First 3D printer advice

If your budget allows snag yourself a Prusa. They're very well made, and Jeff Prusa more or less invented the modern 3D Printer. Creality makes fine printers, but you'll spend more time maintaining it than actually printing. I have an Ender 3 V2 and wish I had saved up to get a better printer. I don't have any personal experience with other brands.

You'll need to use a CAD program to make models. TinkerCAD is a great free option. You'll also need to "slice" that model up for printing using a slicer. I personally use PrusaSlicer, but there are others as well.

If you're asking these kinds of questions that tells me you're brand new to all of this. I recommend checking out Thomas Salanderer, CNC Kitchen, and Teaching Tech on YouTube. They're all great at explaining the minutiae of this hobby.

Edit: Do yourself a huge favour and get a model with a self-levelling bed, or at the very least a bed-level probe.

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It's a bit of hyperbole to say you'll spend more time maintaining a Creality printer than using it (Ender3 S1 Pro here), though I agree with the sentiment that you should think twice about them unless you enjoy the tinkering and learning aspect of the hobby.

If you want high quality (and fast) prints right out of the box, the tradeoff is you will need to spend more than Creality money.

I would also second PrusaSlicer. I saw significant improvements in print quality and speed using mostly their default Ender3 settings versus what I was able to cobble together in Cura.

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- S1 Pro here as well, and for 3 or 4 months my hobby was 3D printer troubleshooting before I could transition it into actual 3D printing 😅 Everyone's experience is different, which is exactly the problem with Creality - you'll probably get a decent printer but it's still a dice roll every time until they (hopefully) start investing in consistent quality control.
  
  If I was starting today my budget option would be a Sovol SV06. Prusa definitely has the edge on reliable (albeit somewhat pricey) bedslingers, but my initial aversion to Bambu's closed-ish ecosystem is quickly eroding at the prospect of owning a fast coreXY that just works and handles ASA/ABS straight out of the box.
  
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- My Ender 3 V2 needs a complete frame check between each print. It's the only way Ive managed to get consistent prints. At least the design is Open Source!
  
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I am indeed completely new to all of this, thank you for your response! I will check out those channels :)

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With your budget, the typical "entry point" into the hobby would most likely be any machine from the Chinese brands like Anycubic, Creality, Sovol etc. Those machines work OK, but it's very likely that you'll find some quirks that annoy you which leads to tinkering and printing (or buying) replacement parts and upgrades. But it also helps to further understand how the printer works, which can help down the line.

"Tinker-free" printers that just work and will do so for many 100 hours (like the printers by Prusa) are more expensive upfront but don't require constant "babysitting".

Regarding software, there's a plethora of programs that can be used. To name a few, we have the open source group (OpenSCAD, FreeCAD), the 'free' group (Fusion 360, SolidEdge), the web-based group (TinkerCAD, OnShape) and many more. Try them out and pick whichever suit you.

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I went with a Prusa Mini and I can recommend the brand albeit at a higher price point.

From what I’ve heard from others the main pitfall for someone staring out is not getting an auto-bed levelling sensor.

For slicing Prusa slicer is fantastic and you can get profiles for many printers.

For print monitoring OctoPrint and OctoApp are my go to.

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Thanks for the response! Could you tell me more about what print monitoring is?

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- We’ll, I suppose control and monitoring.
  
  It’s a little server with a web ui (I run one on a raspberrypi) that you can load you gcode files and start prints from your pc or phone.
  
  Then you can keep an eye on the progress of your print with percent completion, time elaspsed/remaining, a gcode viewer and live camera feed.
  
  My current print:
  
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I'll stick to the software side of things as I haven't been in the market for an FDM printer in a couple years.

Software wise Blender is absolutely amazing, especially being free. I'd recommend it for any modeling that isn't a mechanical design.

Fusion 360 is also amazing, but mostly for practical physical designs. Get the hobbyist license and it's free. You'll thank yourself later for diving into Fusion 360 earlier rather than later.

You can use TinkerCad for simple little designs if you'd like but it's really limited.

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Can you differentiate between practical physical designs vs non-mechanical designs? Is it just whether or not there are moving parts?

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- Basically is it art or is it a functional item/replacement parts.
  
  Moving parts can be pretty easy to make depending on movement in either program.
  
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I didn't know it has a free hobbyist licence, I'll definitely check it out, thanks!

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Sovol SV06 on sale for $219 seems to currently be the best cheap printer. It has all the features that Creality's best designed printer (Ender 3 S1) has and it's still $100 cheaper. In addition the SV06 has an all-metal hotend which allows you to print higher temp filaments, like PETG etc, but if you're only going to print PLA that's not necessary.

