New to 3D printing and doing the research

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Bendigonz

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#314989 5-Jun-2024 19:19

We are wanting to purchase a 3d printer as an educational project for our daughter as she is so keen on on her collection of 3d printed dragons, and now wants to invest in a printer.

We would be wanting to learn and advance so wondering about the K1 or the Ender 3 or 5 - does anyone have any input on a good one. I know the F160 would be amazing but 3 x the price.

Which cloud based 3d program do you recommend that is easy to learn on - I have looked at Tinkercad - and it seems compreshensive, but 1st one I have looked at.

Would the design software and printer be better driven from an apple iPad or Mac Mini, or a microsoft tablet or laptop?

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#3244953 5-Jun-2024 19:31

I would consider Bambu Lab, https://www.mindkits.co.nz/Bambu-Lab-A1-Mini-printer.aspx

No real opinion on Mac or PC. Either would be fine.

A lot of youtubers I follow use OnShape for 3D design, https://www.onshape.com/en/

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Reanalyse

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Ultimate Geek

#3244961 5-Jun-2024 20:29

The least expensive option would be an Ender 3, there was a sale not long ago and a number of Geekzoners would have purchased the kit cheaply ($120 to $150) so may offer you one at a good price.

Not the "best option" but as one of the most common there is so much online support for these.

For the slicer initially I would suggest Cura, but as more familiarity is obtained I would suggest Orca.

For design the best application I have found is Meshmaker.

Reanalyse

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Ultimate Geek

#3244969 5-Jun-2024 21:26

Reanalyse:

The least expensive option would be an Ender 3, there was a sale not long ago and a number of Geekzoners would have purchased the kit cheaply ($120 to $150) so may offer you one at a good price.

Not the "best option" but as one of the most common there is so much online support for these.

For the slicer initially I would suggest Cura, but as more familiarity is obtained I would suggest Orca.

For design the best application I have found is Meshmaker.

If it's dragons and the like, would you be looking at a resin printer ? But the material used by these is usually very toxic so would probably not be recommended for your daughter.

Sorry - I just checked and my "go to" design software is actually MatterControl.

jonherries

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#3244971 5-Jun-2024 21:28

We have an Ender 3 V3 Neo.

Would recommend as good entry level - with self-levelling bed.

We use Tinkercad and the Creality Slicer for most stuff. TC can import .stl files and the slicer is good in terms of managing a large number of choices with some presets.

Jon

amanzi

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#3245044 5-Jun-2024 22:22

I bought an Ender 3 on sale recently. I love it, but I don't think I'd recommend it to someone who just wants to get on with 3D printing. Bit of a learning curve, and mine doesn't have a self-levelling bed - which is fine really, but there are better options out there. This Wirecutter article is good to read - they make a similar to recommendation to the first reply in this thread (Bambu A1) but they also explain the pros and cons of the Ender 3 series. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-home-3d-printer/

As for modelling - I've tried some different apps, but have had the most success with Tinkercad. It's super easy once you understand that all you're basically doing is creating solid models, then making holes in them. :-) You can also export the models to Fusion 360, which isn't cloud based but lets you add bevels and more advanced fine touches than what Tinkercad can do.

For the slicer, I've used Creality and Cura software. Both seem similar but Cura has more options. More options are good, but gives you more freedom to make mistakes.

The best thing I've done so far is to get the printer hooked up to Octoprint, which in turn is integrated with Home Assistant. I've got a USB camera connected to a Raspberry Pi and with Octoprint, you can submit jobs straight to the printer through the web interface, and then monitor the job with the webcam. It can also do fun timelapse videos which are great when the print works, but also useful to troubleshoot why a print failed.

Most of my prints so far have been to mod the printer itself. A better printer wouldn't need these mods I guess, but it's been fun to improve on a fairly dirt cheap printer ($140 on sale).

Next up I'll be looking to experiment with different filaments. So far I've only used PLA which it's a bit brittle and snaps easily.

michaelmurfy

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#3245047 5-Jun-2024 22:58

Posted in another thread but here we go:

michaelmurfy:

I'm somebody who prints a whole lot, seriously, my printer doesn't really have breaks as it is printing for a sideline business and just today I've gone through 2kg of filament.

If you're wanting something that works well out of the box then go grab yourself a Creality K1C - https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/PTRCRL0011/Creality-FDM-3D-Printer-K1C-Build-Size-220-x-220-x and if you're up right now then they're currently $1036.15

It is potentially the best bang for buck, has great software and rooting this via here: https://guilouz.github.io/Creality-Helper-Script-Wiki you really unlock a powerful printer. There are also plenty of custom OrcaSlicer profiles for it.

So take it from me who has done almost a lifetime of printing on my K1C in a few months - grab one, you won't be disappointed.

I would not recommend getting an Ender 3, 5 or one of it's clones. Spend a little extra and get the K1C then you can basically chuck whatever you like to it. Those dragons especially printed in silk filament like they all are can be somewhat difficult at times to print.

