The best 3D printer ever?

#1

I have a question,

I want to know what is the best 3d printer according to you guys/Gals. Do you have a favourite and what is the reason?

Have you seen a printer out there with a new or unique feature?

Personally, I am kinda Tied to 2 machines. Ender 3/pro/V2 and the Modix big 60.

to pick a total favourite, it would be the big 60, it’s large, mostly standard parts, highly maintainable, huge print volume (600x600x660). Fully enclosed.

I find the accessibility cumbersome sometimes but I have written a script to bring the bed all the way to the bottom to manage that a little easier. Nothing is perfect but for my needs this one hits it. I love printing it big.

The Ender 3 line deserves an honourable mention though, small quick prints are done very well, parts are easily accessible although using standard parts was not the norm when they were made. they have stuck with it and kept most of the mechanics exactly the same as the first printer.

#2

Im still on the road of learning what i like and dont like about my 3d printers. So far I have an Adimlab Gantry-S (ender 3 knockoff) which i love beacuse ive been able to learn so much with it. While it isnt an ender 3, so it has some differences, i like the fact its let me go make my own modifications to it.

My prusa mini works with very few failures.

My big printer is the cr10s pro v1 modded to v2. It prints well enough and is large enough for most of what im printing.

Overall i mostly print small stuff so far, so im a bit biased.

Ive always been interested in the delta printers, but know they can be super finniky if there are any issues. That being said i think the core xy box type of printers will both be my next, and what i see as being a better design.

Though the Positron is defidently a neat idea and i appriciate how innovative it is for a small printer.

Its a bit of a ramble, but im looking forward to see what everyone else says is their best printer and why. :slight_smile:

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#3

My Prusa Mk3S +. I can send a print and walk away. I rarely check the first layer and almost never check a print part way along. It is rock solid and 1000% reliable. The other three printers I own need to be checked and fiddled with off and on. I am interested in printing not fiddling with the printers.

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#4

I’m going to throw reliability out the window for this one and stick to FDM.

I think the basic Ender 3 (or any variation of it E3v2, Pro, etc…) is one of the best printers on the market.
The main reason I say this is because it lowers the bar for entry into the hobby to a very reasonable cost for the general public. It also manages to check off many boxes while being one of the cheapest on the market.

When you account for its upgradability it’s a great choice for many situations:
Want a cheap machine? : E3
Want decent quality for a decent price? : E3
Want a machine you can modify and rebuild easily? : E3
Want to play around with swapping boards, components and learning marlin cheaply?: E3
Want to make a cheap big machine?: E3 with a size upgrade kit.
Want something that sounds like drunken R2D2 out of the box? : E3
Want something reliable? : Not a stock E3 lol

Many of my friends started with a Ender and then upgraded after they grew out of it, it’s just a great starting point. Plus the lack of reliability makes your comfortable with maintenance on a 3D printer :rofl:
I’m in the ‘I like fiddling’ camp, so a base machine with tons of aftermarket support and upgrades is a dream to me; It’s almost like the Honda Civic of 3D printers!

Those prusa machines seem nice and reliable, definetly one of the better machines out there. As @kitedemon mentioned, not having to fiddle with a printer might make it one of the best for some. I also really like how Prusa has upgrade kits (some printable!) available for some of thier printers as they put out new models.

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#5

yes that is my point! LOL although a Honda generally starts the first time you drive it. maybe a Ford Pinto is a better example car.

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#6

LOOOL A Ford Pinto is the perfect fit to represent my Ender.
It even had it’s own burning/fire scandel!

~

Excuse me while I go make my Ender print it’s own mascot:

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#7

That is awesome. My cousin had a pinto… he backed it into a parking barrier and it leaked gas all over the place. It caught on fire, no exploding pinto but it burned the back end quite well. he bought an AMC Gremlin after the pinto. I think I should print him one, I am sure he will appreciate it. A reminder of his awesome car choices.

3 Likes
#8

@TurkeyOnRye

xD “want a printer that sounds like a drunken R2D2?E3”

Soo true. My printer is a knock off e3, but i lobe it to bits beacuse of its community and how i can steal the Ender’s communities ideas to grow my own knowledge base.

Currently mid process of doing a brain swap to an skr 1.4 turbo. Still have to read it its last print, but the parts are there. Just a few more to print and tests to run.

Im a fan of trying to learn these things, though it is nice having some that work without thinking when the wife wants to use them.

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#9

I love it, I have to say I have chuckled more than once reading this, more so cause I had a pinto… :slight_smile:

I am also on the tinkering side of life so I like the machines that need a little work out of the box. I like how large the support community is for the creality machines in general and some of the mods people come up with for these machines are just genius.

Keep the thoughts and comments coming, I like seeing what people like and dislike…

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