3D Printer

Joined
Jun 15, 2017
Messages
21
Likes
9
I found this printer on ebay that's originally $1200+, but is marked down at $400. Is this a worthwhile (though still expensive) buy, or is it too small?
 

Aurelio

ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ
Staff member
.
.
.
.
.
Joined
Mar 3, 2016
Messages
2,218
Likes
2,935
Portables
2
I found this printer on ebay that's originally $1200+, but is marked down at $400. Is this a worthwhile (though still expensive) buy, or is it too small?
Honestly, it's really not worth the money. The makerbot printers are good, but the build volume of that module is very small and it's pretty much useless for printing cases for portables
 
Joined
Jun 15, 2017
Messages
21
Likes
9
Honestly, it's really not worth the money. The makerbot printers are good, but the build volume of that module is very small and it's pretty much useless for printing cases for portables
I figured that would be the case, but thanks for confirming it. What budget printers would you recommend?
 

Aurelio

ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ
Staff member
.
.
.
.
.
Joined
Mar 3, 2016
Messages
2,218
Likes
2,935
Portables
2
I figured that would be the case, but thanks for confirming it. What budget printers would you recommend?
Hmm I bought mine more than a year and half ago and a lot of things have changed, so I don't really know. You should take a look at the reviews done on YouTube by MakersMuse, The 3D Printing Nerd or RCLifeOn
 
Joined
Jun 15, 2017
Messages
21
Likes
9
Hmm I bought mine more than a year and half ago and a lot of things have changed, so I don't really know. You should take a look at the reviews done on YouTube by MakersMuse, The 3D Printing Nerd or RCLifeOn
What would be a good printing volume?
 

Madmorda

Painting Queen
.
.
Joined
Oct 27, 2016
Messages
725
Likes
1,718
Location
Texas
Portables
2
I have a monoprice maker select which is like 7x7x8, and it's in the $350 range iirc. It comes fully assembled, and has good build quality. When it works, I love it. Easy to use, has only jammed once, heated build plate, etc. It also comes with a one year warranty from monoprice (If you buy it from them) and their customer support rocks.

BUT, they have terrible quality control. I've had to send my printer in for a replacement several times, and there seems to be a power supply board inside that has common issues. If it goes bad, your printer will not turn on at all and you'll have to fix it or have it replaced. After the warranty runs out, I'll likely have to buy a different one eventually. So, all in all, I wouldn't recommend this printer unless you have no other options, but I wanted to mention my experience with it in case you come across it while searching, since it's a good size at a good price, at the expense of QC.
 

GingerOfOz

no wario
Staff member
.
.
2020 2nd Place Winner
2022 3rd Place Winner
Joined
Dec 16, 2016
Messages
1,121
Likes
2,689
Location
The Oregon Wildlands
Portables
just so many i am so cool
I can confirm that MakerBots are no bueno. My school has three of them and they are fine for basic shapes, but the second any level of complexity is added to the print, it fails.
 

Matthew

Formally known as Chaos
.
Joined
Jul 11, 2016
Messages
523
Likes
989
Location
USA
Portables
1
The best quality printer for the money is handsdown the Prusa I3 MK2 ( think the new model is MK2S). It is more expensive (~800 with shipping which is $70) but it's an amazing printer. I've had a $400 dollar printer and as @Madmorda has stated they have problems that will continue to plague and annoy you from the moment you buy it. IMO it's not worth buying those printers because for a bit more you can get a ton more things for a good price and getting good decent prints is a huge pain.

For any better quality you would have to get a SLA printer or buy one of those $2000 - $4000 dollar printers. iirc, @Aurelio has a cheaper 3d printer but I personally know that he has spent hours configuring and adding upgrades, which he also has the technical skills to do. If you don't have those skills or don't want to spend forever getting good prints, then MK2 is the way to go.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2016
Messages
349
Likes
493
Location
Northern New Jersey
Monoprice makes good machines. I have both a Maker Select Plus and a Mini. I've added rigidity and stability tweaks to both, as well as glass build plates. They're both working great. I've found that filament makes a huge difference though. I really like Hatchbox's products. If you can find old Makerbot filament, that works well enough too (a little higher temp though). Makerbot printers, however, are mostly garbage. My favorite of theirs is the Replicator 2, and even those are extremely temperamental.
 

