I'm going to get a new printer - hope this is the forum for that issue

Hello to everybody. I'm a new guy here. First of all, please excuse me for all mistakes I'm going to make. English is not my first language (nor second ).

Recently I decided to buy a 3D printer. I've been thinking about that for a while but now it's time. I started to look and to learn and I've found that some Prusa model is what I'm looking for, a good, solid cheap printer. So here I am after reading almost whole FAQ.

First I saw a Geeetech Prusa i3 X model and I like it. It's just below 300 euros and comes with free shipping which is significant advantage for me. After a little more research I saw what I think is going to be my first printer. It's Anet A8! It's wery cheap and as I can see it's also very popular. In comparison with previously mentioned Geeetech X Anet A8 has a fan for nozzle and bigger printing space (in all directions). The thing I'm worry about is heating temperature for the bed. It can heat just about 100 C degrees and I'm wondering if it's enough for printing ABS? I'm thinking to buy one of those flexible bed pad things and it would probably absorb some heat. What do you think about that my concern?

My dad works with metals and I'm going to force him to make me a solid table for the printer. I've read somewhere that enclosed space is good for ABS so I could maybe ask him to build some kind of enclosure for the printer. Do you think it would be a good idea?

What do you think about Anet A8 overall? Do you have any suggestion? Do you have some other printer on mind to recommend? Any thought is welcome

Thanks for reading and for future responses.

Nebojsa

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2017 09:25AM by kmnccn.

Before you buy anything, I suggest you check the link in my sig, below.

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Ultra MegaMax Dominator 3D printer: [drmrehorst.blogspot.com]

Quote
the_digital_dentist
Before you buy anything, I suggest you check the link in my sig, below.

Thank you for response. I'm not skilled enough to build a 3D printer just like that without proper instructions and with a lot of improvisation. Besides, it would be too expensive for my budget :/

You can learn a lot by reading the article.

---

Ultra MegaMax Dominator 3D printer: [drmrehorst.blogspot.com]

Well a little bit of reading won't hurt

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2017 10:04AM by kmnccn.

You get what you pay for.
Cheap 200-300 dollars printers wont last and might someday get you a so-so print.
Save up and get a good quality printer, the market is FLOODED with cheap printers praying on people with tight budgets.

I'm aware of that. Build quality is an issue. But at least spare parts can be found relatively easy and some of parts could maybe make. But so-so quality is worry. I want relatively good prints. I know it's a cheap printer and can't expect something extraordinary though. I was looking some reviews and have seen some pretty nice prints... don't know what to think. Speed is not an issue (I think) but I wand good prints. I'm worried that if I wait and collect money I won't buy a 3D printer at all. There is always something more important.

edit: I must think about customs fees. That will bring additional 30% on the price. That's way it is.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2017 11:36AM by kmnccn.

Take a look at Folgertech.

[folgertech.com]

the forum has a lot of good info

[www.folgerforum.com]

Quote
kmnccn
I'm aware of that. Build quality is an issue. But at least spare parts can be found relatively easy and some of parts could maybe make. But so-so quality is worry. I want relatively good prints. I know it's a cheap printer and can't expect something extraordinary though. I was looking some reviews and have seen some pretty nice prints... don't know what to think. Speed is not an issue (I think) but I wand good prints. I'm worried that if I wait and collect money I won't buy a 3D printer at all. There is always something more important.

edit: I must think about customs fees. That will bring additional 30% on the price. That's way it is.

IMO you have a couple of options:

1. Buy a good quality printer kit from a Western manufacturer. Clue: if it uses Arduino/RAMPS electronics then it's designed for cheapness rather than quality, so avoid it. Expect to pay at least double what you would pay for a cheap Chinese kit.

2. Buy a cheap Chinese kit. You will probably get it working, with help from these forums, but it will take a lot longer, you will probably have a lot of frustrations, and it won't initially produce good prints. But if you have enough patience and money, you will learn a lot by upgrading it.

#1 means you have to wait longer while you save up. #2 will probably cost you more in the end, but you get something to play with sooner and you may learn more.

---

Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

@cozmicray

Thanks for your suggestion

They look good. It seems the quality is their priority. Little too expensive for me considering that cheapest of them would be about 350 euros with shipping to my country (Serbia). I've read somewhere that a fan for nozzle is important for correct prints (correct me if I am wrong) and they (cheapest two) don't have it, seems. Also, they have 8" x8" x6" build area while Anet A8 has about 8.6" x8.6" x9.4" build area. I didn't see maximal bed temperature. I'm noob so I maybe don't see some much more important differences. Fill free to explain me

Thanks again I'll definitelly consider them

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2017 12:37PM by kmnccn.

