Entry level or mid range, I don’t want to break the bank as it probably won’t get used much but I don’t want to get straight trash either. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Not a printer, but Playmaker ASA is on a decent sale currently: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0B45QLHFQ their 3 kg blue spool is $50
If you’re asking about a printer, are you looking to go FDM or SLA/resin?
Cheapest reasonable quality sla printer I’ve seen so far: https://a.co/d/hyT4uV5 I bought one to replace my old epac x1
Thanks, that’s about what price I had in mind. It’s been awhile since I’ve priced them so I’m happy to see decent ones under $200.
Colorfabb.com has a 25% sale. For everyone looking for quality filament in Europe.
I’m not sure. I’m starting from zero so either? I’m pretty technically inclined but I’m hoping it’s easy enough to keep my teenaged daughter interested, if that makes a difference.
It looks like you’re replying to the thread vs individual comments. I would have seen your reply faster the other way around :(
FDM prints will be stronger and don’t require any chemical post-processing. They will require mechanical post processing (filling, sanding) if you want smooth features, but depending on what you intend to use the part for this might not be necessary. Some filaments, like ABS and ASA require some caution while printing (they release VOCs) and some filaments can absorb water while they’re out in the open, causing a decrease in print quality. If you stick to PLA and/or go through spools reasonably quickly it won’t be an issue. I print mainly PETG and while I don’t dry my spools and store them out in the open I don’t really have any issues with older spools.
SLA prints can have much smaller features, but require post processing (rinse and cure). SLA printers also tend to have smaller build volumes. There’s also the whole having to deal with unused resin thing and the fact that you probably should collect waste products and dispose of them properly. But if you’re making minis or something like that you’re much better off with a SLA printer.
On the FDM printer, a cheap stocker printer with a big following (eg Ender) is usually a fine option. There will be a lot of support in terms of community and parts. I’ve been running a rebranded Wanhao I3 clone, which is essentially an earlier ender, for 5+ years without much modifications. Most cheap FDM printers are going to require some amount of fiddling to keep them going. You’re also likely to eventually modify them to alleviate some of the design decisions that enabled their lower price points in the first place. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t buy a cheap FDM printer if you’re on a tight budget, just know what you’re getting into.
Thank you for the crash course. This is extremely helpful. I’m not sure if you saw the other post about not seeing comments but you nudged me into fixing it. I only had undetermined selected for the language and not English, but anyway thanks for pointing me in the right direction on the printers.
No worries, good luck!
@IMALlama I think my account is borked. I can see the comments in my inbox but on my post I can only see my comment. It says (6) comments but I only see mine. A number of communities don’t seem to show up properly, I thought it was just a Lemmy issue but maybe it’s a me issue. I also didn’t think this community was even active because the newest posts are a couple months old for me but I’ve gotten good feedback so thanks for all of the advice and the crash course.
It may be the instanced you signed up with. I think lemmy.world has defederated from a bunch of other instances plus has a lot of users and a lot of stability issues because of that.
I only had ‘undetermined’ selected for a language option, I added English and all is good. Thank you though.