Reviving this thread now that Im in the market. What would some of you guys buy today? I'd like to keep it to $2k or so. Need to print with tough UV resistant materials. Currently making the parts on a lathe out of nylon rod. The parts are small but I'd like a decent size bed to be able to make fair size stuff or run a bunch of parts at once. 10x10", 12X12" maybe?
- Thread starter D1gger
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Personally, I'm using an Elegoo Saturn 12K with 3D Materials Super Fast engineering resins.
If you want something ready out of the box, the Bambu lab X1c is a good option. Its an enclosed printer so you can print nylon, ABS, CF filaments, etc. I think it’s around $1200-1400. I have a Prusa mk4 which is awesome but you’ll need to get an enclosure separately to print the previously mentioned materials. The mk4 is about $800 if you buy the kit with which you have to assemble the entire printer yourself. Took me about 10 hours but I’m also kinda retarded. Or you can buy it prebuilt for around $1200. I think the enclosure is another $400. Prusa has been around longer and is a more “proven” product if that matters. Both have about a 10x10x10 print volume and both should give pretty close to equivalent print quality. The Bambu used to print much faster but the newest Prusa firmware is for the mk4 is also very fast as long as you’re not doing surface smoothing. It will still be fast in that case but obviously will add some time for the surface layers. Like I said I have the Prusa and I love it. If I need another printer for whatever reason I might get the x1c just cus it’s less hassle to get up and running out of the box. Thats not a knock agains the mk4. Once it’s set up, you’re good to go other than checking the belt tension every once in a while.
I've got a Prusa MK3 at work that we've been using a bit recently. We bought it unassembled, I assembled myself, that took a fair amount of time. I wouldn't necessarily go that route, it's neat to see how it works, but there's a lot of ways to mess things up if you lack attention to detail.
Powered up and started printing immediately, so it at least I can read the instructions.
I'm a machinist and use CAD and/or CAM software everyday for the last decade, so the learning curve was pretty easy for me. The Prusa slicer software is free and very solid. The claim to fame of open source is really great. Users provide feedback and they seem to listen. If you have a question, just google it, I'm sure the answer is already out there.
We pre-ordered their new XL printer because we could use the larger working envelope.
I've only printed PLA filament for prototyping purposes, Prusa factory setting were spot on and haven't really needed to tune anything from stock.
Powered up and started printing immediately, so it at least I can read the instructions.
I'm a machinist and use CAD and/or CAM software everyday for the last decade, so the learning curve was pretty easy for me. The Prusa slicer software is free and very solid. The claim to fame of open source is really great. Users provide feedback and they seem to listen. If you have a question, just google it, I'm sure the answer is already out there.
We pre-ordered their new XL printer because we could use the larger working envelope.
I've only printed PLA filament for prototyping purposes, Prusa factory setting were spot on and haven't really needed to tune anything from stock.
These days Bamboo Lab X1 is absolute king of the hill , if you are into 3d printing and not fiddling with your printer
Bambu Lab X1 Series | Desktop 3D Printer | X1-Carbon - Bambu Lab
Bambu Lab X1 series are state-of-the-art desktop 3D printers with CoreXY high speed and multi-color capabilities, built for both beginners and professionals.
bambulab.com If you want larger Creality K1 Max , not quite as sophisticated as Bamboo
Had the Bambu X-1 with two print heads at work. That was fast and good.
