New to 3d Printing  

RE: New to 3d Printing

hi Mark. 

On the prusa forum. You are likely to get biassed responses. 

I have had. MK1,MK2, MK2 with mmu2, MK3, mk3s, mk3s with mmu2 And mmu3, MK3.9 And Sl1s, plus xyz davinci, and geeetech prusa i3 pro B clone 

The geeetech was junk from day one

The davinci was closed design with locked slicer and proprietary filament. I gave them away.

I donated a working upgraded MK1, to a friend.

And I still have the mk2-mmu1, the MK3 s, Mmu3,MK3.9 and SL1.

And they all still work well. Ages range from about 7years old. For the MK2. To about 4months is for the MK3.9

Any cubic have a good following .

bambu labs are the new kids in the block 

Any of your options should be ok

Joan 

RE: New to 3d Printing

Thanks for the reply, I suspected it might get biased responses.  What about either of the two Prusa models i mentioned, as a newbie would it be a step to far and do they have an app so I can control from my phone and Mac? I think with the earlier model it has no WiFi so would need an add on, is this viable if I am paying £350 to start with? 
thanks 

mark 

RE: New to 3d Printing

a well maintained mk3 is worth considering, you can add network connectivity with a raspberry pi.
I have used pi3b, pi4b, and i think pi0w.

you wont get a mk4 for £350, Mk4 is good but expensive first step.

with Prusa, you get online support (Chat),  you can download all printable parts, and firmware upgrades, and you can get peer to peer support here and on facebook. 
Parts are open source. and work well with Prusa Slicer.

Upgrades are available... for mk3 series printers
I have never used an anycubic printer. 
My Geeetech was junk... but that's old news modern versions may be better
the davinci printed reasonably well, but filament was expensive, and spares were hard to get.
never used Bambu, or Ankermake.

If you have a friend locally who 3d Prints, 
It may be a good idea to get a printer that they are familiar with, so they can help you
Is there a maker space or hacker space near you? 
My local Hackerspace has a Prusa Mk3S 

regards Joan

RE: New to 3d Printing

I would recommend an MK3x to start with. The mechanics and firmware are already relatively well developed. You might be able to get a used one for about £ 350.

You can upgrade the MK3x with a Raspberry Pi (Wlan) and there are plenty of plugins for a print server such as Octoprint.

wbr,

Karl

RE: New to 3d Printing

One of my work colleagues is very satisfied with the previous model of the following printer:

https://www.artillery3d.com/products/sidewinder-x4-pro

He only prints PLA and PETG with it.

wbr,

Karl

RE: New to 3d Printing

Thanks for the replies, I am actuall considering the prusa mini plus, any thoughts? 
cheers

RE:

> small parts, tool holders etc
> easy to use
Sounds like Prusa Mini+ that works out of the box without any extra work.
If you think this suits your needs or you get the idea how it goes (after 6 months or so) then you more likely be interested in getting second printer, a different one, but you will know more about the 3d print in general.

So you can ask yourself - do you need a tool or a project? some printers are more like a project than a tool.

RE: New to 3d Printing

Hi Mark, Welcome to the 3D printing community. My suggestion to anyone starting out in 3D printing is to buy the printer you can afford. All of the printers you have mentioned are all good choices but for someone like yourself that is just starting out, you're going to have a learning curve, like any new skill or hobby that you pursue. 

So it really doesn't matter too much which make, brand or model you choose until you've mastered all of the intricacies of the hobby first. My suggestion is to just pick one in your budget and get to it. Before you know it you'll be a 3D printing aficionado and you'll have a fleet of Benchy's adorning your desk, bookshelf and any spare space you can find for your ever-growing fleet of Benchy's haha

Good luck

RE:

Thanks again, I have just purchased as Prusa Mini Plus with about 20 days usage for £220, seems like a good price to find out if I like it or not.   One thing that swayed me to this model/Prusa was not the speed of print, app or other nice to haves was that it has a great community, very extensive troubleshooting guides, advice and easy to buy spare parts, oh and its not made in China, not that I have anything against that, its just my personal preference. 

Any help or tips for when it arrives would be great, is there anything I should be checking once it arrives or should I just get printing? 