Don't trust anyone who recommends a brand when it comes to cheap Chinese printers :) Most of the companies have made both some OK models and some straight garbage models.

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I recently bought one of these, and agree. Have I modded some things to reduce fan noise? Did I have to manually tram the X axis because the printer isn't built precisely enough for the built in method to work? Yes, but those are easy things to do and only really have to do them once, and it prints amazingly well and problem free considering the price.

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- Yea, manually adjusting the x axis and lubricating the bearings are mentioned as negatives for this printer in the buying guide that I linked, but those are very easily fixable "flaws" compared to other similarly priced printers.
  
  I might've gone overboard with a few parts but I've spent €300 on upgrading my E3v2 to get it to a point where I'm happy with its performance
  
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3D modeling and 3D printing are 2 different hobies and both have one thing in common, THEY LEECH LOADS OF TIME 🤣 Just saying, it doesnt need to be bad, I like it! But if you are beginner maybe start with only one.

Why first fdm, then resin? If you want resin printer just go that path. Resin is good for miniatures while filaments are better for mechanical properties and bigger size. Fdm is faster, but still extremely slow. For 20x20x20 cm model you need like 1 day or more to complete. Get something that supports klipper firmware, like ender (probably most cheap printers) and expect extra cost on upgrades.

For 3D modeling software you can chose open source Blender if you want to create sculptures or art thingies. Blender can do much more, but for mechanical parts you need CAD. You can make simple objects in any free software, like fusion or freecad. If you want proper CAD get solidworks. Super expensive for home users unless you can get it for free somehow, but loads of guides everywhere since its kinda industry standard.

I know you are looking for exact 3D printer models (hopefully others will cover that), but you might find this useful. GL

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Why first fdm, then resin? If you want resin printer just go that path. Resin is good for miniatures while filaments are better for mechanical properties and bigger size. Fdm is faster, but still extremely slow. For 20x20x20 cm model you need like 1 day or more to complete. Get something that supports klipper firmware, like ender (probably most cheap printers) and expect extra cost on upgrades.

^this, verbatim. My advice is, think about what it is you want to print and go from there. If you're going to try to make functional parts with the occasional "cute" gift for someone, chances are you'd want to go with FDM and Fusion 360, then it's dealers choice on which slicer you prefer. Then think about what you're using those parts for, and figure out what filament will be best for that part, whether it needs to sit in a hot car, for example, you'll be looking at ABS / ASA versus something that sits inside on a desk and doesn't need to support weight, where PLA is your cheap and generally easiest filament to use. Then, research what printers are capable of printing said filament, as not all 3d printers can handle higher temps, need enclosures, etc.

On the other hand, if you're going to make tabletop miniatures or need the properties of resin for whatever reason, you'll want to go with resin, and modeling software such as Blender as others have suggested

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- Thirding this, having a clearer idea of what kind of stuff you are going to print will help you a TON.
  
  That's why I would suggest to dabble into modelling for a while first, see what kind of stuff you find more interesting/fun to make, and dial in your decisions from there. I say this, OP, because I was in your position of thinking about doing both resin for miniatures and FDM for buildings/dioramas/useful things... But I ended up doing mostly miniatures, because that's what I found most fun to do. So I would have been better served investing the FDM money in a bigger and better resin printer.
  
  For software, since you mention that you may get a resin printer, I assume you are considering eventually making miniatures, characters, monsters, etc. If so, you will want to look into software that has sculpting tools. Blender has them, Fusion 360 as well, there are many others. I use ZBrush but a lot of people find it weird to use. Blender would probably be the best starting point because it is free, extremely well documented and has everything you need.
  
  As a last note, if you are not familiar with this world, you should know that even with the best of printers, you should expect to spend a lot of time tinkering, troubleshooting and tuning. If your expectations are to assemble it and immediately start printing cool stuff, you will need to adjust them. It is a really fun hobby, but requires you to be willing to deal with days in which your prints suddenly come out wrong and have to spend the whole day debugging the issue instead of having fun.
  
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Why klipper? Firmware’s are a bit more advanced and most printers come with marlin as stock. If your printer still uses a 16bit board… sure, klipper has advantages, but on the modern 32bit boards… needing a pi is a big problem and marlin is competitive.

Marlin + octoprint is extremely powerful. I would suggest the only real advantage is the editable confit files- but seriously, how often are you changing settings?

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Thanks for the response! My understanding is that the procedure/handling of resin is more complicated and that it is simpler to start with fdm.

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- I'm not sure if I would even recommend starting with fdm if your goal is resin. So little that you learn about fdm actually transfers to resin, they really are that different. If your end goal is resin because you want to make miniatures, you're just wasting money getting an fdm printer.
  
