Shopping in Denver

[steprock]

Hello all!

I've been intrigued by 3D printing and am doing my homework, shopping for an entry level unit to get my feet wet. I've come down to Printrbot as one to really watch, maybe the new Play.

When comparing units, I saw a comparison chart between the Simple Metal and the XYZ Da Vinci on a similar price point. A lot of users seem to like the Da Vinci, but I'd rather support a US startup. Still, looking at vital stats, it seems like the XYZ unit prints far faster and has a bigger build platform with standard heated bed.

Can you guys offer any insight or direction for me? I feel like there's a world of info from insiders that I haven't picked up on yet.

Thanks so much!

[plexus]

People with the latest Printrbots seem to be generally happy with them. the Simple is a hot seller and appears to go a good job. I have one of the original kickstarter printrbot+'s and its going strong still. I don't think you'd make a mistake with a Printrbot but I am not knowledgeable about those other printers. perhaps read through the troubleshooting thread to see what people here are up against and also the Showcase thread to see what people have been printing.

Let us know what you decide!

[teicher]

I have a metal simple and it got my coworker interested in 3D printing. He bought a Da Vinci because he could get one cheaper and he's a cheap guy He's yet to print something that matches the quality of what I get from my simple metal, plus he had to hack the firmware to get around the proprietary filament thing. Printrbot is cool with mods and hacks and what ever users want to do with their printers, Brook gets a kick out of seeing what users come up with. If you want to support US made printing companies, Printrbot is a good way to do that.

What you can get from a well tuned simple metal is pretty amazing, especially for the money. I don't have any hesitation recommending it over a Da Vinci.

[steprock]

I really appreciate you guys' input - after some more looking and reading your comments, I'd agree that Printrbot would be a preferable choice over the DaVinci.
The ABS plastic is stronger, but foul-smelling and the DaVinci is all proprietary until you hack it. Out of the box ease is good, but I don't mind configuring.

Thanks for your advice on my research!

[asteinmark]

Don't know if this is too late or not but I am currently seeling my Da Vinci 2.0 Duo for the Printrbot Simple Metal. The Da Vinci is too enclosed and difficult to perform maintenance on. It also only accepts cartriges from XYZprinting without a hack.