One thing I would like to know is it comes with a wifi card (which has not been installed yet).  Will this enable me to print start the printer from another room through an app on my phone and I also run use a MacBook, is this a problem?  maybe I should have checked that already but the excitement of buying got the better of me and I have been researching for a few days now lol. 

Thanks 

Mark 

RE: New to 3d Printing

Hi Mark, 
I Don't have a Mini. 

The Printer needs to be physically turned on at the mains, Then I believe that you can load a Gcode file over Wifi, and Instruct the Printer to start a print, over wifi

So, Yes you can start a print, 
No you can't switch the mains on or off via integral  wifi. 

Some folk use a Wifi Switch via a different application to turn the power on and off... 

Please note, 
you should always allow the printer to cool to below 50C on the extruder before turning power off, otherwise you risk a blockage in the extruder when you next print.

regards Joan

RE: New to 3d Printing

After you have placed the printer on a flat surface, you should check the axis symmetry and calibrate the printer:

https://help.prusa3d.com/article/squaring-your-mini_158518

https://help.prusa3d.com/tag/mini/calibration_199

Have fun with the Prusa Mini 👍 

wbr,

Karl

RE: New to 3d Printing

Mini has ethernet port so you could connect it to the router/switch with a normal ethernet cable directly, and I would say this is the fastest and most reliable way to connect to printer.
It can have also Wifi module installed inside the main box (you would have to open it to see it).

RE:

Posted by: @karl-herbert

One of my work colleagues is very satisfied with the previous model of the following printer:

https://www.artillery3d.com/products/sidewinder-x4-pro

He only prints PLA and PETG with it.

wbr,

Karl

Thanks, really useful information, it worked

RE:

With WIFI or ETH connection you can connect to your Local LAN and using the PrusaLink you can control the printer locally within your LAN. If you have internat connection you can use Using Prusa Connect cloud and you can print from anywhere in the world. No application needed just a internet browser.

RE: New to 3d Printing

Hey Mark! For a reliable, long-term option with lots of tweakability, the Prusa MK4 is great, though it’s pricier. If you want to save a bit, the used Prusa MK3+ (with the Super PINDA upgrade) is still an excellent choice. The Anycubic Cobra Pro 2 is a good budget-friendly option for beginners, while the Bambu Lab A1 is fast and high-quality but pricier. All are solid choices depending on your budget and needs

RE: New to 3d Printing

Bambu are currently revising their service model and some bambu owners are very upset. Check the situation out before investing

Joan 

RE: New to 3d Printing

Honestly, if you are willing to spend the money on a Mk4, I would hold out for the new Core One.

RE: New to 3d Printing

If you were going Prusa, I wouldn't recommend anything less then a MK4. The jump from the MK3s to 4 was significant and makes a difference. In fact I would say get a kit and build your own - you will learn so much more as you go through the build - I have video guides in my sig if you wanted to watch them through and see the process beforehand....

BambuLab are great printers too. However, when using multicolor the amount of waste puts me off - so I only use mine for coasters or anything where its just the first few layers are coloured, and the rest is a solid colour - that way I minimise wastage - anything else goes through my Prusa, where the wastage is minimal and the filament changes are much faster. Also BambuLab are a very 'closed garden' company. If you just want to print and don't care for anything else, great, but they follow the 'do it our way' principle and want to limit you to their way or nothing. Also I won't use any of their cloud services either. Honestly, it's a great machine, brilliant for beginners, and I respect them for what they have done, but I still prefer Prusa overall.

RE: New to 3d Printing

I read you purchased a printer but information is useful.

iftibashir said much of what I was going to say.  I am coming up to the 2nd year of actual 3D printing and started with a MK3+.  In my recent travels, I have seen many 3D printers in use and every location I was at had at least 1 Prusa printer.    One place with a large number of printers just got a MK4 and the prints are fast and beautiful.  They also have an XL as well as many other commercial and hobby printers.

In a university, they have 3 MK3+ and a MK4. 

There is a software program called Octaprint and if you search the forums, you will find lots of information on it.  That is what I use to control my printer.  I have it running on an Orange Pi Zero 2. 

I am looking at the Core One as my next printer.  I like working with my hands so I purchased the kit for my MK3 and a case to help control dust and air flow around the printer in my workshop.