Help finding a good first 3D printer?

[CorruptedBloby]

Im wanting to get a 3D printer for my birthday because it looks super to tinker and build things with, as well as learn how to use modeling software. I would love a 3D printer that is under $300 if at all possible because this would be a gift I would ask my mom to either get for me or pitch in some money to help me get. I want it to be able to print at least hard plastic and flexible filament. I would also prefer it to be a kit because I love that techie building aspect of things as well as good customer support if needed. Any recommendations? I've been looking at some Ender printers, but I don't know much about them at all. Lastly, how much is filament? I dont know if the budget is too low, so lemme know. Thanks.

 

Edit: The Ender 3 V2 looks pretty good, should I go for that?

[Hackentosher]

Ender 3 is pretty much the way.

[CorruptedBloby]

3 minutes ago, Hackentosher said:

Ender 3 is pretty much the way.

Yeah, i was just watching this video: 

 and it seems like everything id want. And with an upgrade I can get later, I can print flexible filament!

[Hackentosher]

Just be aware that 3d printing is a healthy balance of art and science. Things will break, prints will fail for seemingly no reason and it can be frustrating, but they are wonderful machines. Creality machines, while cheap and wonderful values, have their quirks. The Creality facebook group and subreddits are great community resources you can rely on when things go wrong.

[CorruptedBloby]

Just now, Hackentosher said:

Just be aware that 3d printing is a healthy balance of art and science. Things will break, prints will fail for seemingly no reason and it can be frustrating, but they are wonderful machines. Creality machines, while cheap and wonderful values, have their quirks. The Creality facebook group and subreddits are great community resources you can rely on when things go wrong.

Okay, thanks! Thats really good to know. I'll prolly run into my fair share of issues with it if im able to get it.

[Radium_Angel]

33 minutes ago, Hackentosher said:

Just be aware that 3d printing is a healthy balance of art and science. Things will break, prints will fail for seemingly no reason and it can be frustrating, but they are wonderful machines. Creality machines, while cheap and wonderful values, have their quirks. The Creality facebook group and subreddits are great community resources you can rely on when things go wrong.

How much more money do you have to spend, before quirks and issues go away on a 3d printer, or is this simply a fact of life because 3d printing is still a new(ish) genre?

[Hackentosher]

4 hours ago, Radium_Angel said:

How much more money do you have to spend, before quirks and issues go away on a 3d printer, or is this simply a fact of life because 3d printing is still a new(ish) genre?

Any CNC machine has flaws and imperfections. Even $50k HAAS machines fuck up sometimes. Desktop 3D printers in particular are built to a cost, but even the nice ones can be buggy. My lab has a range of machines, including CR10S Pros, Prusa i3mk3s, and an Ultimaker 3, costing about $600, $1000, and $3500 respectively. Now admittedly the Ultimaker has been one of the more reliable machines of the bunch, but it's not without its flaws. Most recently it occasionally can't talk to the hotend. It also will have adhesion issues despite its autoleveling system. These machines are attempting to control so many variables to complete a complicated task that they are bound to have occasional failures no matter how much you spend. 

 

That said, a more expensive machine will probably be more reliable as a general rule, but that doesn't mean it's perfect and doesn't suffer from some of the common problems that less expensive machines do. After some upgrades, I've heard the Ender 3 is pretty damn good and produces very high quality prints especially for the cost.