Starter 3D Printer?

[jyl]

To the 3D printing folks:

I want to get my son a 3D printer for Christmas. He’s an architecture student, and will use it to print his architectural models (in pieces, probably). I guess he wants something more physical than a CAD model, and an alternative to cutting and gluing balsa wood.

What do you all recommend? Hardware, accessories, supplies, software?

TIA!

[Ayles]

I have an Ender Pro 5 that a neighbor gave my son. I am pretty sure its been updated but its been a decent machine for our purposes and we have not had any trouble with it.

Seems like more money really gets you speed and the ability to print in more than one color.

[herr_oberst]

Watch this video. I think if I were getting a starter this might cause the fewest startup headaches.. (James takes it to a whole nother level with his little project.)

[fanaudical]

I have a few friends who really like their QIDI printers and a friend with a Prussa. Both printers were working well right out of the box.

[HardDrive]

I have 3 Ender 3s. Inexpensive work horses. Lots of parts/upgrades available. My next choice would be Prussa.

[HardDrive]

And for lord sake, print on glass.

[scottmandue]

Been thinking about getting a 3D printer for a long time.

Downside is we had one at work and it was LOUD.

And we couldn't think of anything useful to do with it.
I for one printed a small starship enterprise.

As a business I toyed with setting one up to print small obscure plastic parts.

[HardDrive]

I've printed custom parts for my motorcycles, and more odd brackets and adaptors than I can recall. They are fantastic of mocking up parts. The plastic is so cheap, you can do 4 different versions of something, just pitch the ones that don't work out.

Originally Posted by scottmandue

Been thinking about getting a 3D printer for a long time.

Downside is we had one at work and it was LOUD.

And we couldn't think of anything useful to do with it.
I for one printed a small starship enterprise.

As a business I toyed with setting one up to print small obscure plastic parts.

[wdfifteen]

I'd like to have a 3D printer, but I don't have an immediate use for it and I can't see buying it and learning it just for the hell of it.
I still have to master Vicki's Innova CNC sewing machine, and that uses up all the space in my brain that I use for learning tech stuff.

[porsche tech]

Always wondered how you go about measuring the piece you want to replicate and enter the dimensions into the printer. Seems like it would be difficult.

[HardDrive]

Originally Posted by porsche tech

Always wondered how you go about measuring the piece you want to replicate and enter the dimensions into the printer. Seems like it would be difficult.

You design parts using CAD-like programs. I use a tool called Sketchup. Fusion 360 and Tinker CAD are also popular options. Tons of options. There are 3D scanners, but they are not great for precision parts. Like I said above, you don't have to get it exactly right. Get it close, print the part. Take a look....ehhh....I need to take 2mm of here, shift this back .5mm. Print it again. In an afternoon, I may spit out multiple versions just to see what works best. Once you have it right, if you need it done it metal, spit out exactly the same drawing to have it made on a CNC machine.

[cstreit]

I've had an Ender Pro 3 for about 4 years now. Does everything I need it to do and its modifiable if you want. Can be had for <$200 with sales. Worth it, I've saved more money than that repairing things around the house. Made gears for my washing machine drive, clips and mounts on my adventure bike, fixed the wife's crockpot handle, etc...

The key to any of these is:

1. Get it square. They need to be assembled and if not square will always print funny.
2. Learn how to level the bed.
3. start with an EASY filament like PLA before you try anything exotic.

[bugstrider]

I’m zeroing in on a Bambu Labs Carbon X-1.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jyl]

I’m also looking at the Bambu Labs machines. Maybe the one down from the X1 carbon for my son.

[charlesbahn]

Bambu Labs Carbon X1, and Fusion 360. You need both (or at least another CAD program like Solidworks, so plan to factor in the cost of the CAD program unless you just want to print toys from the internet.There are good student discounts and even free institutional licenses for students for Fusion and I think also Solidworks.


You'd be surprised how much you needed this, after you've bought one!

[GH85Carrera]

My limited understanding is if you want to get serious about it, Solidworks is the "Photoshop of 3D" or the software the pros use. My business partner bought a 3D printer and Solidworks. Learning the software is step one.

[charlesbahn]

Learning the software is challenging. I think if you are an engineer, Solidworks is what most use. But it is extraordinarily more expensive than Fusion. For Fusion there are tons of really good youtube tutorial videos, there may also be for Solidworks.

I think for most of us, Fusion is more than enough to design and build what we might want to accomplish. But even that takes a significant commitment to learning the software. The Carbon x1 makes the Hardware part of the equation really easy for a beginner.

Just my .02 as a 3D printing newbe.

Charles

[jyl]

My son uses the CAD application that most of the architecture students use, "Rhinocerous 3D". Other students use AutoCAD Revit. Rhino can output a STL file so I guess it'll work for 3D printing. I've only really used Sketchup, but did play with Fusion 360 a bit and it seemed learnable.

[dlockhart]

Another happy ender3 user. For a powerful yet free cad I'd suggest checking out "onshape".




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[flipper35]

Does he want a resin or FDM printer? Does his architecture software export into one of the other systems to create files that can be printed? How big?

Blender is very popular in the 3D printer world if you need something comprehensive. Can import/export many file types.


Resin isn't as strong, but the printes are much smoother.

These are resin. The rim is a 1/10th scale the Mythosaurs are 1.5" long. All are printed then painted just to see how they would turn out.