3d printers.

[MadGamerAK]

Any recommendations for a 3d printer good for printing little things like arms etc. Biggest thing I would end up printing would probably be cheap. If you know any that are cheap, affordable (Around 450$ and under) and get the job done fairly quickly, let me know please. Thanks!

Edited December 25, 2024 by MadGamerAK
Wanted to add a word.

[NovemberIX]

I've used AnyCubic Photons for a few years now, my current is a Photon Mono X 6Ks,  you can get a Mono 2 for $147.00, though anycubic is running a sale so there's a few options under 450.

 

I think a small printer for a few things can be pretty handy, though I am partial to a larger build plate if only to reduce the number of prints I need to do and maximize sub assemblies.

[MadGamerAK]

Thanks!
 

[phandaal]

My Saturn 2 works great! Has not given me any trouble despite running frequently for over a year now. Looks like that model is out of stock now though and they switched to the Saturn 3, and looks that still clocks in around $300.

[N1SB]

Brothers, ask you 2 honest questions:

 

• What's the electricity cost like and are newer printers more energy efficient?  My friend Timperial Guard leaves projects like overnight
• What's the smell or sound like?  I think the smell is ok from where I've seen ppl place their printers, not that bad, but is it noisy please?

 

These are like the hidden, non-obvious costs.  Because my friend Timperial Guard would tell me how cheap 3D printing is, then I'd ask him to hook me up with a mini (for like BattleTech, like I wanted a specific Mecha) and instantly he'd go like "pfft, no, just buy it online (for US$5 + shipping)" and I started realising there might be other costs.

[phandaal]

10 minutes ago, N1SB said:

Brothers, ask you 2 honest questions:

 

• What's the electricity cost like and are newer printers more energy efficient?  My friend Timperial Guard leaves projects like overnight
• What's the smell or sound like?  I think the smell is ok from where I've seen ppl place their printers, not that bad, but is it noisy please?

 

Electricity is negligible. Realistically a printer is just a small motor for moving the plate up and down plus a UV lamp that comes on for a few seconds at a time. You will not notice any difference in your electric bill.

 

The sound is a light buzzing noise when the plate is moving, pretty much fades into the background.

 

The smell is what will get you. Printers definitely have to be kept in a garage or well-venilated area. The models themselves do not smell once the resin is cured, but uncured resin gives off a lot of vapors that should not be allowed to spread around the house.

[Moonstalker]

When budgeting for your printer, make sure you account for all the extras you will need, too.  Biggest ticket item would be a wash/cure station (essentially an alcohol bath and UV light setup that will remove any uncured resin and bring the print up to its final hardness).  But you will also need PPE (resin is toxic, keep it off your skin and don't breath the vapors.  A respirator mask and gloves are a must, and a shallow pan to keep the printer on to contain spills is a good idea) and a good, steady work surface to set it up on.  You probably don't want to set it up on your desk next to your computer.

[Evil Eye]

The good thing about 3D printing is that the actual quality of the machines has reached a point where even cheaper yesterday's-model printers are going to be absolutely great quality, they'll just lack some of the fancier bells and whistles that come bundled with the newer stuff. My printer (Elegoo Mars 3 Pro) goes for like, £130 and still prints amazing quality minis. 

 

Re: smell, it is worth mentioning that you can get enclosures for printers (they look similar to grow tents, incidentally) which from what I understand are absolutely fantastic for keeping fumes dealt with.

[Borbarad]

8 hours ago, NovemberIX said:

I've used AnyCubic Photons for a few years now, my current is a Photon Mono X 6Ks,  you can get a Mono 2 for $147.00, though anycubic is running a sale so there's a few options under 450.

I also have a Photon Mono X 6Ks and it works very well for small, detailed parts.

 

Be aware that your choice of resin will also strongly influence the quality of prints. I had good experience with Creality LCD 8K resin. 