@dc42

Those Chinese look tempting

Seriously now, thanks for drawing my attention on those bad parts. I'll have that on mind

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2017 01:05PM by kmnccn.

The FT-5 (I have built) has a 12x12x15 print volume
if you must have big?

Cooling fans
there are fans to cool extruder hot end for a thermal break
fans to cool material after it gets laid down

Both easily added to any printer

I have a printer without a heated bed
and without cooling fans --- does great PLA prints!

Big print area -- lots of filament to melt and pay for?

You get what you pay for ---- and there is hundreds of after build expenses!

I don't understand wasting you dad on a table --- solid metal frame for printer???

Hard to suggest to you from over here in USA --- cheep parts, no tax, no custom fees, fair shipping
I guess the price to pay to live in Serbia?

Quote
cozmicray
The FT-5 (I have built) has a 12x12x15 print volume
if you must have big?

Cooling fans
there are fans to cool extruder hot end for a thermal break
fans to cool material after it gets laid down

Both easily added to any printer

I have a printer without a heated bed
and without cooling fans --- does great PLA prints!

Big print area -- lots of filament to melt and pay for?

You get what you pay for ---- and there is hundreds of after build expenses!

I don't understand wasting you dad on a table --- solid metal frame for printer???

Hard to suggest to you from over here in USA --- cheep parts, no tax, no custom fees, fair shipping
I guess the price to pay to live in Serbia?

I like to have a big print volume but it's not necessary to be that big! 8x8x8 is quite good for me. I will probably be printing small things usually but it's nice to know that you could print something bigger from time to time. I would like to print ABS because summers here can be hot and I would print some gadgets for a car. Something like can holders and phone mounts and things like that. I've been hearing that PLA can easily be softened or even melted on high temperatures. And also for some other purposes ABS would be better. That's reason why I'm thinking of making an enclosure. It wouldn't be a solid metal piece. It would be something like light metal frame and I would screw some plexiglass on it... something like that. It would be no more than few hours for him to make it and I would paint it But, that's not a lone idea. I saw that I could print some corners and fix plexiglass with them. That could be solution for enclosure. I think 90% of my prints will be made of PLA but I'd just like to have possibility to print ABS sometimes.

Here in Serbia 3D printing is very rare so there is no domestic spare parts and shipping for heavier packages is expensive. Also customs fee is quite high for all packages pricier that 50 euros or so. Chinese has some very cheap way of shipping things. I don't know how they do it but basically it is cheaper to order from China than from USA or even nearby countries around Europe.

I want 3D printer to make it my hobby. I want to have some fun and I want to try to model some things that could be useful for me. Basically I really don't think I need an expensive printer. I know you wouldn't agree that 500 bucks is 'expensive' but for me and for it's purpose it is!

I posted here because I have no experience with 3D printing and I want to thank you all for posting. No matter what I decide in the end, I'm carefully reading all your posts and really pay attention on every your word and idea... so thanks

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/08/2017 04:53PM by kmnccn.

To throw my two-cents in: I just helped put together 4 FLSUN Prusa kits for the local high school. They were $220 ea with free shipping. There are decent pictorial instructions and when built as instructed, they actually do print OK. HOWEVER, I made about a half-dozen important mods to make them easier to use and print better, and maybe another half dozen minor tweaks. With that done, they actually produce pretty nice prints. The reason this worked for us is that 1) I have enough experience to spot the problems areas and fix them, and 2) we were able to amortize that effort across 4, and possibly more, printers. If you are new to 3D printing and just starting out with a cheap kit, it's going to take you a while to figure out what needs fixing, and even once you know what you are doing, it's going to take you some time to implement the fixes. I see it as largely depending on your interests, time and budget. If you want to create nice prints immediately and can afford it, spend more money. If you have the time and interest to learn and make your own mods, then a cheap kit is not necessarily a bad way to go.

Your initial idea was a Geeeeeetech?

I recently bought the Geeetech i3. It went together ok, the instructions were clear enough and if you understand mechanics, it is not a difficult printer to put together.
It will certainly introduce you to 3D printing and to the problems associated with it. There are a few fixes required, but there is load of knowledge about them and you can always ask here.

