What 3d printer should I buy?

[Legolessed]

I’m looking for a basic beginner 3d printer for about $100. The lower the better. I can stretch that budget to $150 if I find something I really want.I’m not expecting much for the price. I’ve used cad to model ideas in 3d form on the computer but never printed them. Thanks!!

[MattW]

If you want something that you can have up and printing in an hour or two good luck. For that price about all you can get is a cheap kit form china that you will have to assemble, and spend lots of time fine tuning and up grading. This can take days depending on the kit and your skills. If you shop around on some direct from china discount websites you can find prusa i3 clones starting at about $140 usd plus tax, shipping, and possible import duties. I have an Anet a8 (prusa i3 clone) and it cost about $250 and a few weekends to really get working well. I also have another $200 in filament on hand at any time, that's bout 6-8 rolls. 

[Hackentosher]

There are some decent $100-150 machines out there, just ask @makersmuse and @manikyath, but sometimes they take some time to get working. I think before you buy one, you should seriously ask yourself why you want one and how much you would use it. Don't just think of one project. Also do you have 3D modeling skills? If not, a 3D printer is a great way to build and develop those skills and I would argue that it should be required that you have at least a rudementary set of modeling skills so you can use your printer to make things other than trinkets off Thingiverse. If you just make things off thingiverse, then you've bought a very expensive, pain in the ass, toy. I'd get started with Fusion 360, and then maybe look at the CR-10, or the Monoprice printers.

[makersmuse]

Like @Hackentosher said, the cheaper you go the more time (and probably $$$) you'll spend getting it to print. The LOWEST I'd go personally is the tronxy X1, I've reviewed it and it's not bad for the price but needs upgrades and is PLA only, and small. The cetus is awesome for $350 if you want something wifi enabled that will print perfect pretty much every time, again PLA only no heated bed.

[manikyath]

if you only have $150 for a 3D printer, dont. just think about this: a spool of fillament can easily cost around €30, which is already 20% of your budget.

[Ralms]

On 11/1/2017 at 12:29 AM, Legolessed said:

I’m looking for a basic beginner 3d printer for about $100. The lower the better. I can stretch that budget to $150 if I find something I really want.I’m not expecting much for the price. I’ve used cad to model ideas in 3d form on the computer but never printed them. Thanks!!

Hello there,

 

So, I've been lately searching a lot for budget 3d printers too and a lot of people and websites recommend the Anet A8 as a starting point. It's essentially a clone of the Prusa i3 MK1.

It works out of the box but needs some improvements that you can make with the printer itself by 3d printing some parts. There are many guides/videos on youtube about it. 

You can get one in GearBest for around 130$ without filament here: www.gearbest.com/3d-printers-3d-printer-kits/pp_343643.html

 

I was considering getting one to enter the world of 3D printers with something cheap, so that way if I get bored or don't use it anymore it won't be a big investment. 

But since I want to get a dual extruder head I decided to go for a fully custom one from the ground up. Its a lot more work but gives more freedom I think. 

The one I'm considering to do is a clone of the Prusa i3 MK2, there is an awesome guide here: 

If you don't go for a more expensive metal frame, it can be pretty cheap, around 60$ from what this guide says, but from my experience, since you will be buying every single part, it most likely is a bit more in the end. 

 

Hope it helps,

Ralms.