What budget / model recommendations for a 3D printer

[Endeleus]

My daughter has expressed an interest in getting a 3D printer, which is great because I've wanted one for ages and this way I can disguise it as a birthday / Christmas present.

It's not a technology I've been very close to. What kind of budget should I be looking at for a decent machine, and what brands should I consider?

This will live in my workshop, and quality / durability are a higher consideration than budget (within reason). What would be a good professional / light commercial model to consider? Is £1,000 a reasonable budget assumption, or is there a massive gap between hobbyist and professional models?

Also, how much do I realistically need to budget for day 1 essentials over and above the machine itself, whether that's consumables, software, or anything a first-time buyer might not think of?

 

[Screwdriver]

Bambu P1 was the best option last time I looked. Really decent machine, very good value, works out of the box.

<edit> scratch that. Just saw your budget. Get yourself a Bambu Carbon X1. Fully enclosed so better for the workshop.

 

[David_W]

I'd suggest a P model anyway, the X series are nice but a lot more money. Then get a hardened nozzle if you want to play with different filament which you will, and shedloads of filament. PLA is surprisingly decent and easy to start, PETG gives you outdoor and a bit more strength and still easy to print.
Not many other accessories needed, might well end up using some threaded inserts.
Then just getting to grips with a CAD package, the Bambu slicer is already good and free.

 

[hotponyshoes]

I've got a few 3d printers now,
I recently got a Flashforge Adventurer 5M
(Recommended on here)

I like the build of it, it's a rugged frame which means I can keep it on a shelf then lift it onto the desk to use it. I can also stack boxes of stuff on top of it when it's not being used. It can be moved around without any risk of knocking anything out of alignment.

Very easy to set up. I haven't done any adjustment or anything, just started using it how it came and it's printing fine.

You might want a cover for it if the workshop is dusty although you could easily find a fully enclosed printer within your budget.

The Flashforge 5m is only about £200 new.
It only comes with a 0.4mm nozzle.
Extra nozzles are expensive, £30-40 but they are very easy to change and work perfectly. A 0.25mm and a 0.6mm should cover most requirements.
Apparently you should use a different nozzle for each type of filament but I'm not and I've not had any problems.
I'd think £300-350 should get you one of those, extra nozzles, and a few rolls of filament.

The only issue I have with it is it won't reliably connect to my computer. I have to save the files to a USB stick and transfer manually.
The software/slicer (free download) is easy to use and works fine.

I'd keep away from the "industrial' ones.
I bought an (ultimaker?) at a clearance auction. Had a retail price of over £10k! Big free-standing thing. Nice but I never got it going as the software and drivers didn't seem to be easy to find or required me to pay (poa!) for a licence.

If it's for the daughter find out what she wants to print as she might well want a printer that supports multiple colours.
Actually, I keep meaning to get one that supports multiple filament so I can try out dissolvable supports..

 

[hotponyshoes]

As david_w says, if you want to make functional stuff inserts are pretty handy.
I didn't bother to buy any at the start but I have built up quite a collection of various sizes.
I also use helicoils fairly regularly and print the threads for them directly into the part.
Same with keenserts although the price of them means I don't use them so much.

The little noga micro deburring tools are also very handy for cleaning up printed stuff, and the bigger ceramic ones useful as well.

 

[iNf]

The bambu p1s is enclosed and works 'out of the box' it's fast easy to use, supports multi filament printing, (usually cheaper to buy the ams at the same time) quite a few on here have them. Lots of info online. Mine is in my workshop and not had any problems. There's a phone/tablet app as well as on the pc for sending prints directly to the printer. Probably the easiest option if you are new to 3d printing.

 

[Misterg]

My daughter has expressed an interest in getting a 3D printer

What does she want to print with it?

For functional stuff, FDM (extruded filament) printers are great, but if her interest is in fine detail prints of sculptures, figurines, miniature gaming pieces, etc. then she may well be better of with an SLA (UV cured resin) printer.

 

[Newlands]

I’ve got a Bambu X1C, which I think has been superseded by the p1s that @iNf mentioned above. It has always worked perfectly, great quality prints and easy to set up. My grandson has the smaller Bambu (can’t remember the model number but it’s the one that isn’t enclosed, but does have a 4 spool AMS fitted). He’s only 12, but gets along with it just fine.

For consumables, get a few rolls of different coloured filament (PLA to start with as it’s so easy to print with). I’d also get an assorted box of threaded inserts from Aliexpress (only a few £s) and maybe some metric machine screws if you don’t already have some. Maybe a roll of carbon reinforced filament and a roll of the flexible TPU at some point in the future.

As for software, you don’t need anything if you only want to print other people’s designs from Thingiverse etc, but if you want to print anything really useful you need some sort of CAD program. I use the free version of Fusion, others have their own favourites (some of which I’ve tried and not got on with at all, including Solidworks, which is the work of the devil imo).

Only other things I can think of are some spare nozzles and a small tube of silicone grease for the lead screws on the axes), a small pair of side-cutters, maybe a soldering iron to install your threaded inserts.

 

[theweldingchippy2.0]

Budget, can't go wrong with a Ender 3

What I have and as far as I'm concerned it's a good one to learn on.

But I learn through mistakes, so it may be why I like it

 

[Endeleus]

Thanks all for the comments. I've been down a bit of a YouTube rabbit hole the past couple of days researching this.

I think my title could have been clearer, as I was asking what budget I would need to set aside, rather than looking for a budget entry level machine. I didn't know if £1,000 was reasonable for a decent machine, or if it would be double that - it seems there are perfectly good, solid options in the £400 - £1,000 range which is great.

