I am looking to get another 3d printer and was curious if anyone had any recommendations based on their own experiences. I’ve been looking for a printer that has at minimum a print volume of 200 mm x 200 mm x 200 mm with a heated bed. Preferably I would like something that has a build volume of 250 mm x 250 mm 250 mm or more.
So far I’ve found that robo3d, printrbot, ultimaker, and prusa printers have what I am looking for and the pros seem to out weigh the cons.
Based on my budget and people’s reviews I am leaning more toward a printrbot metal plus or a hictop prusa i3 kit but wanted to get some feedback on other printers that I may have overlooked.
Ahh if thats the budget ‘I’ wouldnt hesitate to pick up a Lulzbot Taz 5. It comes in around the middle of your budget and is a great printer.
I only speak on printers I have experience with and thats typically why I speak of Lulzbot printers. Best part is that they are open source and as new models roll out you are able to print new parts,source hardware and upgrade to the newest version. It appears the taz 6 will be built on the same frame again as the taz 3, 4 & 5. Build volume is there + some, dual head is an option, flexibles and the ability to run nearly any filament
ITW an authorized reseller has a referb Taz 5 on for a great price that comes in just above the low range on your budget.
My N2+ won’t be here for another 3weeks, so I can’t comment on results yet.
But I can say that a majority of 3DP community guru’s bought this new brand from kickstarter on day 1.
(they reached their funding goal in 40min).
The engineering team are former production managers from Flashforge and Wanhao.
ToyBuilderLabs, in Pasadena,Ca., will be the official US distributor (also a trusted reputable 3DP community member and supplier)
First batch units have been out for 2weeks now, and reviews are positive.
Support questions are answered almost immediately in their community forum, by the engineers.
Software and firmware updates have been rolling out almost weekly.
It is fully open-source, and many design or software modifications are already being tested and approved by the manufacture. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/raise3d/raise3d-raise-the-standard-of-3d-printing/description
yes i second the raise 3d . the N2 is the best bang for your money…
also the company actualy listens and makes improvements not setbacks like others…
plus all of the people behind the raise 3d are no new comers to the 3d comunity…
I would personally recommend the Zortrax M200. They have a sale right now through March 4 where you can order 56 rolls of filament and get the Zortrax M200 for free. It will cost about $2000 USD which is the price of the printer anyway. If I didn’t already have one and was looking to buy I’d jump on this deal since you get 56 rolls of filament which is crazy awesome.
Interesting. Companies usually do these types of things to get rid of current stock to make way for new products. I’ve read about the company coming out with a new printer soon so I would suspect the M200 to come down in price in the upcoming months.
Yeah, it’s a ridiculously awesome deal! To clarify, an off the shelf Zortrax M200 or even their Inventure cannot print with PLA. To allow it to you need to purchase an aftermarket kit like Z-Temp (about $120). I have it and it works great, even printing with Woodlay!
I can’t decide whether this is too good to pass-up, or too good to believe
Seems to be a bit of speculation about Zortrax filament being proprietary. @strykr, can you confirm?? https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/3dprintertipstricksreviews/UO1CBjlefFE
Probably 1.7mm, but any direct-drive extruder can still push that, with a little modification to the opposing roller-bearing. Filament quality thou, is highly rated. Nice selection of different material types, and 56 rolls,WOW!
I read thru the “most recent” Amazon reviews and most folks seem to be happy with it. But tech support is in Poland, so there will be a time difference to deal with.
