contemplating getting a 3d printer

[jdm-rhd]

thinking about dabbling in this to make discontinued parts for my supra and rx7's, as well as other projects.

there are so many options out there, but they've gotten pretty cheap now. looking for any recommendations or suggestions.


which printers do you guys own or have worked with? ideally, i would like to purchase one decent size machine that will suit my needs.

thanks in advance for input...

 

[Matth1000]

Bambo lab A1, cant fault it, had it for 6 months, not one failed print or error, put about 4 or 5kgs of fillament through it.

 

[jdm-rhd]

Bambo lab A1, cant fault it, had it for 6 months, not one failed print or error, put about 4 or 5kgs of fillament through it.

just started looking at reviews/videos and bambu models seem to be one of the top brands mentioned.

what were you building with it if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Matth1000]

just started looking at reviews/videos and bambu models seem to be one of the top brands mentioned.

what were you building with it if you don't mind me asking?

A bit of everything, brackets, tools all sorts of stuff.
Dont bother with PLA, go straight for the Petg or ASA or ABS for car parts

 

[FSUZ33]

I recommend Prusa or Bambu. Other than that, it’s about the max size you want to be able to print vs how much you want to spend.

i have a Creality K1C that’s 8.5”x8.5”x9” (9” or 10” high, idk, haven’t needed the height). After about 1.5 years the X/Y were getting a little sloppy so I ran a self-calibration and it committed suicide. Drove the nozzle into the plate and kept trying to move around. Stopped it about 5 secs after I heard it and shut it off. Weeks later I got up the nerve to run a known good print and halfway through the first layer it slammed straight back (not down this time) and started making terrible noises. I turned it off and it’s been sitting l that for months. Not saying Creality is crap, I just haven’t had a good experience. I just wanted a machine I could run basic stuff through and not have to constantly fiddle with crap. It was that way, but only for 1.5 years.

We have a 2–head Prusa XL at work (13.5” x 13.5” x something around 14” high) and it has been a dream, with incredible support for every question/concern from Prusa. Not cheap though, and open frame, so an enclosure for it was like $600.

PLA is simple, and good for a lot of stuff, but for more rugged prints PETG is much better, and almost as easy as PLA to print, especially with an enclosed printer. ABS is a great material, but the print complexity ramps up significantly. A lot more shrinkage with ABS, so it really needs an enclosed printer that can maintain really stable bed and enclosure temps.

 

[jdm-rhd]

A bit of everything, brackets, tools all sorts of stuff.
Dont bother with PLA, go straight for the Petg or ASA or ABS for car parts

thanks for the tips on material.
haven't looked at the cost differences but, im going for quality in anything i plan to make. any one you prefer over another and for what reason?

 

[jdm-rhd]

I recommend Prusa or Bambu. Other than that, it’s about the max size you want to be able to print vs how much you want to spend.

i have a Creality K1C that’s 8.5”x8.5”x9” (9” or 10” high, idk, haven’t needed the height). After about 1.5 years the X/Y were getting a little sloppy so I ran a self-calibration and it committed suicide. Drove the nozzle into the plate and kept trying to move around. Stopped it about 5 secs after I heard it and shut it off. Weeks later I got up the nerve to run a known good print and halfway through the first layer it slammed straight back (not down this time) and started making terrible noises. I turned it off and it’s been sitting l that for months. Not saying Creality is crap, I just haven’t had a good experience. I just wanted a machine I could run basic stuff through and not have to constantly fiddle with crap. It was that way, but only for 1.5 years.

We have a 2–head Prusa XL at work (13.5” x 13.5” x something around 14” high) and it has been a dream, with incredible support for every question/concern from Prusa. Not cheap though, and open frame, so an enclosure for it was like $600.

PLA is simple, and good for a lot of stuff, but for more rugged prints PETG is much better, and almost as easy as PLA to print, especially with an enclosed printer. ABS is a great material, but the print complexity ramps up significantly. A lot more shrinkage with ABS, so it really needs an enclosed printer that can maintain really stable bed and enclosure temps.

thank you for the detailed input.
was curious why some machines had enclosures and others didn't. looking at best 'bang for your buck' with a large table size. will check out prusa as well.

