Need help deciding on first printer. (please help)

[SunnyHours]

Hi guys, new to the 3d printing world but I have been into pepakura (for those who know that is) for quite some time, along with 3d design. I have a birthday coming up and thought that a 3d printer would be an awesome gift to myself. I have a budget of roughly $500-$600. I've done a bit of research on a few printers but I'm still not as well informed as I should be before I make the purchase next month.

What would be the best printer in my budget performance wise? I'm looking mainly for a medium/large sized build envelope, and at least 0.1mm precision. I'm fairly good at working out mechanical problems so reliability is not a huge issue, nor is having a heated plate, I'd mostly print with PLA anyway. Are there any other things I should consider spec wise such as nozzle size?

This is one of the printer that I had really liked so far, they have a great software to go with the printer itself.
https://www.phoenix3dprinter.com/phoenix.html

Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks a ton guys, can't wait to be part of the community.

[Samantha]

I'd buy a zion printer. The guy who makes them prints the frame on a giant printer he built himself. It's less than $500, has an 8x8x8 inch build volume, with the option to expand the z axis, has a J-Head hot end (which means you can do many more filaments besides ABS and PLA) and it has .05 mm precision.

http://makergeeks.com/mazi3dpr.html

Best value if that is the price range you want to stay in.

[KDog]

There are lots of printers available in that price range. I still recommend kits to folks as you will be doing quite a bit of tweaking and calibrating on any printer and a kit means you will know your printer inside and out. Keep in mind the community available for your printer as well. Well posted forums regarding your particular printer will help more than customer support. This obviously means to be weary of new companies and printers.

That said, I would recommend the Printerbot Simple as anyone's first printer. There is a huge support community, lots of upgrades available from Printrbot and Thingiverse and your cash outlay will only be $300 to start. I know the tendency is to go big early but you will learn a lot working with a Simple. The laser cut wood printers don't look as polished as some of the others around but their design is very sound and are very easy to build. Printrbot is a growing company in both sales and design which helps as well.

[Hall_of_Famer]

I would suggest either the new MakerBot Replicator or the new Cube 3 from 3D Systems. They are the two most popular brands, with lots of information on them incase you run into problems as a first timer.

[aeviaanah]

Look for Make Magazine 3d printer issue.

After researching I settled on a Makergear M2 and I love it.

[JohnA136]

While there are a lot of new printers coming out of the CES show, most are rather pricey for a beginner. I agree it may be better to start with a kit so you can understand the mechanics behind the technology. I highly recommend reading the MAKE Magazine second annual 3D Printer Shootout issue. I think you can still order it or get a digital issue from www.make.com

[DangerousThing]

I ordered one off of Kickstarter because it has a quad head. It will make it nice for printing action figures.

[JohnA136]

Outstanding! Let us know how it prints for you when it comes in.