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- Its easier to learn snowboarding for people who know how to ski. It doesnt mean every snowboarder should start skiing first, but its not wrong if you enjoy it.
  
  Its more about what you want to print and where. If you want to print tiny, high detail miniatures your FDM will suck. If you want to print in your living room better get FDM and print PLA, cuz for resin you need proper ventilation.
  
  Have fun!
  
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In terms of software, there are plenty of options but I use Fusion 360 for anything CAD. It is a professional tool that you can use for free for personal use. Blender works well for more artistic things, or organic shapes, and is also free.

In terms of hardware, I don't have enough knowledge or experience to help you. I'm running a Creality CR-10 V3 and very happy with the results, but I'm not sure it is your ideal printer.

What you should definitely do is figure out what kind of materials you want to use, and how large you want the print bed to be. Those are going to influence your choice a lot, and it will help someone with more knowledge to recommend something 😀

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Hey! I highly recommend the AnyCubic Vyper - it has a decent sized build volume, automatic bed leveling (though it can be a bit problematic), a magnetic build plate, and Bowden extruder. I've had mine for about a year now (had a RepRap for many years before) & I love it.

I don't do much designing, but TinkerCad is fairly simple & worked for most things I wanted to model. Always worth searching online first though; I usually use Thingiverse & Printables.

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Cool! Thanks :)

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Happy to hear that! I got myself a Vyper about 2 month ago and I'm very happy with it (no modifications, only calibration).

Wasn't sure if I have low standards or I just got lucky because I don't feel any need to modify or tune the printer. Only had one failed print and that was because I haven't cleaned the printing bed at all and it hat literally sunscreen from my hands on it.

I love Prusa for the great software they provide and I'm a big supporter of open source, but the printers always seem to require a bit of maintenance (which is fine if you like to tinker and tune!)

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I would go with an Ender 3 variant as they are very popular and community support for them will be plentiful. Also, spare parts will be easy to get. For 3D design, I would start with something simple like Tinkercad and then maybe move to OnShape or Fusion 360 (both are free for hobbyists)

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Just to add my experience to the mix, I bought a cheap Ender 3 to see if I liked the hobby. Didn't want to go whole hog on kit until I had a sense of it. I've found tinkering with the printer and making improvements and adjustments to be rewarding and a great use of my free time.

I don't know what the conventional wisdom is in the 3d printing community on buying used gear, but I'd bet you could find something used at a pretty good discount that might need just a little bit of love. & not sure about where you live, but here, some public libraries have printers and printing courses, could be a good way to get your feet wet & see what aspects of the tech are important to you.

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I would look for a printed (fdm or resin) that has a big and active commnutiy behind, maybe and Ender for FDM and Anycubic for resin

As for the software, there is a lot of options. Freecad and OpenScad are good (Openscad can be a little harder). I used moi3d (the demo version) and I found it really nice and easy, but it is nor free or open. But it has a free demo with full features (only time limited).

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My advice is to get the best printer within your budget. Remember that printers usually have additional costs- especially the low-cost models like creality printers.

Solid choices to look at are the Prusa mk4s, uktimakers are also a solid choice.

I would suggest before getting a creality look for the number of upgrades catered to them- and then realize that’s because that’s what people generally find important to upgrade.

They’re not always necessary (angle supports, for example) but in general, crealities will need new extruded gears and hot end, if it doesn’t come with ABL, then a bl touch (and probably a new board,). This is in addition to the printable upgrades (like part cooling ducts,).

Generally anything in the price range of an ender 3 is going to need some love. Which, might have some arguments for as a learning curve… but that learning curve is not as gentle as with other printers. You might save a little, but you will out grow them quickly.

Regardless, stay with it! My dad described 3d printers as feeling like it did with very early computers and his Commodore 64. (Aka very exciting.). Of you need help reach out - this is a great group, there’s also the prusa forums (and repository for stls,)

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I've been printing with my ender 3 for >200h now, and I've been happy with it. If possible get the Neo version. It has most of the features that people add to their printers later on, like auto bed leveling.

The tinkering part that people talk about in regards to the ender 3 seems to be an artifact from non Neo versions, as those are missing auto bed leveling and as such require more fiddling to get printing well. Also the non neo printers had plastic tension arms that would break over time.

So far my ender 3 neo has failed 2 prints, one when I originally configured the z-offset to be too high and the initial layer wouldn't stick. Other time was some layer shifts due to me leaving the x axis belt too loose. In total I've spent maybe 3 hours fiddling with my printer and mostly it's left alone, doing it's thing.

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