[Doghouse]

On 12/25/2024 at 1:53 AM, N1SB said:

Brothers, ask you 2 honest questions:

 

• What's the electricity cost like and are newer printers more energy efficient?  My friend Timperial Guard leaves projects like overnight
• What's the smell or sound like?  I think the smell is ok from where I've seen ppl place their printers, not that bad, but is it noisy please?

 

These are like the hidden, non-obvious costs.  Because my friend Timperial Guard would tell me how cheap 3D printing is, then I'd ask him to hook me up with a mini (for like BattleTech, like I wanted a specific Mecha) and instantly he'd go like "pfft, no, just buy it online (for US$5 + shipping)" and I started realising there might be other costs.

 

Based on my personal experience. For the longest time everything I read online put me off until one day I finally bit the bullet and never looked back.

 

Electricity costs are very low, I have the Saturn 2 and it's basically a motorized arm and a UV light. You will need Isopropyl Alcohol for cleaning unless you use the water washable variant. You don't need a washing station, for more prints I use a Pickle Jar strainer and find I can reuse the alcohol for several washes.

Noise is fairly quiet, not as loud as an old fashion paper printer but more of a brief motor sound as it pulls the plate off the bottom then lowers it back down. You will hear a slight snap sound if you listen closely but this is a good sound as it is detaching from the FEP film.

 

The smell isn't great but you can get resins that have little odor but to be honest the odor is telling you not to breath this stuff in so try no to get complacent. You can get chalk filters to go in the Saturn printers that do reduce some of the harmful  odors but you really do need a ventilated room. I use the same precautions as I do when painting walls in doors to be honest.

 

I've never had any issues with contact to skin on my hands but still wear the rubber gloves to be certain, most of the time you are only really being exposed at the cleaning stage.

 

 In terms of value for money I can probably get over a demi company of marines from one bottle which is normally about £30.

 

A marine size model normally takes about 2-3 hours depending on the positioning. I once printed truescale rhinos in one piece and they took 11 hours each. If you do large models always remember to hollow them in Lychee or Chitubox and to leave a drainage hole as the inside will cure to certain degree on the model BUT will capture resin as the model is printed meaning it can leak later. Also if you print a rhino you will come back to find a huge brick of resin and your resin tray drained. 

 

Once you strip most of the mystery away it's really simple. I just stick the stl on a thumb drive, put it in the printer, load up with resin and press print. 

 

You will get fails from time to time but you can just go on youtube and there are a bajillion videos on there about it. Just research before you buy.

[Evil Eye]

I'd also like to recommend that you look at durability as your first port of call re: "What resin should I buy?". There are plenty of really strong, durable resins out there, and most "high-detail" resins don't actually have any difference in finished detail quality once painted. Anycubic's resins are very good so I'd suggest starting with them; they're affordable and strong and very easy to print. I'd actually say once you're more familiar with printing, I'd highly recommend Resione Tough 74. It isn't as cheap as some others due to being a specialist product, but it's not TOO expensive, and it is RIDICULOUSLY strong. Like, "borderline plastic" strong. I use it for printing articulated figures, including the joints, so if you want borderline-indestructible prints I'd highly suggest it.

[phandaal]

2 hours ago, Doghouse said:

Once you strip most of the mystery away it's really simple. I just stick the stl on a thumb drive, put it in the printer, load up with resin and press print.

 

The biggest barrier to entry is the perception of the learning curve. Once you actually get into it, there is a small curve while you figure out how the easy bake oven works.

 

After that short curve, it is just another way to get minis. A super cheap way to get as many of them as you want, whenever you want, with a massive amount of variety.

[Doghouse]

2 hours ago, phandaal said:

 

The biggest barrier to entry is the perception of the learning curve. Once you actually get into it, there is a small curve while you figure out how the easy bake oven works.

 

After that short curve, it is just another way to get minis. A super cheap way to get as many of them as you want, whenever you want, with a massive amount of variety.

 

Totally agree. In fact it's so simple once I got the hang of it my pile of shame became HUGE because I kept printing everything and anything.