I am looking to buy a 3D printer for my son (and for myself too). We want to print, not tinker, so it should be something that gives great results right from the start.
Can you guide me to a sensible choice?
My first choice would have to be the Prusa MK3S Plus but it is outside the price range I am shopping for, except if I buy used – would that be bad to do?
Realistic choices:
- €380 used Prusa MK3S+, with 10 days printing time
- €400 new Prusa Mini+
- €250 new Ender 3 V2 Neo
Criteria:
- High quality, no hassle. I want to print, not tinker.
- Preferably (semi)assembled.
- Auto bed leveling.
- Auto error detection (filament, power, etc.?).
- Budget up to 600 EUR/USD including extras, excluding filament.
- Speed is not important.
- Size is not important.
- Must not be cloud-based.
Questions:
- Surface?! Smooth, os satin, or textured? (Why) Should I have more than one kind?
- (Why) Do I need an enclosure?
I agree. The point of mentioning it is how simple enclosures can be. The creality enclosure is literally just a pop-up hamper with metalized nylon.
You don’t need to go hog wild with it or In any case…my FDM printer probably doesn’t fit a lack. It already barely fits on my workbench desk.
Though if you have something like a voron, where there’s vslot frame all the way around it… some thin plexiglass can just slide into the vslot. If you want a very tight seal, silicone caulk inside first. The front face uses ball bearings imbedded around a u-track edging that snap to small magnets imbeddd into some vslot slot covers (all printed.)