I already have enough projects on the go, so looking for a machine that mostly just works out of the box, rather than building something up from a kit. From what I've seen, Bambu appear to be a relatively recent entrant to the market, but have been a disruptor in a good way. There are loads of paid shill videos, and seems anyone discussing 3D printing on YouTube has been given a free machine to review - but I did find a few non-sponsored channels where those who had run a range of different brands / machines over the years were still generally positive about the Bambu machines, and highlighted some of the weaknesses.

The "I want one of those" option is the H2C Laser Full Combo. At £2.5k, this is a bit beyond even my stretch budget, and seems some of the functions such as the laser cutting aren't fully mature yet - it looks like there's already provision built in for IR lasers in a future iteration, so maybe in a couple of years or more the equivalent model may be an option if I really get in to this. Too expensive and complex for a first machine.

So after 2 days of research, I had settled on the P2S Combo as being my preferred choice - at £700, it's less than I thought I would need to spend, but looks like a great all round machine with excellent reviews. There are a few inherent glitches such as the plastic tube rubbing against the top glass, and some varying opinions on the airflow, but there are some well established workarounds and fixes that can themselves be 3D printed. I'm going to give myself about a month to ponder before buying, but this looks like good bang for my buck.

But wait, what's this.... yesterday, the X2D appeared out of nowhere on the Bambu site. For an extra £70 this is a dual nozzle machine, which I understand would be useful to have one nozzle for support material in addition to the main one. On the face of it, this looks like a great option also, and I saw on Reddit a load of people who had recently bought the P2S suddenly having buyers remorse. Maybe the X2D is a better option?

So it's a toss-up between the P2S and X2D. As this will be my first machine, I've nothing to compare it to, so either looks like a solid option. The P2S is reliable and proven, but the X2D looks a little more new and shiny. I'm sure over the next few weeks there will be plenty of reviews of the X2D online, so looking forward to seeing the comparisons.

 

[Endeleus]

What does she want to print with it?

For functional stuff, FDM (extruded filament) printers are great, but if her interest is in fine detail prints of sculptures, figurines, miniature gaming pieces, etc. then she may well be better of with an SLA (UV cured resin) printer.

It will be used for functional stuff. I hadn't been aware of the resin option, but as I'm using this as an excuse for a new workshop machine FDM is the way to go. I did check with junior, and she plans to make organisers, brackets and some craft / mechanical experiments. At 9 years old, she's started showing more of an interest in joining me in the workshop at weekends, so I'll be looking out for some fun engineering projects for her.

I suspect my first projects will be organising my tool drawers with the Gridfinity system or similar to get used to the machine, then I have a few bits and pieces that are within my CAD capabilities, such as an adaptor bush for the dust extractor on my wall chaser, brackets for mounting spare batteries on the wall of the workshop / van, replacing knobs that have been missing from my TIG welder for at least 10 years, etc.

 

[Beanwood]

I have teh P1S and P2S. Both good machines - I'd have to say P1S appears slightly more robus so far - one blocked nozzle at 500 or so hours, but nothing else gone wrong - and cheap.
P2S has been slightly more temperamental with a few clogs, and not sticking to the plate so well - but it has a much better camera, and a very easy to swap nozzle if you want to change to a different size etc (For different filament printing - e.g. Wood?)

X2D was launched yesterday - with two nozzles - I can only imagine it will be faster printing if you use two colours as it won't need to purge/reload etc between changes - so maybe if you have the funds, it's the one to go for.

 

[minimutly]

I’ve got a Bambu X1C, which I think has been superseded by the p1s that @iNf mentioned above. It has always worked perfectly, great quality prints and easy to set up. My grandson has the smaller Bambu (can’t remember the model number but it’s the one that isn’t enclosed, but does have a 4 spool AMS fitted). He’s only 12, but gets along with it just fine.

For consumables, get a few rolls of different coloured filament (PLA to start with as it’s so easy to print with). I’d also get an assorted box of threaded inserts from Aliexpress (only a few £s) and maybe some metric machine screws if you don’t already have some. Maybe a roll of carbon reinforced filament and a roll of the flexible TPU at some point in the future.

As for software, you don’t need anything if you only want to print other people’s designs from Thingiverse etc, but if you want to print anything really useful you need some sort of CAD program. I use the free version of Fusion, others have their own favourites (some of which I’ve tried and not got on with at all, including Solidworks, which is the work of the devil imo).

Only other things I can think of are some spare nozzles and a small tube of silicone grease for the lead screws on the axes), a small pair of side-cutters, maybe a soldering iron to install your threaded inserts.

The second part of this is not to be underestimated - if you want to design and make stuff you will need fusion 360 or similar - and a PC to run it on, preferably with wifi capability so you can squirt the code to it. So your budget needs to allow for this!
I bought an Elegoo centauri carbon - it prints beautifully, but I'm still to grasp the drawing package and of course a new PC

 

[iNf]

The second part of this is not to be underestimated - if you want to design and make stuff you will need fusion 360 or similar - and a PC to run it on, preferably with wifi capability so you can squirt the code to it. So your budget needs to allow for this!
I bought an Elegoo centauri carbon - it prints beautifully, but I'm still to grasp the drawing package and of course a new PC

If you already have a pc/laptop try Onshape it does the heavy lifting in the cloud so doesn't need a superfast pc. I use mine on a minimum spec laptop that runs w11

 

[Endeleus]

I already use TurboCAD for Mac for electrical drawings, so will try to upskill to use the 3D modelling capability.