okay
This is a jice looking I3, good reviews and all the bits you should look for in an i3 design: https://www.amazon.com/FoKoos-Odin-5...626085&sr=8-14

Looks good.

[minneapolis-matt]

Hi, I am going to buy a 3D printer, there are so many models and prices on the market, how to find a proper one please?I used in home generally.ThanksAdam

Don't jump the gun. I am currently considering returning mine because of specific buyer's regret issues that a little more research time may have allowed to avoid.

Try to figure out how you will definitely use it and how you might like to use it.

For the record I chose a monoprice Voxel and have been very pleased with everything except for two areas . First, the hassle of predicting just how much support my prints will need to not fail and the difficulty in the removing those supports afterwards -a problem area common to all single material FDM printers. Second I am having second thoughts about the small build area having already encountered a few multi-part prints that are most conveniently printed all at once spread out across the surface of the build plate.I have enough misgivings about these two frustrations and the availability of better options to address them that I am even considering returning my printer to buy something that is a better fit even though that is an enormous pain in the arse.

I hope the responses you receive may shed light on my path forward as well.

[curious aardvark]

with the prints where you get an stl file with seperate parts. Most slicers will let you 'ungroup' them and turn them into seperate stl files that you can then print seperately.

But - yep I would say that the larger the build volume you can affor the better - up to a point lol

Large volume cheap printers will have rigidity issues. Likewise some of the large I3's that don't have z-axis bracing will struggle.

But yep, make the effort to buy a machine that will do what you want.

@matt have a look at tenlog IDEX machines: https://www.amazon.com/TENLOG-Indepe...9704798&sr=8-3
you can use soluble supports in one extruder and anything you like in the other. Has 300c hotends for some of the more esoteric plastics.
And a build volume 300*300*350mm /11.8''x11.8''x13.8'' - over 4x the build volume of the voxel.
And just the best mechanical design i3 currently for sale.

[minneapolis-matt]

with the prints where you get an stl file with seperate parts. Most slicers will let you 'ungroup' them and turn them into seperate stl files that you can then print seperately.

@matt have a look at tenlog IDEX machines: https://www.amazon.com/TENLOG-Indepe...9704798&sr=8-3
you can use soluble supports in one extruder and anything you like in the other. Has 300c hotends for some of the more esoteric plastics.
And a build volume 300*300*350mm /11.8''x11.8''x13.8'' - over 4x the build volume of the voxel.
And just the best mechanical design i3 currently for sale.

Thank you!

So often I see reviewers commend a printer for a closed build volume that when I see a good printer with an open frame I wish I could put a concrete number or quality on the trade-offs that will entail. I can put up with noise and odor and am certainly willing to make my own enclosure if I can be absolutely certain doing so cannot compromise the quality of the print but I worry about print quality suffering. Is this really that noticeable in practice? Is it perhaps something that is only noticeable in taller (100+mm?) prints?

Would you say the superiority of the Tenlog is so much greater than the qidi- tech xpro that it would be difficult to defend the xpro unless there was absolutely no way to afford the difference? I can compare build volume but I struggle to compare print quality between this, the voxel, and the xpro based on published info and my single data point of printing with the voxel.

The tenlog is unfortunately almost 50% more expensive than was the Voxel, so if I trade in my voxel in order that I may end up with a much better value of a printer I may also end up with very irritated spouse. If it is superior to the voxel in every respect I may be able to smooth that over but more information will certainly help.