I am interested in getting a 3D printer but I have no idea where to even started. Is there such thing as a multi-purpose printer? What’s a good source to read up on printers, software, filament?
I am thinking small replacements items like drawer guides, funnel for espresso machine, essentially little parts and pieces that break around the house and farm. Also maybe some device cases (including outdoor ones) etc.
Ideally I don’t want a closed system. I have a Cricut for 10 years or so and I hate being locked into the app so much. Unless there is a really, really good reason.
Edited to add: Thank you all! What an amazing community!
I have done some resin crafting by hand and I agree. Finicky at best and while super cool it’s not my thing. FDM it is.
I want to print not tinker. So the Prusa isn’t great for out of the box printing? I tried to read up on it but I am not sure if I look at the right information. The Bambu mini? Not something like the P2S?
Thanks for the explanation on filament types. I have seen these but didn’t know which is which. I’ll go with PLA to start for sure then! No need to overcomplicate it in the beginning!
Prusa printers are also “turn on and print” nowadays, except if you buy it as a build-it-yourself kit. And even that is like a more advanced Lego kit, the instructions are very thorough, with community comments for every step. They’re very easy to repair, and you can usually buy upgrade kits to upgrade them to the next version.
I agree that If you don’t have a filter system or some way to vent the printers outside, stick to PLA for indoor items, PETG for things that might be in the sun, and potentially TPU for rubbery parts. You don’t even need an enclosure for those.
If you have the budget for it, get a Prusa MK4S or Core One. In my opinion, the only reason not to buy a Prusa is the price.
What about the mini? I see that Prusa does get quite expensive quickly with shipping and taxes.
The mini is OK, but starting to be pretty outdated.
Prusa’s work just fine out of the box. And if you have a problem, Prusa is well known for their support for their printers for years. But Prusa also allows a bit of tinkering if you decide you want to. But it’s not necessary.
I don’t know what kind of farming you do, but if you think you want to print some repair parts for farm machinery, you are probably going to want to use some of the expensive engineering filaments for best results at some point. Qidi is the only really accessible consumer grade printers really capable of high end engineering filaments. I would recommend the Qidi Q2. It’s capable of printing filaments that other brands can’t. Plus it has the first and only printer certified by MET, a testing organization recognized by OSHA.
That’s good to know. I think the openness of Prusa is really appealing as long as it’s not more tinkering than printing.
Re farming I am more thinking about small enclosures for sensors for example. I am just learning about Lora networking and such and it would be great to build some sensors e.g. for soil moisture. The boards are really cheap but they need a case to protect from elements. I assumed I would need a different filament for anything outdoors but I haven’t looked into it yet.
We also had some smaller things break on the quad, tractor, equipment like caps or covers and stuffs hard to find. Not actual parts though. I get your point though I might have to brain storm a bit more on what exactly to make a good call on what the printer capability needs to be.