 

[FSUZ33]

If I was in the market for a new one now I would grab the Bambu H2S. It’s spendy, but after learning and doing in the 3D world, that Bambu already comes with stuff you WILL WANT once you gain experience.
- Large build surface/height
- Enclosed
- Multi-color

Prusa’s good kit, but to get a Prusa with the same features, you’d spend twice the $. A couple of people at work have Bambu, one guy has like four, and I’ve never heard them say anything negative about them.

 

[jamesmcintoshjr]

I've had many printers over the last 11 years and I can unequivocally recommend the Bambu H2S. Especially if you're doing automotive and want high-ish temp filaments like ASA and ABS. The heated enclosed print volume makes those print care free. It's a little more sure but as they say the cheap man pays twice and that's very much been the case with 3d printers. They get crap for being a closed system but if you want to spend your time printing stuff and not be a 3d printer mechanic their printers are so mature and dialed in at this point.

Creality stuff is very in-beta and typically have a lot of issues and I've owned 3 of them and can attest.

My h2s did have an issue with the filament runout sensor jamming which was odd, so I opened a ticket with Bambu and they overnighted a replacement under warranty, 3 screws and a half hour and I was back up and running.

If you don't care about filament switching you could save a few bucks and not get the AMS but its handy and you can load multiple rolls of the same stuff and have it auto refill. The new AMS also functions as a filament dryer so it's worth getting in my opinion. I also really like their swappable nozzle design since it's induction heated and doesn't have the tiny wires of a heater cartridge.

And on top of that, all the stuff I'm making for our car is guaranteed to print on the h2s

 

[jdm-rhd]

If I was in the market for a new one now I would grab the Bambu H2S. It’s spendy, but after learning and doing in the 3D world, that Bambu already comes with stuff you WILL WANT once you gain experience.
- Large build surface/height
- Enclosed
- Multi-color

Prusa’s good kit, but to get a Prusa with the same features, you’d spend twice the $. A couple of people at work have Bambu, one guy has like four, and I’ve never heard them say anything negative about them.

thanks for the suggestion.
i'll check that model out. i'm basically a noob on this. also not sure what the uses or advantages are for the different filament types.

 

[jdm-rhd]

I've had many printers over the last 11 years and I can unequivocally recommend the Bambu H2S. Especially if you're doing automotive and want high-ish temp filaments like ASA and ABS. The heated enclosed print volume makes those print care free. It's a little more sure but as they say the cheap man pays twice and that's very much been the case with 3d printers. They get crap for being a closed system but if you want to spend your time printing stuff and not be a 3d printer mechanic their printers are so mature and dialed in at this point.

Creality stuff is very in-beta and typically have a lot of issues and I've owned 3 of them and can attest.

My h2s did have an issue with the filament runout sensor jamming which was odd, so I opened a ticket with Bambu and they overnighted a replacement under warranty, 3 screws and a half hour and I was back up and running.

If you don't care about filament switching you could save a few bucks and not get the AMS but its handy and you can load multiple rolls of the same stuff and have it auto refill. The new AMS also functions as a filament dryer so it's worth getting in my opinion. I also really like their swappable nozzle design since it's induction heated and doesn't have the tiny wires of a heater cartridge.

And on top of that, all the stuff I'm making for our car is guaranteed to print on the h2s

glad you stopped by. seems like you have quite a bit of experience. your parts thread was one of the reasons im getting into this.


i am wanting to be able to make a wide variety of things from car parts to just fun hobby related items as well as cool gifts for friends and family.

i see your also recommending the h2s that @FSUZ33 mentioned

 

[jamesmcintoshjr]

Yeah I had to figure out a lot of this stuff 5 years ago when I made my FK8 kit, now its pretty common. You'd do well to join 3D printed car parts on facebook, lots of great info there.

I would also look into a scanner like the Shining3D ones. They're great and they have entry points for varying budgets.

 

[FSUZ33]

It’s like I was talking football strategy with you and Peyton Manning walked in…lol!

 

[jdm-rhd]

Yeah I had to figure out a lot of this stuff 5 years ago when I made my FK8 kit, now its pretty common. You'd do well to join 3D printed car parts on facebook, lots of great info there.

I would also look into a scanner like the Shining3D ones. They're great and they have entry points for varying budgets.

got a link to that group?

 

[jdm-rhd]

It’s like I was talking football strategy with yougiving you and Peyton Manning walked in…lol!

im sure any advice your giving is helpful because it's like i got picked last for a flag football team