• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Printer Recomendation

C

cdabc123

Supreme [H]ardness
2FA
Joined
Jun 21, 2016
Messages
5,105
Ive been removed from 3d design for too long as the university I attend didn't provide any access to good 3d printing or cad resources. Ive been fabricating all projects by hand with metal, carbon fiber, and other materials with nothing but napkin sketches to go by.

So im looking to get a 3d printer. I do enjoy doing stuff at a hobbyist level and wouldn't mind making the printer a project or upgrading it. But, I wouldnt be opposed to something that is nearly ready to go right off the bat. My budget is ~$500 for everything. Unfortunately, $99 of that will be dedicated to a solidworks license as the free cad options are unacceptable. I have masterful solidworks skillz and am almost more excited for the cad modeling then printing.

As far as printers, I see some cheap "parts" on ebay for things like an ender 3 ($70). Ive messed with one of them before and it printed well after upgrade, but was still temperamental. I see, used k1 for $375 or new ones around $400. Are these printers pretty decent/worth it out the box?

Other brand recommendations or input is appreciated. I do have a microcenter I could go to and do some in person splurging if they have anything decent.
 
K1 seems to work fine from what I've heard. Seems they ironed out the teething issues with revisions.

If you want an enclosed printer that's probably your best bet for your budget.

Personally just bought an ender 3 v3 KE for $220-ish. Creality has really stepped up the features with the SE and KE. Completely obsoletes every ender 3 before.
 
Following I want to get into printing but i am trying to decide if it should be a buy once cry once sort of purchase
 
I had an AnyCubic Kobra Go and a Creality 5 S1. Both died close to the 1 year mark. Being new to 3d printing I don't know if I did something wrong with either (the Kobra had homing issues out of the box and the Creality SD card port literally ripped out of the motherboard) but the Creality always had a lot of complaints on Reddit. I have an AnyCubic Kobra Max 2 (500mm/s!) being delivered tomorrow. Hope it lasts longer.
 
pbassjunk said:
I had an AnyCubic Kobra Go and a Creality 5 S1. Both died close to the 1 year mark. Being new to 3d printing I don't know if I did something wrong with either (the Kobra had homing issues out of the box and the Creality SD card port literally ripped out of the motherboard) but the Creality always had a lot of complaints on Reddit. I have an AnyCubic Kobra Max 2 (500mm/s!) being delivered tomorrow. Hope it lasts longer.
Click to expand...
Yeah careful with the max. Large bed slinger + speed doesn't really work out well for stability.
 
Still looking, nothing great really stands out. I see used local ender 5s for $150. no great deals on k1s. Is upgrading and monkeying with a ender 3 or 5 really the best bet? A new ender 3 v3 KE is kinda expensive compared to parts and upgrades for a v2

I see some local makerbots, Those are pretty a pretty old design at this point?
 
cdabc123 said:
Still looking, nothing great really stands out. I see used local ender 5s for $150. no great deals on k1s. Is upgrading and monkeying with a ender 3 or 5 really the best bet? A new ender 3 v3 KE is kinda expensive compared to parts and upgrades for a v2

I see some local makerbots, Those are pretty a pretty old design at this point?
Click to expand...
A KE blows away a v2. I just got one for $230 and it'd take significantly more than that for a v2 + upgrades to compare.

Off the top of my head a v2 would need:
Bed leveling sensor
Bimetallic hotend
Direct extruder
Better cooling
Dual z axis
Linear x/y
PEI build plate
Raspberry pi and maybe new board to run Klipper

There's no way to replicate the automatic z offset.

I might be missing some more.
 
jameswilliam said:
I've long believed (as I mentioned on the T-shirt Forum about 4 years ago) that DTG (Direct-to-government) printing would only truly become a viable and cost-effective method for mid-to-high volume production if it evolved to use wide-format transfer media. My reasoning was that wide-format printers could produce transfers at much faster speeds than even the most advanced DTG printers, all while requiring a lower capital investment. With the introduction of high-quality DTF (Direct-to-Film) printers from Resolute/TMT, is this becoming a reality? The film and ink costs seem manageable, given the current lack of competition in the market. It appears that a 10x12" transfer costs just over £1 - £1.50, depending on ink usage. Is it too soon to make the leap, or are the costs for early adopters still too high? As someone experienced with plastisol transfers, I find the added cost of a glue and curing plant to be unnecessary for many users. While DTG and DTF are different processes, the fundamental idea of using an inkjet printer for t-shirt printing is comparable. The ability to print on polyester is especially appealing, assuming it works well.
Click to expand...
...what does this have to do with 3D printing?
 
From what I've gathered, the K1 seems to be solid now. Looks like they’ve addressed the initial issues with the newer revisions.
If you're looking for an enclosed printer, this might be your best option in that price range.
 
I ended up getting a ender 3 v3 se for $179 or something awhile back. For the price of the printer its been spectacular, it was plug and play to setup and every prints been flawless.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top