3DPrinting

I would advocate Creality and tinkering for one very good reason... If you buy a fancy printer and it breaks, how will you know how to fix it?

At work we got a $2500 printer years ago. It has the sensors to self-adjust before every print, you pretty much don't need to do anything except send your print jobs to it. Sounds great, right? Until it started failing... Around the same time things started to go wrong, I got my Ender 3 printer, and I spent a lot of time learning how to make adjustments, how to correct things in the slicer for better quality prints, and so on. Meanwhile the expensive printer at work sat idle for about 2 years because nobody knew anything about "fixing" it. I finally decided to take a crack at it and immediately recognized that even though this printer has auto bed leveling it was quite obvious the first layer was too close to the bed. Turns out the sensors had gotten dirty over time, I cleaned them and boom, we're up and running again.

I have tinkered with my printer to the point of printing all kinds of custom parts for it including a direct-drive head. I can upgrade the firmware any time I want and set the defaults to match my custom hardware, but most importantly I know what everything does and can troubleshoot a variety of problems. Tinkering isn't a bad thing, and you only have to get into it as far as you want to because the printer will work just fine out of the box if you take the time to set it up properly, but it does provide options if you want 'better'.

With the MK4 out now, you can find super cheap MK3S+'s on places like Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist (in the US). I have been seeing a ton of them listed locally lately. From what I have seen, you can pick one up for $400-$550 depending on whether prusa assembled it or it was a kit and what accessories it comes with.

I had an Ender 3 clone, and that is how I got into 3d printing. Would I buy one again, now that I have an Prusa MK3S+, no. Creality makes a good product for the cost, but it will cause you headaches and cost more in the long run. I probably spent $100 on parts my first year alone...more the following years. I have had my Prusa for 2 and haven't spent a nickel on it and haven't ever had to repair or adjust anything.

So take that for what it's worth. From a SAFETY perspective, I trust the software and hardware on the Prusa over anything on the market. It has much more reliable failsafes and sensors looking for thermal issues. I never worry about my Prusa for safety. Just make sure you update it if they have any big firmware changes.

Do you want a 3D printer to actually print things? Get the Prusa.

Do you want a 3D printer to mess around with, upgrade so it punches above its weight, and experience the high-highs and low-lows? Get the Ender.

I have an Ender 3 v2, and sometimes it's amazing and sometimes I want to throw it out a window because that dang first layer just won't stick. But I got a 3D printer because I wanted to mess around with a 3D printer, not to make high quality prints with minimal effort on my part.

Its almost the same price? Easy decision between these 2, get prusa!

Ender cons:

1. Larger build area - yeah this is con for shitty ender-like frame
2. 4 point bed leveling - this is funny
3. Wheels instead of smooth rods/bearings - this is acceptable for 200$ machine imo
4. They still use shitty hotend where nozzle is sealed against PTFE? This is kinda unhealthy, dont use this thing in bedroom, and be careful everywhere else. Its scarry what "engineers" are capable to do just to save 5$
5. Bad support, higher chance of getting faulty parts etc.

Prusa is expensive imo, but not overpriced if you are looking for reliable machine. Just check the prices of quality components, only smooth rods + bearings can cost more than some machines. Dont get me wrong, enders can make amazing prints, but you need more luck, time, tools, knowledge, patience, petting, upgrades, etc. Creality made 3D printing more available, they pushed other manufacturers to improve and decrease prices. Hats off, we all benefit from that.

Im not a fan of bed slingers at all, I think coreXY is way better for 3D printers, but Ender for 700$ meh...

Bambu printers look promising, but I wouldnt buy one just because its still "new" and closed source. If I wanted to spend $1K+, lot of DIY customizations and reliable machine I would probably build a Voron. For <$1k Prusa, for <200$ Ender 3 and probably something like sovol sv06 in between.

If you get all metal hotend you should be fine with it in the bedroom if printing PLA only. I would still try to get enclosure (it protects you from noise, helps with printing, protects printer from dust and more)

Just my 0.02

I've got an Ender 5 Pro. Had it for a few years now. The tinkering factor is one of the selling points. I have learned so much about how the printer works, how electronics work in general, stepper motors, GCode, etc. Over the years I've upgraded everything but the frame just because I could. Get the Ender and experiment.

I’m going to go against the grain here and say you should get a Prusa. I had an Ender 3 V2 as my first printer and it was an endless series of headaches with all of the little adjustments and tweaks I needed to make every other print. I nearly gave up the hobby and took a break for about a year because I was so sick of it. Furthermore, an Ender absolutely did not teach me everything there is to know about how 3D printers work, even with all the fiddling.

Eventually I got an i3 MK3S+ kit. The kit helped me to actually learn everything about what goes on inside a 3D printer. I would recommend staying away from preassembled printers, at least at first. Ever since building it, it’s basically been a fire and forget type of machine, barring routine maintenance and a shorted thermistor that was my own fault. It’s my main workhorse and I now use it to run a small 3D printing business.

On top of all that, Prusa’s designs are all open-source, their printer profiles are extremely well-tuned using PrusaSlicer, and getting official replacement parts is a breeze. It’s definitely something I would get if you want or need something that can’t have a lot of downtime.

As for your question regarding PLA, it should be okay, but if you’re really concerned about it, you can get an enclosure to help contain the fumes. I have the official Prusa enclosure with all the add-ons. I think you can get it bundled with a printer for a discount.

If I was still living in a trailer, I would try to get the cheapest one I could find that works. I don’t think the fumes are all that bad for PLA. There is definitely an odor but falling asleep to the sound of the motors is worth it imo. It’s so relaxing sometimes.

First of all, 30ft x 30ft sounds absolutely huge! Maybe you meant 30 square feet? If you're not printing non-stop and can open a window from time to time, PLA should technically be fine from what I've read, although a well ventilated room would always be best.

As for the printer itself, I personally would advocate against Creality products. I would trust a Prusa MK3S with my life, but it is on the pricier side. I've read good things about the Sovol SV06 (not the 7), which looks like an MK3S at 1/3rd of the price. Can't speak from experience though.

Do you have a window? Can you create a little vented area? Maybe even put a fan on it that sucks the air outside? If you can buy or build an enclosure, even better.

Now to be clear, it's not a huge deal if you're only printing small things once in a while, but I'm not crazy sitting next to my printer when it's printing in my office. I usually schedule to do my prints overnight or crack open the window.

I would check out the Bambu Labs P1P or Creality K1. Both are about $600 and from what I have seen print very well right out of the box. I think MicroCenter even has a $200 coupon floating around for the Creality K1 (might have to find someone to give you theirs as I think they are individualized).

My recommendation is to get a bamboo lab printer. These machines are leap ahead of any other. There is almost not tinkering at all they just work. There are a few non bamboo that get close if your budget is not enough.

AFA having the printer in your room, PLA is safe if you can stand the noise.

If you want something in between ender and prusa, look at sovol. I went from. Ender 3 to. Sovol sv06 plus. It has all the bells and whistles, but is similar to ender.

Prusa is if you don't care about messing with stuff, you just want it to work.