3D printers

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Hogi
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3D printers

Post by Hogi »

Hi guys. Im looking into getting a 3D printer at some point. Could anyone recommend a good printer for a decent price? Thanks.
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jes
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Re: 3D printers

Post by jes »

Hi, I think the Ender 3 is a pretty good printer.

They're available refurbished on eBay for about £140.

I have an Anycubic i3 Mega which I'm quite happy with, but if I were to buy a new printer today it would be an Ender 3.
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limpet
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Re: 3D printers

Post by limpet »

I’ve just got a Creality CR10s Pro, not cheap but currently £100 off at Box Ltd making it £415. I’ve just done a couple of test prints and it’s very good, print size 300x300x400 so will easily accommodate ant stuff, quite an upgrade from my aging Up Plus and that was double the price about four years ago.
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minionhunter
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Re: 3D printers

Post by minionhunter »

I've always been curious about the Prusa official i3 with the bed that is supposed to not require adhesive. I've been having the kids save for it and t they are hovering around $450 right now, so something better might come along by the time they have saved for it.
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Re: 3D printers

Post by Tufty »

I'm going to ask the noob question because Amazon recommendations contradict what I thought was common sense (so is probably based on a fundamental misunderstanding by me):

I assumed the nozzle size of the printer would effectively also be the upper limit of filament thickness, but the printer I'm looking at has a 0.4mm nozzle and says people usually buy a 1.75mm filament to go with it. Where am I going wrong with my thinking?
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peterwaller
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Re: 3D printers

Post by peterwaller »

Filament comes in two sizes 1.75 mm (most common) and 2.85 mm and this is the diameter of the filament on the reel.
The nozzle size is the diameter of the hole the melted filament comes out off normally 0.4 mm although you can get various other sizes.
By telling the slicer these two values it knows how much of the filament needs to be fed into the nozzle to keep pace with the printing.
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Re: 3D printers

Post by Tufty »

Ah I see, thank you!
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Re: 3D printers

Post by Tufty »

What temperature threshold would make a metal nozzle necessary, and any recommendations for which one is best for the Ender 3?
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peterwaller
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Re: 3D printers

Post by peterwaller »

All nozzles are metal it is just that some have a small PTFE tube just above them to guide the filament through and act as a heat break. PTFE can usually go up to around 245 / 250 although it does deteriorate a bit and needs regular replacement at those temperatures. I have found all metal heads are best for nylon and ABS but can cause problems with lower temperature materials such as PLA. On my previous printer which had two heads I changed the main one to all metal but left the other for printing PLA.
Tufty
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Re: 3D printers

Post by Tufty »

Awesome, thanks. I assume the carbon/PLA works in the same way, with the same parts, as printing straight PLA?
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