What 3D Printer for Me? Weigh in on the Best 3D Printer for Under $1500 New or Used
Ok so I have a bunch of hobbies... Let's see off the top of my head:
- Gold Prospecting (I have a sluicebox, a drywasher, a rock crusher and a gold cube lol)
- Mining Bitcoin, Dash and Scrypt coins
- Drone Photography
- Urban Exploration (old buildings and abandoned)
...and now... 3D printing for fun and profit! I plan on printing things for the RV, little parts that I need that are not being made anymore such as switch covers and little doodads that cost an arm and a leg to buy for my older coach. I also want to produce some designs of my own and sell them on a smaller production scale.
So with that in mind I want to spend about $1500 or less in fiat not bitcoin :) for a used or new 3D printer that can print accurately and is reliable. Some requisites:
- larger build volume 10" or so cubic volume or more
- heated bed and possibly self leveling with PEI surface
- faster print speed
- 50 micron layer (not sure how important this is for resolution?)
- Can print in multiple new materials such as flexy and pla and abs... (not sure if you can print using nylon yet with same machine?)
What are my options? I'd like to buy off of Amazon or ebay or even Craigslist is some are available in that price range and those features. What do you think, what are the best machines that fit these criteria?
Prusa i3 are a good model as they follow the reprap schematics and are technically open source generally beds are 200 mm by 200 mm so that falls 50 mm under your 10inch requirement but the bed size is technically modifiable also keep in mind that the prusas are a hobby printer so in some cases will require some learning, as far as the body is concerned i would recommend staying away from any body made from plexiglass as it is brittle and will crack and isnt very sturdy, i recommend either lasyer cut wood body or aluminium.
Thank you for the info, I like the Prusa I think the mj3 or something like that model. Also looking at the Lulzbot taz 5 or 6 but they are hard to find at that price, seems like people are buying the used ones. Wondering if a clone is an option? Thank you again!
If your willing to build it then buying the parts is a ton cheaper.
Yes definitely, I can build it from a kit or from a maker forum, plus I would learn alot from the process. Is there a good model to build? I heard some about the reprap and that the lulzbot is built from it...
Depth prevents me from replying on out previous chain but replying here, all parts are essentially interchangeable you just need to configure your firmware which is fairly straight forward. I am glad I am was able to help out man :) Lemme know how it goes, would love to see your first prints ++ once you get the thing.
Here is a wanhoa i3 fully assembled https://www.3dprintersonlinestore.com/3d-printers/professional-prusa-i3-wanhao I would just want to swap out the head for a bowden extruder and this would likely do nicely.
Wow that thing is really cool and I like the price! Can you use a diff printhead like from the Lulzbot? I will research the Bowden head as well, thanks alot! > Edit: Checked out the Wanhao i3 plus looks amazing for the dough! I think you found me a 3D printer! Looks like they upgrade from version to version to make it more robust, they change things out per the user base requests, pretty good cust serv. Thanks again! Let me know if any other insight...