What's your 3D printer of choice?

[paratom]

There seems to be a wide choice of 3D printers on the market these days both resin and filament. Elegoo and Anycubic seem to have cornered the market for the hobbyist market but there are a lot more manufacturers out they vying for the same market. The best prints I have seen recently have been done on the Saturn printers by Elegoo but there seems to be mixed reviews regarding their reliability. In my opinion if your paying around £150 for a 3D printer that producing results that you are happy with then it almost becomes a consumable item at that price if it last a year. On my laser cutter I am looking at a £1000 to get the tube regassed, so in comparison £150 is nothing. There seems to be a battle going on at the moment between the resin and FDM printers and in my opinion at the moment the FDM printers can't compete with the resin printers when it comes to detail. I hope we don't get into the scenario where quality loses out to marketing as was the case between VHF and Betamax. So what's you weapon of choice when it comes to 3D printing.

Thomas

 

[Hayfield1]

Thomas

Its not just the printers, to start with I have 3 printers (1 resin and 2fdm)
Firstly I find FDM printing so much easier and less messy
Secondly I have a Neptune 4 which works like a dream, the latest smaller Bambu Labs are getting rave reports especially with the ability to easily change to a 0,2 nozzle
Finally using either Sunlu PLA+ or Bambu PLA basic filament, both of which give far better results than their cheaper rivals

In short I am very happy with my Neptune 4 plus Sunlu PLA+ filament. If I were to buy again I would go for a Bambu mini or A1 with either of the filaments I mentioned and a 0.2 extra nozzle

John

 

[Andrew Taylor]

I have both FDM and Resin.

In both cases, attention to the design of the parts and orientation when printing are essential for good results.

The FDM is a Prusa and a very capable machine, but it is not very good for fine detail. I have had some problems with the hot end, but it mostly works fine. I tend to use this for mechanical components and jigs rather than models.

The Resin printer is an Elegoo Mars 3 with a Mercury post-processing bundle. I use Elegoo ABS-like resin. Detail is excellent, but for best results and to avoid distortion, I set the layer height to 0.012mm and consequently have very long print times.

I always leave the resin in the tank, there is no need to clean after every print. Since the first couple of weeks when I was learning, I have never had a completely failed print or had to replace the FEP. Some parts do need a few iterations to get them right though.

Postprocessing can be messy. I have a tank of used IPA which I use to pre-wash the print before putting it into the washing station. This helps the IPA in the washing station stay usable longer.

10 minutes in the cure station, and a little while out of it to ensure the print is dry, and then it is ready to use.

 

[Hayfield1]

Thomas

Its not just the printers, to start with I have 3 printers (1 resin and 2fdm)
Firstly I find FDM printing so much easier and less messy
Secondly I have a Neptune 4 which works like a dream, the latest smaller Bambu Labs are getting rave reports especially with the ability to easily change to a 0,2 nozzle
Finally using either Sunlu PLA+ or Bambu PLA basic filament, both of which give far better results than their cheaper rivals

In short I am very happy with my Neptune 4 plus Sunlu PLA+ filament. If I were to buy again I would go for a Bambu mini or A1 with either of the filaments I mentioned and a 0.2 extra nozzle

John

Thomas

I forgot to say changing filament brands was a game changer, certainly in 7mm scale. I can print FDM chairs in 7mm scale nearly if not as good as resin, certainly with a lot less faffing about

In 4 mm scale Martin Wynn is having great success with his Bambu Labs mini with a 0,2mm nozzle

 

[Paul_H]

Ideally you'd have both a resin and FDM printer. For me, a resin printer wasn't a sensible option; needing to be sited somewhere clean with a reasonable temperature, good ventilation and using nasty, messy chemicals wasn't feasible.
As I work in 16mm scale a decent FDM printer was an option. I started off with a Creality CR and after a swath of problems and technical support drying up I got shot of it and bought a Bambu labs A1.
The A1 has a few minor flaws, but is absolutely the best FDM printer for under £500. Well made, reliable, easy to use with good software. The simplicity of swapping to a 0.2mm nozzle in less than a minute makes every other FDM printer look primitive.