(Mods: I didn’t see a thread describing this topic, but if I’ve missed it, feel free to delete/redirect)

I’m interested in learning how to 3D print. Nothing crazy... minor stuff, add-on kits, etc. I’ve looked around online, but there’s a wide range of options and prices, and I’m not sure what I should be looking for.

What printers are people using, and what printer would you all suggest I consider for my needs?

Thanks in advance!

 

I have been using a Lulzbot Mini for 4 years with minimal issues. It’s a great printer but it’s $1250.
Prusa possibly gets the best reviews out there these days and is around $700.
And, Creality is another reputable manufacturer.

a key consideration is how much plug and play vs tinkering with settings you want.
My Mini was plug and play right out of the box and has been super convenient.

once you have your printer, running costs are minimal for this kind of purpose. Spools of filament last forever doing small part upgrades.

for designing I started off basic and stayed basic with Tinkercad online. It’s a very functional system considering it’s free and available from any terminal through the internet.

good luck with your journey.

I never looked back. It’s been awesome.

 

I have a MakerBot rep 2 it is a second-hand printer that I got for free from the library
it originally was 2000 dollars new
I used to have a couple of 3d systems cube printers.
worst printer ever
they were third-hand printers from the same library as the Makerbot. the library got them for free from target inc.
the price on the cubes was 1000 dollars each and Target couldn't sell them even with a huge discount
to give some context on how bad the cubes were u could force the extruder out of place easily. on the MakerBot, it's much harder to force the extruder to skip a step
also the MakerBot has individual parts available
the extruder on the cube is only sold as a whole unit for 300 also the cube used these stupid one wire chips in its filament cartridges and once the cartridge read empty u had to buy a new cartridge from 3d systems. The Makerbot doesnt have a proprietary filament system. of course most 3d fdm printers don't have a proprietary filament system

 

i use tinkercad for all my 3d design needs.
i built an entire union pacific challenger locomotive and tender using tinkercad

 

Would this one be suitable for printing upgrade parts or conversion kits? It's around my ideal price range and i think it might work.

Creality3D Ender-3 pro High Precision 3D Printer

 

I use an XYZ Da Vinci mini w for prototyping my designs, but there are some catches. While the printer itself is affordable, the filament is pricy, as it is chipped, and there are occasional issues that ruin printing.

 

The ender 3 is a very nice printer. Whenever I see an exceptionally good looking fdm print, it seems it always comes from an ender 3 or a cr10.

That said, fdm prints can only get so good due to the way the layers work (the way the filament kinda squishes onto the previous layer means the layer lines will always be more prevalent than on a resin printer, even when using a very high resolution). They will require finishing work - sanding/filling - in order to look good with your injection molded figures. A resin printer will give you much better results at the cost of the materials being more fragile (resin prints are brittle unless you use some of the higher end durable resins and they also don't stand up to friction well).

 

You need to mod that chipped filament garbage out. There are guides out there.

Even easier, you can buy cheap pre-programmed NFC stickers that trick the filament sensor and let you use any filament.

 

I've tried, but they keep forcing me to update, meaning all the tutorials are virtually useless. On the bright side, I've gotten some pretty nice prints. I'm probably going to upgrade my printer this summer, though. Go with something . . . more customizable.