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3D Printer Recommendation

TucsonDweller

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I tried a search but couldn’t find much regarding recommendations for 3D printers. I know this is a Jeep forum, but there seems to be a fair amount of 3D printer use for Jeep odds and ends.

To be a little more specific, my 10 year old son would like to get a 3D printer, so ideally I would like to find one that isn’t overly complicated or too technical for a child to figure out and learn on.

I don’t know much of anything about these printers, so if there’s simpler software to accompany a printer, that would also be a good feature. Any other insights you folks can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
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rcubed3r

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What does he want to print? See below for SLA vs. FDM printers:
SLA vs. FDM
The resin handling would be enough for me to want to start a 10 year old on FDM!

I only have experience with FDM. See my below suggestions for FDM printers:

If part of the experience is about the workings of the printer and tweaking, calibrating, etc. consider a Creality Ender 3 or clone. This is a very popular printer with tons of available support online. Upgrades are plentiful for years to come.
Ender 3

If you just want to print things with little maintenance needed, consider a Prusa MK3 variant. They are more expensive, but rock solid an have a large following online as well.
MK3

Either of these printers will produce excellent prints.
 
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TucsonDweller

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What does he want to print? See below for SLA vs. FDM printers:
SLA vs. FDM
The resin handling would be enough for me to want to start a 10 year old on FDM!

I only have experience with FDM. See my below suggestions for FDM printers:

If part of the experience is about the workings of the printer and tweaking, calibrating, etc. consider a Creality Ender 3 or clone. This is a very popular printer with tons of available support online. Upgrades are plentiful for years to come.
Ender 3

If you just want to print things with little maintenance needed, consider a Prusa MK3 variant. They are more expensive, but rock solid an have a large following online as well.
MK3

Either of these printers will produce excellent prints.
Thanks! That’s great info.

Regarding the Ender, is the tweaking and calibrating type of stuff you’re referencing more about troubleshooting problems or upgrading etc?

I do like the price point of the Ender. My son likes building and messing with things. So it sounds like it might be a good fit, but I just wouldn’t want it to be troublesome and have him lose interest because of problems.

I appreciate your input and insight.
 

rcubed3r

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Regarding the Ender, is the tweaking and calibrating type of stuff you’re referencing more about troubleshooting problems or upgrading etc?
A little of both, but you won't be working on it constantly. You'll spend a bit more time keeping the calibration in check.

I do like the price point of the Ender. My son likes building and messing with things. So it sounds like it might be a good fit, but I just wouldn’t want it to be troublesome and have him lose interest because of problems.
This is the printer for you. It won't be too troublesome. It's just not a 'set it and forget it' type. You guys will spend some quality time together learning about the printer for sure.
Tips -
1. Don't cut corners assembling the machine.
2. LEARN TO LEVEL THE BED PROPERLY AND SET THE CORRECT Z-OFFSET.
This will provide the greatest opportunity for a good start to your prints. It is really frustrating to deal with a printer that cannot lay down a good initial layer.
If you look through online help forums for FDM printers this is the most common cause of issues reported by a VERY wide margin. Mostly new users have this issue, but it is not too uncommon for more experienced folks to not realize that the symptoms they have are related to bed levelling and Z-offset. It is not rocket science and there are a million videos online to teach you guys how to do it. Keeping the bed clean is important as well.
- You can pay a little more for an Ender 3 that has an 'auto-levelling' bed, which is not exactly literally correct, but it is a helpful feature. This is also something that can be added later after learning how and why it is so important.

-Ron
 
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TucsonDweller

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A little of both, but you won't be working on it constantly. You'll spend a bit more time keeping the calibration in check.



This is the printer for you. It won't be too troublesome. It's just not a 'set it and forget it' type. You guys will spend some quality time together learning about the printer for sure.
Tips -
1. Don't cut corners assembling the machine.
2. LEARN TO LEVEL THE BED PROPERLY AND SET THE CORRECT Z-OFFSET.
This will provide the greatest opportunity for a good start to your prints. It is really frustrating to deal with a printer that cannot lay down a good initial layer.
If you look through online help forums for FDM printers this is the most common cause of issues reported by a VERY wide margin. Mostly new users have this issue, but it is not too uncommon for more experienced folks to not realize that the symptoms they have are related to bed levelling and Z-offset. It is not rocket science and there are a million videos online to teach you guys how to do it. Keeping the bed clean is important as well.
- You can pay a little more for an Ender 3 that has an 'auto-levelling' bed, which is not exactly literally correct, but it is a helpful feature. This is also something that can be added later after learning how and why it is so important.

-Ron
Awesome! I’ll be reading up on this printer to get an idea of all the pros and cons.
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