Also @amanzi put Klipper on your Ender 3 as it is so much better and allows for a whole lot more functionality. Also OrcaSlicer is a whole lot better these days compared to Cura. Once you do that you'll soon note that Octoprint is pretty archaic :)

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michaelmurfy

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#3245048 5-Jun-2024 23:00

mattRSK:

I would consider Bambu Lab, https://www.mindkits.co.nz/Bambu-Lab-A1-Mini-printer.aspx

Just note this doesn't have a big build volume and those dragons do use up basically the whole plate however this is a great option if you're wanting something cheaper that just works.

amanzi

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#3245051 5-Jun-2024 23:04

Thanks for the tip @michaelmurfy. Currently using the "Mriscoc Marlin Professional Firmware" that I found via YouTube. Much better than the stock firmware with some nifty timesavers, especially with bed-levelling (tramming).

everettpsycho

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#3247640 11-Jun-2024 20:20

Nice thread to find, I'm waiting on a ender v3-SE at the moment so looking forward to experimenting a bit and seeing how we go with it. AutoCAD isn't something new to me so hopefully tinkercad should be a relatively intuitive jump to get used to seeing as it's an Autodesk product. Reviews seemed to suggest the ender is fine as a starter printer especially given the pricing for why is a new hobby toy for me. Not sure I'll get $1000 of use to go for a higher end model but you never know.

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Ultimate Geek

#3247642 11-Jun-2024 20:27

amanzi:

Thanks for the tip @michaelmurfy. Currently using the "Mriscoc Marlin Professional Firmware" that I found via YouTube. Much better than the stock firmware with some nifty timesavers, especially with bed-levelling (tramming).

On Firmware I just updated my Ender 3 (Board V4.2.2) with TH3D Unified Firmware.

Added a lot of lovely stuff like Linear Advance and Input Shaping.

May be better options but for the moment very happy with the increase in printer capability (especially speed).

Ge0rge

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#3247665 11-Jun-2024 21:18

@everettpsycho: Nice thread to find, I'm waiting on a ender v3-SE at the moment so looking forward to experimenting a bit and seeing how we go with it. AutoCAD isn't something new to me so hopefully tinkercad should be a relatively intuitive jump to get used to seeing as it's an Autodesk product. Reviews seemed to suggest the ender is fine as a starter printer especially given the pricing for why is a new hobby toy for me. Not sure I'll get $1000 of use to go for a higher end model but you never know.

Fusion360 might be worth a look for you then, there is a free hobby version.

chimera

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#3251722 21-Jun-2024 17:31

Definitely recommend an Ender 3. Personally I have an Ender 5 with numerous mods, had for past 7 years. Really good platform, but the 3 is a really good price and has a very large following so lots of tweaks available.

As suggested above, flash with TH3D firmware.

Use 0.4mm nozzle with 0.15mm layer height to print her dragons if they are small, otherwise 0.2mm covers everything you need

For slicing software try SuperSlicer, very feature rich.

mdf

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#3251723 21-Jun-2024 17:46

I've had an Ender 3 for years. These are great if you are happy tinkering and tuning. I would go far as to suggest that tinkering and tuning is _required_ for this level of printer, it is definitely not plug in and go.

A couple of weeks ago I pulled the trigger on a Bambu P1S. Expensive, but *incredible*. Very much just plug in and go, it just works. 26 minute Benchy (pre-sliced on the SD card) was sitting on the print bed about 46 minutes after I opened the box. The guidance via the app is also very good if you're never sure what to do next. No-so-littlest-Miss MDF (13) has largely taken possession of the Bambu, and happily prints her own things, changes filaments and deals with most of the troubleshooting on her own. She certainly helped with the E3, but wouldn't run or troubleshoot it on her own. She seems to like using the Bambu Handy app for most things, I am still learning how to get the most of the desktop Bambu Slicer.

Bambu highly highly recommended for kids/tweens/teens/beginners. The team @ Mindkits is also excellent to deal with.

mdf

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#3251724 21-Jun-2024 17:49

Ge0rge:
@everettpsycho: Nice thread to find, I'm waiting on a ender v3-SE at the moment so looking forward to experimenting a bit and seeing how we go with it. AutoCAD isn't something new to me so hopefully tinkercad should be a relatively intuitive jump to get used to seeing as it's an Autodesk product. Reviews seemed to suggest the ender is fine as a starter printer especially given the pricing for why is a new hobby toy for me. Not sure I'll get $1000 of use to go for a higher end model but you never know.

Fusion360 might be worth a look for you then, there is a free hobby version.

TinkerCad isn't parametric, very much mesh based Sketchup style push pull blocks. It can be fun for little things, but very different from other AutoCAD products. As above, Fusion360 is probably closer. I am currently trying to gain some kind of understanding of OnShape - free and online for hobby/personal use.

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Ultimate Geek

#3252256 23-Jun-2024 20:13

Recently purchased an Ender 3 V3 SE at $299.00 from PB Tech.

I suspect that would be a great starter printer with automatic Z offset (no springs), automatic bed leveling, sprite direct drive extruder and an average printing speed of around 160mm/s

Only issue was the Creality Slicer app which seems flaky, I found it far better to use Orca Slicer which has profiles built in for the Ender 3 V3 SE.

Seems to get good reviews online. Happy with it so far.

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