3D printer

[Xwing]

In fact it is possible to say that all Chinese low cost 3d printers have many mechanical problems and low quality of the components used.
The biggest problem with these printers is the non-repeatability of the results, it is also possible that a good print comes out, but if you try to do it again in the vast majority of cases the next one is bad or has problems.
I have a BQ Hephestos 2 and an original Prusa I3 MK3S, both cost over 700 Euros each, but they have excellent print quality and the results are repeatable.
Quality has a cost, you cannot be fooled to get the same results as hardware worth several hundred Euros by spending much less.

[towlerg]

The other issue is what material do you want to use. If your going to stick with PLA (generally considered to be the easiest to print) an E3 might do very nicely but if you want something mechanically stronger like ABS, Nylon or PC, then the required bed and nozzle temperatures may not be achievable (depending on blend).   

[optikon]

In fact it is possible to say that all Chinese low cost 3d printers have many mechanical problems and low quality of the components used.
The biggest problem with these printers is the non-repeatability of the results, it is also possible that a good print comes out, but if you try to do it again in the vast majority of cases the next one is bad or has problems.
I have a BQ Hephestos 2 and an original Prusa I3 MK3S, both cost over 700 Euros each, but they have excellent print quality and the results are repeatable.
Quality has a cost, you cannot be fooled to get the same results as hardware worth several hundred Euros by spending much less.

I was thinking about getting Prusa I3 MK3S.. I saw demo of results and it does a great job. Is there another similar you could recommend or is it still a top choice for the price range?

[Xwing]

In the price range below 1000 Euro I don't think there is anything better than the Prusa I3 MK3S, the results are excellent, moreover it prints all materials without problems, I normally use PLA and PETG, but I am considering the purchase of the steel nozzle for printing carbon-filled nylon that offers excellent mechanical resistance, perfect for printing gears.
Surely I will also purchase the MMU2S addon shortly, to automatically print with five different colors, even on the same layer, I am waiting for the production site to normalize which due to covid 19 has made waiting times for Prusa products long.
As filament I am using the Prusament ones, also produced by Prusa, for the M3KS and those of BQ for the Hephostos 2, both are valid and not very expensive.
A valid alternative, available on Amazon, are the Sunlu filaments, they cost little and do quite well, but they are not at the level of the Prusa and BQ ones.
Attached is a photo of how the famous 3D Benchy on the I3MK3S looks like, layer 0.15 mm printing time about 2 hours.

[towlerg]

It's still a shed load of money for a kit!

If budget is an issue (when isn't it) how about the Prusa Mini. Small bed and materials choice not so wide but half the price and it comes in two parts like E3, SV01 etc.

[Xwing]

Unfortunately, the quality of the materials has a cost, thinking of obtaining the same results as an I3 MK3S by spending much less is a utopia.
The electronics of the printer are also important, in particular the stepper drivers, I don't think it is necessary to remember that the Chinese low cost boards are made with second choice components and are assembled in an approximate way.
The Prusa Mini costs less than the M3KS, but the print area is much smaller, if sufficient it is certainly a valid choice.

[Parmin]

A few weeks ago I bought a TronXY 2-Pro for less than US$200 delivered.
So far I am very happy with what it can do, since it was one of the cheapest machine with auto leveling and heated bed.
The print size is also quite good 260 x 260 x 280mm
I have been using CURA for slicing and OpenSCAD for modeling.

Happily printing with cheap ABS filaments from ebay

[Vineyards]

I have an Anycubic 4Max Pro. It is a good, stable 3D Printer. That being said, 3D printers can hardly be considered as finished products when they leave the factory. By analogy, their current development phase is comparable to early dot matrix printers where the user would have to feed the paper, adjust line spacing, font size etc. and align the paper properly before being able to get a good looking print out. Similarly, there are lots of things a user needs to master and many things that can go wrong in the case of 3D printing. Remember, how you had to know quite a few things if you wanted to take a good picture back in the day. Some would even take courses to master photography, look what it has come to... I expect 3D printers will stay with us for a long time. However, they will probably become less appealing to tinkerers and gradually turn into more complete and reliable tools serving serious hobbyists. I assume there will be other toys for tinkerers in the future.

[comlekciler]

I recommend you to examine the products of this company.

www.snapmaker.com

[neom]

Zortrax M200 Plus. Is not cheap but worth the money.

[optikon]

Zortrax M200 Plus. Is not cheap but worth the money.

No kidding.. looks really nice. I like the idea that it just works so well. I am at a point in my career/hobbies where spending time fussing around with setups and optimizations just isn't worth the extra bucks saved. That being said, it is pricey.. Do you have one of these? If so, tell us about it from you own experience. I watched some Youtube reviews. Its amazing.

I was going for Prusa I3 MK3S but now... hmmm for a bit more I am really considering the Zortrax.

Thanks for sharing!

[pickit2]

I read a review of the Zortrax and the conclusion was it was good but was limited to what filament you could use.
I could not find any reference as to what the reviewer meant by saying that.
sorry I did not bookmark that.

[Xwing]

Zortrax printers are excellent, but in addition to costing a lot, the M200 plus costs about 2250 euros, they have the problem that the filament is equipped with chips, like the cartridges for ink jets, and you are forced to use their original filaments, sold at a high price, or the few existing compatibles, always at a high price.
In terms of print quality the Prusa I3 MK3 have nothing to envy to the Zortrax, I have a friend who has the M200 plus and prints in hand it is practically impossible to distinguish from which printer they were made.
Obviously the Zortrax printers arrive ready to use, there is nothing to assemble and there are no adjustments to be made, periodic calibration is totally automated.
But even the Prusa original printers can be already assembled, about 200 Euros more, and ready to use, these also have a practical calibration wizard that is very easy to use.
From the software point of view, Prusa provides the profiles for the main slicers, Cura and Simplify 3D, they are practically perfect and do not require special adjustments.
In addition, Prusa has created its own slicer, open source, called Prusaslicer which uses Slic3r as a core but equipped with many improvements and additional features that bring it to the same level as Simplify 3d, if not higher.
Prusaslicer is equipped with print profiles for all Prusa printers and all their filaments, including generic and other brand filaments, which allow you to print optimally without having to change anything other than the printing options such as layer thickness and the filling.

[hodahel]

I recently bought a surplus Ender 3. It cost me almost brand new. I know it was a ripped-off but that's the only way I can acquire it.

I bought and printed a lot of upgrades to be able to make a descent print.

[neom]

No kidding.. looks really nice. I like the idea that it just works so well. I am at a point in my career/hobbies where spending time fussing around with setups and optimizations just isn't worth the extra bucks saved. That being said, it is pricey.. Do you have one of these? If so, tell us about it from you own experience. I watched some Youtube reviews. Its amazing.


I was going for Prusa I3 MK3S but now... hmmm for a bit more I am really considering the Zortrax.

Thanks for sharing!

Yes I have. It’s very reliable and easy to use machine and print with very high quality. Now you can use non Zontrax materials but you have to setup many parameters (I never used it, I always use Zortrax materials). I recommend that printer.

Regards.