3D Printer

Drez

I'm thinking about buying a 3D Printer for my father and sister for Christmas. I want to get them something new (like one of the most modern/up to date models) and nice. Any thoughts on which one to look for at this point? I'm thinking about the $1,000-1,500 range.

Chrysis

Resin or Filament? For Resin, as a beginner, I've had a great time with an Elegoo Mars 2, and newer versions are even more user friendly as far as I know.

Bowen

Drez wrote: »

I'm thinking about buying a 3D Printer for my father and sister for Christmas. I want to get them something new (like one of the most modern/up to date models) and nice. Any thoughts on which one to look for at this point? I'm thinking about the $1,000-1,500 range.

If you want a filament 3d printer Look at bambu labs. I got the P1S, but the next model up is also good.

Tomanta

FDM (filament) can't go wrong with Bambu. I'd avoid any other FDM printer unless they really like spending more time tinkering and fixing problems than actually printing. They can do multicolor prints, too, but that generates a lot of waste.

Resin I have no first hand knowledge of.

What would they print and how technical are they are two important questions. Also be aware that resin is toxic as are many FDM filaments (PLA is pretty safe).

Hahnsoo1

Resin will require some additional technical steps (resin disposal, curing with UV, etc.) but has significantly higher quality prints. I would recommend Elegoo stuff, if going this route. Resin also can't be used for some things (like, say, food storage or utensils).

FDM printers have less technical things going with them, so they're easier to work with, and you get a finished product right away after its printed. It's also less toxic.

Elvenshae

We also have an entire 3d-printing thread over in Moe's - feel free to stop on by!

https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/215140/3d-printing-a-toy-to-build-toys-new-to-the-hobby/p1

Echo

bowen wrote: »

Drez wrote: »

I'm thinking about buying a 3D Printer for my father and sister for Christmas. I want to get them something new (like one of the most modern/up to date models) and nice. Any thoughts on which one to look for at this point? I'm thinking about the $1,000-1,500 range.

If you want a filament 3d printer Look at bambu labs. I got the P1S, but the next model up is also good.

That's the one I have, the X1C -- from what I can tell, quality-wise they're just as good, but the X1C has more bells and whistles like a touch color display, and a wifi connection with optional cloud stuff, so you can essentially hit Print from the slicer software and just wait for it to finish.

Drez

Thanks folks I will look through these recommendations tomorrow.

Feral

I wouldn't buy somebody a resin printer without asking them first, only because the material handling and cleaning are a bit more finicky. I'm a bit biased in this regard because I had some rare issues with my Elegoo Saturn (that you can find in Moe's) that to be fair are not at all representative of most peoples' experiences. Still, I think it's safe to say that giving somebody a gift that requires them to use ventilation and rubber gloves to operate is something I'd want to discuss with them first.

wikor

For the $1,000-$1,500 range, you might want to check out the Prusa i3 MK3S+ or the Anycubic Vyper. Both are user-friendly and have great print quality

djm

Prusa has been around for a long time and they definitely used to be the way to go for "it just works" printers because they were higher quality and more reliable than the alternatives. Nowadays bambu labs seems to have the "it just works" market covered, and it's a tidier-looking setup and probably an easier-to-use experience.

(though if you want a printer which you assemble yourself so you know all about how it goes together and how 3d printers work, or if you care about open source designs, prusa are still your best bet)

Drez

Thanks all! Coming back to this.

I'm deciding between the Pruse MK4S and the Bambu Lab X1C 3D Printer.

Any thoughts?

Also, how hard is the assembly? For the Prusa, I'm looking at this: https://www.prusa3d.com/en/product/original-prusa-mk4s-kit-enclosure-bundle/ The kit is $1,135 vs the assembled version which is $1,430. Is it worth $295 for assembly? I kinda want everyone to just be able to use it on Christmas morning with zero fuss but wanted to get some thoughts on it first anyway. And I may go with the Bambu one anyway, in the end.

Drez

djmitchella wrote: »

Prusa has been around for a long time and they definitely used to be the way to go for "it just works" printers because they were higher quality and more reliable than the alternatives. Nowadays bambu labs seems to have the "it just works" market covered, and it's a tidier-looking setup and probably an easier-to-use experience.

(though if you want a printer which you assemble yourself so you know all about how it goes together and how 3d printers work, or if you care about open source designs, prusa are still your best bet)

This is very helpful, thank you!

Drez

Echo wrote: »

bowen wrote: »

Drez wrote: »

I'm thinking about buying a 3D Printer for my father and sister for Christmas. I want to get them something new (like one of the most modern/up to date models) and nice. Any thoughts on which one to look for at this point? I'm thinking about the $1,000-1,500 range.

If you want a filament 3d printer Look at bambu labs. I got the P1S, but the next model up is also good.

That's the one I have, the X1C -- from what I can tell, quality-wise they're just as good, but the X1C has more bells and whistles like a touch color display, and a wifi connection with optional cloud stuff, so you can essentially hit Print from the slicer software and just wait for it to finish.

So you would recommend the Bambu X1C over the Prusa Mk4S?

Tomanta

I'd compare the P1S to the X1C to see if the upgrade is really worth it. The differences are minor, better onboard controls and better camera being the two I remember. Since both connect wifi it's easy to control through their software once it's set up.

Can't speak to the Prusa, they have a good reputation but no personal experience. Any that needs self assembly probably needs more tinkering and maintenance but that could just be my Ender experience.

Bambu experience was: Remove from box. Pull AMS out (since I got that version, it was very well packed). Attach AMS, control panel, plug in, calibrate, ready to go. A few more steps but I've had more issues setting up 2d printers.

One tip if you get the enclosed Bambu: PLA really needs some airflow, they recommend keeping the door open but I printed some risers to crack the top and it has worked fine.

djm

Drez wrote: »

Thanks all! Coming back to this.

I'm deciding between the Pruse MK4S and the Bambu Lab X1C 3D Printer.

Any thoughts?

Also, how hard is the assembly? For the Prusa, I'm looking at this: https://www.prusa3d.com/en/product/original-prusa-mk4s-kit-enclosure-bundle/ The kit is $1,135 vs the assembled version which is $1,430. Is it worth $295 for assembly? I kinda want everyone to just be able to use it on Christmas morning with zero fuss but wanted to get some thoughts on it first anyway. And I may go with the Bambu one anyway, in the end.

Assembling the kit for the mk3s (which doesn't have an enclosure) was a solid day of doing basically nothing other than lining things up screwing in bolts and connecting wires and so on, think of it as being like a lego/meccano set. That was part of the fun for me, but if you want to have something you can just power on and use, it is _not_ the way to go.

Here's a link to the actual instructions, if you want all the gory details:

https://help.prusa3d.com/category/original-prusa-mk4s-kit-assembly_2167

(now, one good thing about the Prusa printers is that once I put it together "it just worked", but I think the Bambu printers are the same but without the "once I put it together" part)