Madmorda

Painting Queen
.
.
Joined
Oct 27, 2016
Messages
725
Likes
1,718
Location
Texas
Portables
2
Monoprice makes good machines. I have both a Maker Select Plus and a Mini. I've added rigidity and stability tweaks to both, as well as glass build plates. They're both working great. I've found that filament makes a huge difference though. I really like Hatchbox's products. If you can find old Makerbot filament, that works well enough too (a little higher temp though). Makerbot printers, however, are mostly garbage. My favorite of theirs is the Replicator 2, and even those are extremely temperamental.
Out of curiosity, how long have you had them? My first one stopped working right after two weeks, they sent me a replacement that was DOA, then I got one that over a several months developed the same power issue as the DOA one until it kicked the bucket. I'm on number four after like 6-7 months, and it's not like I use it much. I really want to love my printer, but it obviously has some common issues.
 

Matthew

Formally known as Chaos
.
Joined
Jul 11, 2016
Messages
523
Likes
989
Location
USA
Portables
1
That was the first printer I got. It broke after two weeks. Customer service is terrible and unless you mod it, you can't use any other filament than the ones they provide. Not worth it IMO. Plus it's huge and takes up way too much space.
 
Joined
Mar 6, 2016
Messages
190
Likes
229
That was the first printer I got. It broke after two weeks. Customer service is terrible and unless you mod it, you can't use any other filament than the ones they provide. Not worth it IMO. Plus it's huge and takes up way too much space.
Okay thanks for the input I know im going to run into problems if I go with a low budget printer but I wont go with that one
 

Shank

Moderator
Staff member
.
.
Joined
Jan 31, 2016
Messages
1,286
Likes
2,723
Portables
6
+1 on the i3mk2.
Head of my makerspace's 3d printer department, and the most 3d printer savy person I know, has one and says it's the best printer he's owned. @Gman has one as well and he loves it
 

Matthew

Formally known as Chaos
.
Joined
Jul 11, 2016
Messages
523
Likes
989
Location
USA
Portables
1
Okay thanks for the input I know im going to run into problems if I go with a low budget printer but I wont go with that one
You are going to run into problems with ANY printer you get. It's more of a matter of how many problems you want to deal with and for how long. Going for a nicer printer = less problems and if there are any, easier problems, like tweaking your bed level to get that perfect first layer. Cheap quality printer = problems from every side (hardware, firmware, software). It's similar to getting a soldering iron. It's doesn't make sense to go with a cheap quality one because it will cost more time and in the end more money.
 
Joined
Mar 6, 2016
Messages
190
Likes
229
I might consider the prusa i3 mk2 I had a monoprice maker select v2 for 2 weeks and then the heating element stopped working. I tried to replace it and it still didn't want to print and I had to ship it back for a return I really don't want to deal with those problems so I might try to sell it and get a higher end printer the only problem I see is how much usage I will get out of it considering I just want to use it to make cases.
 

Matthew

Formally known as Chaos
.
Joined
Jul 11, 2016
Messages
523
Likes
989
Location
USA
Portables
1
I might consider the prusa i3 mk2 I had a monoprice maker select v2 for 2 weeks and then the heating element stopped working. I tried to replace it and it still didn't want to print and I had to ship it back for a return I really don't want to deal with those problems so I might try to sell it and get a higher end printer the only problem I see is how much usage I will get out of it considering I just want to use it to make cases.
I worried about that when I got mine but I think I the last time I checked I was clocking in around 400+ hours of print time and I've only had it for a few months haha. Understandably the (mostly) lame knick nacks from thingiverse gets old pretty quick but if you are serious about prototyping and learning a bunch of new skills than it's a great way to go about it. Plus if you really want to make good money on it, you can sign up your printer to print of things for people who are local to you. I think it's called 3dhubs, though there are probably more sites but you can also make your printer pay for itself.
 
Top