There are a lot of modifications you can do to that printer. That is good in your case,as it will educate you in a lot of different areas of printing. Problems in movement, in filament feeding, in electronics, etc etc. But none of these problems will stop you from printing. They might stop you from generating perfect smooth quality prints.

So the question for you is, do you want this printer to simply print and not be too bothered with the technology? Or is your interest much more towards the technology and the way things work. If the last thing is the case, I suggest you buy a cheap crappy printer to get a better understanding of the problems and possible solutions. This will allow you to enjoy the trip, and not the end result.

---

Lykle
________________________________________________

Co-creator of the Zesty Nimble, worlds lightest Direct Drive extruder.
[zesty.tech]

The Trip is even more rewarding if you don't by a kit, source what you can, knock something together, but maybe you could save a fortune by forgetting about 3D printing....if the price of filament continues to rise...it might be tricky for you to keep on printing, it's a minefield even here in UK. ABS 3.0mm has to be the cheapest material around...but tricky to print without a good setup, but who knows how long that will last.

It's a good idea to check out the reprap section of the forums. Lots of cheap / badly made i3 problems there, and it will give you an idea of the frustrations to come (or perhaps avoid with the knowledge beforehand?).

Quote
LoboCNC
To throw my two-cents in: I just helped put together 4 FLSUN Prusa kits for the local high school. They were $220 ea with free shipping. There are decent pictorial instructions and when built as instructed, they actually do print OK. HOWEVER, I made about a half-dozen important mods to make them easier to use and print better, and maybe another half dozen minor tweaks. With that done, they actually produce pretty nice prints. The reason this worked for us is that 1) I have enough experience to spot the problems areas and fix them, and 2) we were able to amortize that effort across 4, and possibly more, printers. If you are new to 3D printing and just starting out with a cheap kit, it's going to take you a while to figure out what needs fixing, and even once you know what you are doing, it's going to take you some time to implement the fixes. I see it as largely depending on your interests, time and budget. If you want to create nice prints immediately and can afford it, spend more money. If you have the time and interest to learn and make your own mods, then a cheap kit is not necessarily a bad way to go.

Printer I want to buy is very popular and there is already whole community about this one on the Facebook etc. There are lot of suggestions and mods already done as well as issues solutions. I hope I could figure it out and improve it to the point where I could print good prints. I'm ready to learn

Quote
Lykle
Your initial idea was a Geeeeeetech?

I recently bought the Geeetech i3. It went together ok, the instructions were clear enough and if you understand mechanics, it is not a difficult printer to put together.
It will certainly introduce you to 3D printing and to the problems associated with it. There are a few fixes required, but there is load of knowledge about them and you can always ask here.

There are a lot of modifications you can do to that printer. That is good in your case,as it will educate you in a lot of different areas of printing. Problems in movement, in filament feeding, in electronics, etc etc. But none of these problems will stop you from printing. They might stop you from generating perfect smooth quality prints.

So the question for you is, do you want this printer to simply print and not be too bothered with the technology? Or is your interest much more towards the technology and the way things work. If the last thing is the case, I suggest you buy a cheap crappy printer to get a better understanding of the problems and possible solutions. This will allow you to enjoy the trip, and not the end result.

I heard that Geeetech printers often arrive with bent rods but their customer's service is very good, they say. It's really similar to printer I want to buy.

Quote
MechaBits
The Trip is even more rewarding if you don't by a kit, source what you can, knock something together, but maybe you could save a fortune by forgetting about 3D printing....if the price of filament continues to rise...it might be tricky for you to keep on printing, it's a minefield even here in UK. ABS 3.0mm has to be the cheapest material around...but tricky to print without a good setup, but who knows how long that will last.

I'm hoping that filament prices will go lower and lower. I will be ordering Chinese filaments. They are not too expensive and I hope they are good enough.

Quote
Origamib
It's a good idea to check out the reprap section of the forums. Lots of cheap / badly made i3 problems there, and it will give you an idea of the frustrations to come (or perhaps avoid with the knowledge beforehand?).

Thanks for advice. Be sure I'll do exactly that. Actually, I'm already learning a lot

Hi,
We recommend latest model from the folgertech.
The Folger Technologies FT-5 is a great kit combining the simplicity of an erector set with the power of a much more expensive desktop printer.
https://www.3dprintersonlinestore.com/folger-tech-ft-5-large-scale-3d-printer-kit