My son have 3D drawing in school using Autodesk Maya, but is not allowed to use the schools 3D printer, so he want to buy a 3D printer himself.
I turns out that 3D printers can be bought VERY cheap.
Things to consider then buying a (cheap) 3D printer :
- Community : a big community could turn out to be important to learn from and to solve problems.
- Print size : (build volume) the bigger the better I guess. Most cheap printers are in the area of 20x20x20cm (I am not sure if they tend to cheat on these numbers).
- Filament types : what materials the printer can print with : high temperature filaments are prone to warping and stringing.
- PLA : . Easy to work with. Biodegradable. Low temperature. Must use sandpaper to get rid of imperfections.
- ABS : Functional parts like hinges, brackets and outdoor parts. Strong, durable and heat resistant. Requires high & consistent temperature. Emits dangerous fumes while printing (best to print outdoor. Dissolves in acetone. Temperature : 250 nozzle & 100 bed. Absolutely best with heated bed to avoid warping as a result of the high nozzle temperature. Not easy to print with. Use an acetone vapor bath to get rid of imperfections.
- Wood-polymer :
- PVA : dissolves in water.
- HIPS : Support structures and moving parts. Dissolves in limonene. Temperature : 240 nozzle & 110 bed.
- ASA : Garden fixtures, outdoor sports equipment, road signs, automotive parts. Resistant to UV.
- PETG : Food containers. Impact resistance. Medium difficult to work with.
- Nylon : very durable both mecanically and chemically (abrasive resistance). very difficult to work with as it warps and strings easily. Very high temperature necessary. Heated bed necessary.
- TPU : Sporting objects, inflatable objects, mobile phone cases. Flexible
- Filament sensor : some 3D printers comes with a sensor that will stop the print automatically if there is no more filament (not all sensors works equally good) instead of you have to monitor the filament and manually stop the print if running out.
- Filament diameter : 1,75 is the most used filament diameter and typically if the printer uses this size, you will be able to buy filament from other vendors.
- Printing speed : (m2/s) the higher the better. I think 180m2/s is standard (though depending on filament, the speed is typically a lot lower).
- Printing accuracy : the smaller the better, I think around 0.1 mm is standard, though some comes with 50mq.
- Nozzle sensor : some 3D printers comes with a sensor that will stop the print if the nozzle clogs up avoiding destroying the print. Most cheap printers comes without a nozzle sensor, which will lead to failed prints.
- Nozzle diameter : typically in the range 0.1-0.4mm, I think some are adjustable. For infused filaments it is often best to use a bigger diameter up to 0.5mm to avoid slitage from the infused dust.
- Nozzle material : I think but have not confirmed that nozzles are build in different materials one parameter is durability (with higher durability important for infused filaments).
- Bed leveling : adjusting the distance between the bed and the nozzle :
- Automatic : more expensive but only best if it works (which is not a given).
- Manual : can be a tricky process on some printers.
- Bed stability : if they are too thin they may not be totally flat then heated up.
- Bed heating : heated beds allows you to better control the printing temperature and cooling process decreasing warping and increasing adhesion, especially warping is a problem if the bed is not heated. When extruded plastic is released from the printer nozzle, it begins to cool. During that cooling process, it also shrinks in size, and it is during shrinking that the part may become uneven and warped, since the cooling may occur at different rates at different points on the part’s surface. The heated bed ensures that the printed part stays warm all over during the printing process to allow for more even shrinking once it beings to cool below its melting point
- PCB : cheap but takes long time to heat up (some 10-15 minutes) and over time the bed will deform.
- AC silicone encapsulation : expensive but are faster to heat and much slower to deform.
- Bed adheason options :
- Kapton tape :
- Hairspray :
- ABS slurry :
- PVA based glue-stick :
- BuildTalk sheet : expensive but can be reused.
- Connectivity : SD Card, USB Cable, WiFi
- Control software : EasyPrint 3D, Repertier-Host, Simplify 3D (Commercial), Cura (free), Slic3r, Printrun, Octoprint, BotQueue, MatterControl.
- Technology :
- FDM : Fused Deposition Modeling - mostly used in cheap printers
- Vat Polymerization : comes in 2 variations :
- SLP : (old) :
- DLP : (new) : Digital Light Processing a few cheap printers comes with DLP
- File types : .stl, 3mf, XYZ
- Assembly :
- DIY : cheaper and forces you to learn more about your 3D printer, which is beneficial eg. if something needs to be changed or you want to modify your printer. Typical assembly time is 6-10 hours. Instructions are often not good.
- Plug&Play : very little or no assembly, however sometimes the assembly quality especially of chinese products can be low.
A common problem seems to be bed leveling, eg. the Ender PRO which get good reviews and sports a magnetic bed (not spring based) gets pummeled on the fact that the bed is not auto-leveling and difficult to level manually.
From FB Hydroponics on 3D printers
"The Creality Ender 3 V2 is a very good printer for what you want to do. I have two and they out perform my first printer of another brand that cost over 5 times as much. For filament, PETG is food grade and PLA is good too. Stay away from ABS, it is not food grade"
"PETG is safe for food. Many people use it for cookie cutters. The bed size of an Ender 3 is not very big. Most 3D printers are the same concept so if you found something that had a bigger bed it shouldn’t be too hard to learn with. There are some crappy printers so make sure you check with a group that knows some things before you buy. Don’t buy a Cr10s Pro. A Cr10 V2 or a Sovol SV03 would be a good option."
"I use my prusa mini more than my prusa mk3s and ender 3, for printing net pots and seed starters. I am using both PETG and PLA. I'd recommend sticking with PLA since that's seems to be what the printers were originally designed to use, and it's easier. I've also printed irrigation fittings, bulkhead and 1/2 tee, for my aeroponics project. It's fun when hobbies collide."
"I had an Ender 3 Pro, shipped it back due to problems, bought the NEW Ender 3 S1, and love it. I have printed netpots, aeroponic connectors, AErogarden baskets, AErogarden covers, NFT channel covers, it has been a blast"