Scale Soaring UK

I see many benefits in having a 3D printer to support various hobbies - I would be interested in practical user experience/recommendations for a modestly priced 3D printer for occasional projects that will produce decent quality parts. I have been put off in the past due to poor resolution of prints that then either need a lot of finishing work or just end up looking bad, but I suspect the printers are a lot more mature now than when I last looked.

Simon

How big a print do you want to do and do you have a price range in mind?

Hi Simon
I have recently done research and bought a Creality Ender 3 - standard model - from Banggood for around £132. They get really good reviews and there is lots of online help/discussion/videos. I used PLA for my first print and got a really cute little dog for my efforts. Then I fiddled with it by adding a self levelling system and that has buggered up the save feature in the menu, probably an easy enough thing for a techie like you but several days worth of headache for me. Getting close to reverting back to stock just to get printing. I have also bought a role of PETG and today ordered a role of Greentec Pro under recommendation for printing items that may undergo high stress.

Pat

I have three printers at present. A CEL Robox which has never given me a bad print, expensive but very reliable. The second is an Elegoo Mars resin printer. Small bed but the detail is outstanding. The most recent purchase was the Creallity Ender 5 plus. Big bed, self leveling. And again very reliable.

Simon, I've just bought my first printer, a Creality Ender 3 V2, it's absolutely superb!

I'll post a pic of what it can do when I get 5 later

Ell.

Thanks everyone for your responses. I have started writing down a few things that will help me home in on a suitable price range and specification, but I’ve learnt a few things (probably most important is that Pat M should have bought an Ender 5 not a 3 )

I would like a resin printer for doing small detailed items such as cockpit controls and instruments, but I think it would have to be a non-resin printer for starters, due to the material options and size of bed. I need to do a bit more homework now, but It’s great that this new section has been added to the forum, as I think this technology is very appropriate for scale modelling.

Simon

The most important thing is that I shouldnt have fiddled with the beggar
I am glad I bought the Ender 3 though, the bed size is planty big enough for me. If I decide to change in the coming years, or even add another printer, I may well get the Ender 5.

Pat Marsden wrote: ↑23 Jan 2021, 13:18 The most important thing is that I shouldnt have fiddled with the beggar
I am glad I bought the Ender 3 though, the bed size is planty big enough for me. If I decide to change in the coming years, or even add another printer, I may well get the Ender 5.

Ender 5 plus if you do!

What CAD software are you using for designing the bits to be printed? Thanks.

Solidworks for me.

Fusion 360, hobbyist free license.

Sketchup (free) for me.

As a numpty I find that Tinkercad works well for many items.
If things get too parametric then I have to relearn Fusion 360 (again!)
Still it was a fun thing to learn during lockdown!

There are very good suggestions here already.
Its like buying a car for the first time. Some see something they like and get it regardless, whether it is the right decision or not comes later. Others spend a lot of time going through all the options and by the time a decision is near there is something else on the market and the process continues. Then there are the tinkerers...........

I have seven operative printers, an original Pruser i3MK3s+, 2x Nophead Mendels (homebuilt), 1x heavily modified Tevo Black widow, 1x homemade Gmax style 300x300x600 (for tall prints), a large format 400x400x500 modified Xinkebot Orca2 and a PhotonS resin printer. Why so many and why are they modifed? They are setup for different work and filament types, all have been setup with autolevel. I'm a tinkerer and wanted the machines to be better. I really like the huge spectrum of items that have been possible to produce. I was printing many objects for a long running project https://safetyfirst.airbus.com/pitot-pr ... he-ground/ Scroll to the large blue section.

Also have drawn and printed replacement obsolete car parts, cistern parts, brackets, clamps, fittings for machines and households, underwater light covers for a pool. Many model parts, molds, F5J wing joiners, an 8 foot Saturn 5, trophies, teaching aids. One job I have now is making replacement parking sensor housings for a BMW.

If you can draw it you can print it, although the resin printer is better for small detailed items.
Pick a printer with good reviews and support. Don't buy the cheapest eBay special, it won't be. Also don't overspend on a high end printer for your first one. Creality, although a cheaper brand in the scheme of things, are well established with a good product line. Bed levelling is a very good function to have. There are many resources on the net and some very good experience here. Expect a few failures, learn from them.

While many files are available in libraries like Thingiverse and Yeggi, if you are going to get serious you need to be able to drive a CAD program.
I mostly draw with Sketchup Pro (the free version does a lot with some add ons), I slice with Simplify3D, PruaSlicer and Chitubox for the resin printer. I dabble with other programs, but use those above the most.

The Prusa is my "go to" for most fine work for modelling and now does most of my modelling printing.

Look where 3d printing can go... (It would be a bu**er to repair, though)

I might get around to printing that one. I have a printed Kobuz that needs assembling.
Maybe not such a problem in your part of the world, my PLA printed models are more likely to die from heat than crash damage here.
They start going soft above 60degC, ground and enclosed car temps can exceed 70degC. I have pic somewhere of a printed glider wing I left in a car nicely draped over other modelling gear
I mostly use ABS, PETG or Nylon for parts that will be exposed to environmental heat. I printed an ABS engine standoff plate for my 40% Decathlon tug. Its still going strong despite the hot location.

sketchuo pro