3D Printer Questions/Recommendations

[NoJoWo]

Hello,

 

I am looking to buy a 3D printer for around $200-$300 USD. I’m mainly looking at the ELEGOO Neptune 3 or 4 Pro to print enclosures and bodies for electrical projects. Is this a good option for my use case? Secondly, I would be housing this in my office that is connected to my bedroom and not very well ventilated, one window and vent in vicinity. Would it be a bad idea/not safe to house it there?

 

Thanks,

 

Nolan

[MarkPol88]

Regarding second question:

If you are afraid of particles and fumes an enclosure and something like this will help:

Filtering kit for 3D printer - Nanoparticles & VOCs killer- Alveo3D

[TVwazhere]

The Bambulab A1 mini is $200 and will likely be better than 98% of most of the Ender style clones out there. The downside is it's a 180mm³ build volume (about 7in³) instead of 220mm² by (usually) 270mm. However, for electrical body project that shouldnt be much of an issue.

 

https://us.store.bambulab.com/products/a1-mini?variant=41513493627016

 

17 hours ago, NoJoWo said:

I would be housing this in my office that is connected to my bedroom and not very well ventilated, one window and vent in vicinity. Would it be a bad idea/not safe to house it there?

Mainly depends on if you want to use ABS/ASA or Engineering level plastics like Nylon. PLA and PETG you should be fine with opening a window and letting it vent naturally as they are thought to have far less airborn vapors as a result of the process. This is how I'm currently using my printer at home.

[Potatoes__]

One more advice advice on keeping your living space with a printer clean - get a cheap handheld vacuum. Over time, tiny bits of plastic shmoo will accumulate all around the printer and its easier to just suck it up occasionally without doing a full on room cleaning session. In my experience, PLA will produce some tiny strings (because I'm lazy and cant figure out proper retraction settings) and those will eventually curl up into something really similar to small dust bunnies. Nothing critical but it's better not having plastic dust flying around your space.

 

For my first printer I got Creality Ender 3 V3 SE, it's really cheap and does a good job for the price, but it needed a lot of love and attention to get it to full potential. If, apart from just printing some stuff, you actually want to tinker with your printer then you can look at some Creality printers, but if you don't want to bother with the printer itself then listen to TVwazhere  and get yourself a Bambulab A1 mini. Highly recommended little printer and I had a buyers remorse after getting an Ender rather than A1 mini.

 

BTW they have A1 non-mini for an extra 100$ I guess, it's pretty much the same as the mini one (which is awesome) but has a properly sized build size. Planning on getting one as well to accompany the Ender