There is a user(professional designer) in the Raised3D forum that has been using an M200, and loves it. Might want to send her an email, for a personal review, if anyone is considering purchasing this machine. https://pinshape.com/users/44418-julia
Chris will have to weigh in on his personal experience with the Taz. But I have repaired a Taz5, twice, at my local makerspace, and never could get a nice-looking print out of it, with the 3mm filament.(poor machine has been abused thou)
The speculation is “truth”… If you use filament other than Zortrax brand filaments, even ABS versus ZABS, then you run the risk of using a material that lacks quality control in either chemical composition or cross sectional tolerances. One of the big warnings out there is that you cannot control the temperature profile and extrusion settings. This is true and you have to choose which profile: ZABS, ZHIPS, ZULTRAT, etc. when slicing in Zsuite. Many people may find this prohibitive, which I did initially, until I did some research and found some temperature controller kits that trick the machine into printing with any material of the correct size. I personally chose Z-Temp over the other options because it was a quick and easy, snap in-snap out assembly and can be removed without damaging the machine or voiding the warranty. You can even turn off the heated bed for lower temperature filaments.
In terms of this deal, you will take a long time to burn through 56 rolls of filament. Even if you didn’t get an aftermarket kit to use whatever filament you want, you’d still a ridiculous amount of proprietary filament that is priced well for its quality. The main reason I’d recommend a Zortrax is the quality, even if you don’t buy it through this deal. If you’re patient, the printer can churn out professional quality parts with great accuracy. Hell, my printer rivals my company’s Stratasys production 3D printer in terms of intricate details and surface finish.
I’ve also never had to mess with the extruder when using PLA or other non-proprietary materials which is great!
Lastly, if you do purchase a Zortrax printer of any kind and want support from the company in their forums, make sure you are careful what you say because they are quick to delete and censor people who complain (although most that do are clueless about how 3D printers work). Also, never talk about after market products if you want any sort of warranty, but if you’re the least bit technically minded you should be able to fix any issue that arises. They provide spectacular documentation for nearly anything that could go wrong.
The Zortrax M200 is a very solid and easy to use printer; I’ve had one since Jan 2014 and a second since Dec 2014. They’ve run almost daily since then with only minor maintenance needed - a couple of extruder heaters and a fan I think, over that period. People used to open-source might balk at limited settings and being obliged to use a raft, but personally I like the fact that the slicer has been tuned and optimized for this machine, enabling great results with a manageable number of settings. I do have a RaiseN2 as was mentioned previously, but the Zortrax is still my go-to machine when I just need to print a part and have it come out right without a lot of fiddling.
The materials limitation can be overcome by using a device that I manufacture, called “Z-Temp” (http://www.z-temp.co) which allows control over extrusion and bed temperature so you can print many PLA-based and other filaments.
If you intend to print ABS or UltraT with the Zortrax you will want side covers; Octave sells a set that’s less expensive and better than the Zortrax ones. That and a glue stick is all you really need for good bed adhesion thanks to the perforated bed and raft.
A Maker Select by Monoprice is cheaper than a zortrax and can handle more types of filaments: http://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=107&cp_id=10724&cs_id=1072403&p_id=13860&seq=1&format=2
Has the same bed size too but doesn’t have the enclosure like the zortrax. Most of the negative reviews I’ve found for the Maker Select are from primarily beginners/ first printer owners. From those with experience, people recommend not using the provided kapton tape and making sure screws are tight but otherwise is a printer well worth the price compared to some of the more pricey competitors.
The company’s dual extrusion printer has an enclosure with one side open, smaller print volume than the Maker, but still can print with more materials than the Zortrax.
Right now my considerations for printers are the Lultzbot, the N2, and the Monoprice.
You are right about the WDi3 newbs complaining. If you don’t mind doing a bit of tinkering, there is plenty of forum help to get it running smoothly. If you are wanting to be able to expanded your production capability, then the WDi3 certainly will make that an affordable option, to have multiple machines producing items. And it is kinda thrilling to be running 3 0r 4 machines, all at the same time (power-user) :smile
This is silly. What sort of company are you recommending here?
I’d stay clear of any company that forces you down the route of proprietary anything. I’d stay clear of any company that isn’t willing to truly listen to and help people. There would be other printers in this price range that has the quality to match without all the silliness. So if the main reason you are recommending this is the quality then I’d say look elsewhere.
I’d also caution anyone about taking up this offer unless they plan on only opening one or two rolls at a time. Filaments can possibly degrade after breaking the seal.
