What other 3D printer brands do you recommend?

[etxbkst]

While I've had fun converting my CNC router to a 3D printer, I am ready to get it back to its intended purpose. My first thought was to go with a Metal Plus upgrade kit, but I'm not sure I want to spend that kind of dough. Then I saw the MendelMax 3 kit, which is absolutely beautiful, and I am soooo tempted, but it starts at $1300. I've looked at MakerFarm, and I know they get excellent reviews. I have realized, though, that my two Simples have spoiled me to, well, simple design. Especially the Printrbot metal printers. It looks like they really streamlined the printer and the process. I don't want a build that will take days.

So what would you recommend around $1k? Obviously less is better, but in the end I don't want to have to mod (too much, anyway) or spend countless hours tinkering to get things to work just ok.

[thawkins]

While I've had fun converting my CNC router to a 3D printer, I am ready to get it back to its intended purpose. My first thought was to go with a Metal Plus upgrade kit, but I'm not sure I want to spend that kind of dough. Then I saw the MendelMax 3 kit, which is absolutely beautiful, and I am soooo tempted, but it starts at $1300. I've looked at MakerFarm, and I know they get excellent reviews. I have realized, though, that my two Simples have spoiled me to, well, simple design. Especially the Printrbot metal printers. It looks like they really streamlined the printer and the process. I don't want a build that will take days.

So what would you recommend around $1k? Obviously less is better, but in the end I don't want to have to mod (too much, anyway) or spend countless hours tinkering to get things to work just ok.

I can thouroughly recommend the Flashforge Creator Pro, its an amazing machine and produces really nice ABS prints 24/7. Its a bit on the pricy side at $1299, and to get the best out of it you need a good frontend like Simplify3D which is another $149

But its a factory, it churns out prints day after day after day. With little or no fiddling once its set up.

Its basicaly a clone of the Makerbot Replicator 1. Bulld size is 224x149mm

One thing of note is you generaly dont drive these machines by usb (it has it and it works) but the community has found you get vastly better results if you use an SD card. It also has the advantage of being able to site you printer anywhere, not just inside the cable distance from your computer.

[etxbkst]

Do you recommend the FlashForge over the Metal Plus?

[thawkins]

Do you recommend the FlashForge over the Metal Plus?

Yes, the ff is a fully enclosed printer, it makes a vast difference to the reliability and repeatability of the prints.

From what i see most PB printers struggle to get thier heatbeds past 90c, you NEED 110c for reliable ABS printing.

[etxbkst]

Thanks for the recommendation! I realized a moment ago that I hadn't been looking at the creator pro, but rather a different model made of wood, which was kind of a turn off. After looking at the correct model and reading reviews, I'm seriously leaning in that direction.

[mechanizedmedic]

If I could start over I would get a FlashForge or Ultimaker Original... But then again, I would have missed out on all the maddening print failures that make this a "hobby" of mine.

[evanalmighty]

I will also recommend the flashforge or similar type printers that only has the bed moving in the Z axis.

[KDog]

I bought a Kossel Pro off of kickstarter and have been using it for about three months now. It's an awesome printer! I highly recommend looking into delta style printers if you have experience using cartesian printers.

[teicher]

One of my coworkers has a Lulzbot TAZ 4. He seems to get good results with it.

[Josephwillian]

I was also facing the same type of issues when I started my career in 3D printing. It becomes difficult to choose the best one when you have a lot of options in front of you. I was under the same situation, then I research a lot on this topic. I found some good blogs and articles that actually helped me to take the right decision. I have found some of the articles for you to read and take the right decision.

https://www.3dhubs.com/best-3d-printer-guide
https://www.innofil3d.com/how-to-select-a-3d-printer/

I have bought Inova 1800 a few weeks ago. It is a good printer and working fine as per my expectations.