3 ms·

Funny thing, except for the occasional 3D print that becomes a pile of plastic, they're pretty good. Keep it clean, level, change the nozzle occasionally, use

Funny thing, except for the occasional 3D print that becomes a pile of plastic, they're pretty good. Keep it clean, level, change the nozzle occasionally, use good quality material, and it's pretty good. For 2D printers: they are just money pits due to the toner costs; and do everything they can to make sure you buy Their toner. Buy a name-brand color laser, use it sparingly, and it's a wonderful way to have the occasional color picture, graph, or research report w/color diagrams. (I have a Brother, which I like.)

ilyt 4y ago
Except HP LJ 2100 - that thing will outlive your entire carreer. Our ops dept. threatened helpdesk with stabbing when they wanted to take the "old" one for themselves and get us something "new"
wccrawford 4y ago
It certainly depends on your printer. Some are incredibly reliable, and some are known for being crap. Of course, you can upgrade them, but if you have an off-brand printer it can be hard to find good upgrades to fix the problems. I started off with a clone of a decent printer, but the clones are iffy. I lucked out and got a good one! The next one I bought from that brand was crap. I recently printed a Voron v0.1 and it's been decent so far, and I'm working on some upgrades. Luckily it's really popular and there are lots of known upgrades. The kit was more expensive than my other 2 printers combined, and it's a lot smaller... But I'm planning on using it to completely retrofit at least one of the other 2 now.
- GeorgeTirebiter 4y ago
  I have an Ender 3 with a few upgrades (metal feeder, new springs for platform height adjusting, new silicone boots to keep the head isolated & insulated). What brand was good at first but the 2nd was terrible? I find that when you 'dial in' the particular material (best speeds / feeds / temperatures) then yes, you get reliable performance. But, I find that every spool of material -- especially PETG types --- require some experimentation to find when there is good adhesion to the glass plate, temps, speeds, etc. And, yes, I printed this RJ-45 clip a little while ago in PETG that I know well, and the part looks good; I think I 'overbuilt' the supports because the center is packed full of material.
  - Turing_Machine 4y ago
    One nice thing about the Ender 3 is that through its sheer popularity there's a vast library of printable upgrades and attachments. Probably this is true of some of the other popular models.
  - wccrawford 4y ago
    TronXY. My XY2-Pro printed really well straight from the box. My X5SA-2E was total garbage and needed at least 2 upgrades to print at a basic level, and I never got it printing well. The XY2-Pro is actually an Ender 3 clone, and I think that's part of why it was so good. A friend of mine got a new Ender 3 V2 and it was smooth sailing for her. I definitely recommend the Ender 3 as the budget printer for newcomers. Prusa is another one, though obviously a lot less "budget".

ilyt 4y ago

Except HP LJ 2100 - that thing will outlive your entire carreer. Our ops dept. threatened helpdesk with stabbing when they wanted to take the "old" one for themselves and get us something "new"

wccrawford 4y ago

It certainly depends on your printer. Some are incredibly reliable, and some are known for being crap. Of course, you can upgrade them, but if you have an off-brand printer it can be hard to find good upgrades to fix the problems. I started off with a clone of a decent printer, but the clones are iffy. I lucked out and got a good one! The next one I bought from that brand was crap. I recently printed a Voron v0.1 and it's been decent so far, and I'm working on some upgrades. Luckily it's really popular and there are lots of known upgrades. The kit was more expensive than my other 2 printers combined, and it's a lot smaller... But I'm planning on using it to completely retrofit at least one of the other 2 now.

GeorgeTirebiter 4y ago
I have an Ender 3 with a few upgrades (metal feeder, new springs for platform height adjusting, new silicone boots to keep the head isolated & insulated). What brand was good at first but the 2nd was terrible? I find that when you 'dial in' the particular material (best speeds / feeds / temperatures) then yes, you get reliable performance. But, I find that every spool of material -- especially PETG types --- require some experimentation to find when there is good adhesion to the glass plate, temps, speeds, etc. And, yes, I printed this RJ-45 clip a little while ago in PETG that I know well, and the part looks good; I think I 'overbuilt' the supports because the center is packed full of material.
- Turing_Machine 4y ago
  One nice thing about the Ender 3 is that through its sheer popularity there's a vast library of printable upgrades and attachments. Probably this is true of some of the other popular models.
- wccrawford 4y ago
  TronXY. My XY2-Pro printed really well straight from the box. My X5SA-2E was total garbage and needed at least 2 upgrades to print at a basic level, and I never got it printing well. The XY2-Pro is actually an Ender 3 clone, and I think that's part of why it was so good. A friend of mine got a new Ender 3 V2 and it was smooth sailing for her. I definitely recommend the Ender 3 as the budget printer for newcomers. Prusa is another one, though obviously a lot less "budget".