Printer Recomendation

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cdabc123

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Ive been removed from 3d design for too long as the university I attend didn't provide any access to good 3d printing or cad resources. Ive been fabricating all projects by hand with metal, carbon fiber, and other materials with nothing but napkin sketches to go by.

So im looking to get a 3d printer. I do enjoy doing stuff at a hobbyist level and wouldn't mind making the printer a project or upgrading it. But, I wouldnt be opposed to something that is nearly ready to go right off the bat. My budget is ~$500 for everything. Unfortunately, $99 of that will be dedicated to a solidworks license as the free cad options are unacceptable. I have masterful solidworks skillz and am almost more excited for the cad modeling then printing.

As far as printers, I see some cheap "parts" on ebay for things like an ender 3 ($70). Ive messed with one of them before and it printed well after upgrade, but was still temperamental. I see, used k1 for $375 or new ones around $400. Are these printers pretty decent/worth it out the box?

Other brand recommendations or input is appreciated. I do have a microcenter I could go to and do some in person splurging if they have anything decent.
 
K1 seems to work fine from what I've heard. Seems they ironed out the teething issues with revisions.

If you want an enclosed printer that's probably your best bet for your budget.

Personally just bought an ender 3 v3 KE for $220-ish. Creality has really stepped up the features with the SE and KE. Completely obsoletes every ender 3 before.
 
Following I want to get into printing but i am trying to decide if it should be a buy once cry once sort of purchase
 
I had an AnyCubic Kobra Go and a Creality 5 S1. Both died close to the 1 year mark. Being new to 3d printing I don't know if I did something wrong with either (the Kobra had homing issues out of the box and the Creality SD card port literally ripped out of the motherboard) but the Creality always had a lot of complaints on Reddit. I have an AnyCubic Kobra Max 2 (500mm/s!) being delivered tomorrow. Hope it lasts longer.
 
pbassjunk said:
I had an AnyCubic Kobra Go and a Creality 5 S1. Both died close to the 1 year mark. Being new to 3d printing I don't know if I did something wrong with either (the Kobra had homing issues out of the box and the Creality SD card port literally ripped out of the motherboard) but the Creality always had a lot of complaints on Reddit. I have an AnyCubic Kobra Max 2 (500mm/s!) being delivered tomorrow. Hope it lasts longer.
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Yeah careful with the max. Large bed slinger + speed doesn't really work out well for stability.
 
Still looking, nothing great really stands out. I see used local ender 5s for $150. no great deals on k1s. Is upgrading and monkeying with a ender 3 or 5 really the best bet? A new ender 3 v3 KE is kinda expensive compared to parts and upgrades for a v2

I see some local makerbots, Those are pretty a pretty old design at this point?
 
cdabc123 said:
Still looking, nothing great really stands out. I see used local ender 5s for $150. no great deals on k1s. Is upgrading and monkeying with a ender 3 or 5 really the best bet? A new ender 3 v3 KE is kinda expensive compared to parts and upgrades for a v2

I see some local makerbots, Those are pretty a pretty old design at this point?
Click to expand...
A KE blows away a v2. I just got one for $230 and it'd take significantly more than that for a v2 + upgrades to compare.

Off the top of my head a v2 would need:
Bed leveling sensor
Bimetallic hotend
Direct extruder
Better cooling
Dual z axis
Linear x/y
PEI build plate
Raspberry pi and maybe new board to run Klipper

There's no way to replicate the automatic z offset.

I might be missing some more.
 
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