First timer looking for advice

good day all
I am looking to get my first printer and a couple people have suggested the Creality line of printers. I did think the snapmaker was cool until reviews which seem to indicate you loose some quality on each discipline so will skip that one. Just thought i would ask you lot before i go for a creality unit.
Thank you all !

Just want to add that i would use this not only to make bits for the kids and teach them but also will want to print usefull things for my workshop... in case that would determine things like material flexibility or otherwise.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/05/2021 02:23AM by Suxelp.

Probably.

There isn't a "Creality Line" as such, they are all commercial versions of different styles of open source projects
.
This is maybe not the best place to ask. We've got the grandparents, we don't know how the grandkids turned out,

I think your budget and needs would dictate what printers would make a great fit for you.

If you like to tinker, and want to learn about how these machines work just as much you want to print stuff then look for a quality kit based on a proven open source design that fits within what you're willing to spend.

The Ender 3 printers are popular because they are inexpensive. That, combined with the sheer number of people who own them has resulted in a large community of owners who support each other and modify them to no end (which is both good and bad imo). They are decent starter machines, avoid anything but the most basic of modifications to such a machine, they are not mechanically ideal out of the box but can produce good results once you learn their ins-and-outs. If you jump into modding them, you never really learn how to max out what its capable before changing a bunch of variables you aren't aware of and will likely just end up super frustrated or with print quality that is no better than what you could have gotten straight out of the box.

No matter what printer you buy the following advice applies:
1. No low-cost hobby printer is going to 'just work' out of the box so take online reviews with a grain of salt.
2. Make sure the frame is stiff and perfectly square
3. Learn how to tension your belts properly
4. Learn how to tram your bed
5. If using a 'non-flat' bed you can do 'manual mesh leveling' in most open source firmwares so you don't have to buy an "Auto Bed Level" probe
6. Learn how to tune slicer profiles to your specific printer and filament. (Not printer model, YOUR printer, each has unique quirks to tune/compensate for)
7. PETG and PLA will probably cover most use-cases and are easiest to work with. You should probably avoid any other materials until you're comfortable with repeatability and quality of prints in these materials.

Quote
obelisk79
No matter what printer you buy the following advice applies:
1. No low-cost hobby printer is going to 'just work' out of the box so take online reviews with a grain of salt.
2. Make sure the frame is stiff and perfectly square

Do low-cost hobby printers usually offer some way of adjusting the frame orthogonality? My RepRap printer (Portabee, a Printrbot variant) uses plastic corner pieces to hold the X-axis rods perpendicular to the Z-axis rods. But this depends on the accuracy of the printed plastic corner piece to ensure the orthogonality, with no way of adjusting the orthogonality (the Z rods and X rods slide into holes in the plastic corner piece). So I was wondering if there are any "standard" or "well-known" mechanisms to allow for adjusting frame orthogonality in low-cost hobby printers.

... this depends mainly on the clone-chain/history and manufacturer -- some yes, some no

---

Viktor
--------
Aufruf zum Projekt "Müll-freie Meere" - [reprap.org] -- Deutsche Facebook-Gruppe - [www.facebook.com]

Call for the project "garbage-free seas" - [reprap.org]

RepRap Firmware that runs on Duet controllers has something called "orthogonal axis compensation" that can be used to correct for such mechanical errors, but like most mechanical alignment errors, it's better to correct the error than to use software to compensate for it.

You can check orthogonality by printing a cube and measuring diagonals. No, not a 20 mm "calibration cube"- that's too small to check anything. Print something that is at either the limits of the printer or the limits of what you can measure accurately, whichever is smaller. If you print a 100mm square/cube you can measure diagonals with a common 6"/150mm caliper, otherwise you can use a machinist's square to check squareness of a print.

See: [www.youmagine.com]

---

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

Klipper firmware that runs on most 3d printer boards also compensates for mechanical inaccuracies like orthogonality problem. That said, I agree with Mark that it's better to correct the issue than compensate for it via firmware. But at least you know you have the option.

OK guys, thanks for this, i will continue to look here for advice but i have ordered an Anycubic Vyper