this post was submitted on 11 Feb 2024
28 points (93.8% liked)

3DPrinting

15570 readers
209 users here now

3DPrinting is a place where makers of all skill levels and walks of life can learn about and discuss 3D printing and development of 3D printed parts and devices.

The r/functionalprint community is now located at: !functionalprint@kbin.social or !functionalprint@fedia.io

There are CAD communities available at: !cad@lemmy.world or !freecad@lemmy.ml

Rules

If you need an easy way to host pictures, https://catbox.moe/ may be an option. Be ethical about what you post and donate if you are able or use this a lot. It is just an individual hosting content, not a company. The image embedding syntax for Lemmy is ![](URL)

Moderation policy: Light, mostly invisible

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

I am looking to purchase a 3D printer as a hobbyist, not for any commercial use. I have limited options with local 3D printers but that's good as they're mostly cheaper low end printers so I can look at them thoroughly.

When I'm comparing the different 3D printers I'm mainly looking at the following: Cost, nozzle diameter, layer height, volume, and viable filaments.

My question is, is there anything else I'm missing? Are there important things I should be considering or avoiding?

Different printers have different resolutions but for my purposes it looks like they're all highly accurate and way past what I need. Not worried about speed either. They all mention bed and nozzle temperatures but I assume they are all within the necessary range for the filaments they allow right? So does it matter?

Also, any advice for maintenance? How to make it last as long as possible any mistakes I should be wary of. Thanks.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] IMALlama@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago

Keep in mind that you can nearly always modify a prinyer after you purchase it. Lidar is going to be hard to add on after the fact, but IMO is unnecessary. There are tons and tons of camera monitoring systems you can use. You can also add filament runout sensors, spring steel beds, better part cooling, an enclosure, a direct dribe extruder, basically anything extruder related, etc.

For your purchase, I would look at a printer that is either set up the way you want out of the box or has the physical characteristics you want, since some of those are going to be harder to modify.

  • build volume. Think about this in all three dimensions
  • heated bed. I would personally avoid printers without a heated bed
  • do you want a CoreXY, delta, or cartesian?
  • a rigid frame
  • a high quality motion system. You can swap between rollers, rods, and linear rails, but doing so is a pain
  • mechanical bed leveling is a huge quality of life thing. Many printers that advertise auto leveling can't actually level the bed relatively to the gantry the extruder rides on