As a recent beginner, don't buy one that requires tinkering unless you're ok with doing a really deep dive into learning.
3d printing is a deep rabbit hole. A beginner friendly printer will save you a good deal of trial and error.
this post was submitted on 14 Dec 2023
26 points (100.0% liked)
3DPrinting
15575 readers
435 users here now
3DPrinting is a place where makers of all skill levels and walks of life can learn about and discuss 3D printing and development of 3D printed parts and devices.
The r/functionalprint community is now located at: !functionalprint@kbin.social or !functionalprint@fedia.io
There are CAD communities available at: !cad@lemmy.world or !freecad@lemmy.ml
Rules
-
No bigotry - including racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, or xenophobia. Code of Conduct.
-
Be respectful, especially when disagreeing. Everyone should feel welcome here.
-
No porn (NSFW prints are acceptable but must be marked NSFW)
-
No Ads / Spamming / Guerrilla Marketing
-
Do not create links to reddit
-
If you see an issue please flag it
-
No guns
-
No injury gore posts
If you need an easy way to host pictures, https://catbox.moe/ may be an option. Be ethical about what you post and donate if you are able or use this a lot. It is just an individual hosting content, not a company. The image embedding syntax for Lemmy is 
Moderation policy: Light, mostly invisible
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
Prusa Mk4. They are amazing out of the box. Easy button compared to just a couple years ago.
If you're a bit of a cheap ass, don't care about hardware support long term, don't mind the printer requiring an internet connection, and don't mind IP theft, get a Bambu P1.
I suggest looking up videos on Youtube and getting the most popular printer. You'll have so.many frustrating problems that it will be 1000x easier if you have a lot of resources to look. I bought a cheap chinese printer and regreted every second. Get the the one with most troubleshooting resorces
Ender creality 3(?) should be pretty cheap and is really popular
ELEGOO Neptune 4
works from the day 1, both PLA and ABS+ and it plays nice with Cura.
If you are not too paranoid about security / privacy would go Bambu. If you are, Prusa MK4.
If you want to tinker with the printer, get a Bambu or Creality. They are cheap, and sometimes really good - but it's often hit or miss on whether your exact unit is fine or a lemon.
If you want something that just works, spend more to buy a Prusa. On a budget? Get a Mini+. Bigger budget? Get a Mk4. Or get a Mk3 used.
Do you have any tips and suggestions for me about good printers?
Know what you want to print in the first place. A lot of people go for FDM, but if what you want is high details at very small scales, like miniatures for games, action figures, and overall much lower maintenance, you'll want a resin printer instead. Anything from Elegoo or Creality should be good enough.
I have a Monoprice Voxel (same as the Flashforge Adventurer 3) and it's been great as my first printer. Completely enclosed so it's quiet and protected from my children and cat. The only tinkering I did with it was to print a larger spool holder, but everything worked great out of the box.
I've had a total of two print fails (out of probably 70 or 80 now), and both were rectified on the second try. Be sure to read up on what the different settings mean.
If you want cheap-ish, go for Prusa Mini. It has a small plate, so you won't be able to print some of the larger design, but for me it was the sweet spot between reliability and not caring that much if it turned out 3D printing is not for me. You don't have to tinker that much with Prusa printers in general, which IMO is great for beginners.
Decide if you want to tinker with 3d printers or you just want to print stuff. This will guide your choice. I just got a Bambu P1S and it’s great if you just want to print and not tinker. Downside is it doesn’t respect open source and privacy
Sovol SV06 is great
Kingaroon K3PS, dip your toes in first a little.
Bambu a1 mini or a1. It's simple to use and prints extremely well. You can also add on a multi filament color changer.