If you're looking at an Ender 5 who can say no for $289.93 or $283.11 if you have EbayPlus.
Having used both the ender 3 and ender 5 as upgraded workhorses both are great printers for the price.
Can also find the Ender 3 for $199 if you're really on a budget https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/142890141342
Update
Looks like the seller has put up extra stock after it going out of stock and put up the price
Not sure if things changed but I had to buy a new motherboard for my Ender 5 because the stock one was unbearably loud. Can only hear the fans on mine now.
Upgrading the Mainboard is common with people who do the hobby for an extended period anyway. If you get a good board it pretty much improves everything about the printer.
How much did the motherboard cost?
I bought this for an ender 3 - BIGTREETECH SKR MINI E3 V2.0. I think it was about $40-45 a year or so ago but ended up getting the touchscreen shortly after. It also fits the Ender5.
This is a touch screen upgrade and the board but you should be able to find the board on its own.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001051286569.html?spm=a2g0o…
I should have gotten the ender 5 instead of the 6. I've been going through reddit and 3d printer forums looking for information and mods. As a first time owner and user, ender 6 isn't a good beginners printer.
Some of those pictures are so dodgy, the first one implying you can print a full-colour Groot. And then there's the failed print one from a power outage where they just copied the picture and put blue line over the part that "didn't print", haha. Anyway looks like a great deal.
That's pretty much most 3D printer listings on ebay and elsewhere haha. Should have a crack at printing a groot model sometime.
What do people print? Do you design your own?
I bought the ender 3v2 and have printed some toys for my son, a DREX (look it up) ), tyre levers for bike and a kombi
I regularly trawl thingiverse - though genuinely interested in what others use it for?
Many people use it for prototyping, particularly paired with electronics.
These days you can get access to small, cheap and powerful embedded controllers that are easily programmed, so building home electronics is very possible.
3d printers give you a way to prototype enclosures and other components that may be necessary.
I print a bunch of Aldi trolley coins and leave them in the car. Sometimes i'll just hand the trolley in the car park to someone going into the store to save me the trip.
Have a look around your home and think to yourself "hmm, that's a little annoying. I wonder if I can 3D print something to fix it?" And off you go.
Download Fusion 360 and follow the Youtube tutorials by Lars Christensen.
Some things I have fixed around the house:
Sofa was too low and didn't allowed my Xiaomi robot vacuum to travel under it. I printed some stands for the sofa legs to slot into and raised it by around 10cm. 3D printed objects are really strong in compression perpendicular to the layers.
Cabinet doors above the rangehood had no handle meaning if you closed them while the rangehood was retracted you could crush your fingers. Designed some handles to protrude from the bottom edge of the doors.
TV was too low on the entertainment unit. Printed some simple blocks and raised it to a more comfortable viewing location.
Aforementioned entertainment unit was too narrow for both the TV and a soundbar in front. Printed some simple C-shaped "clamps" to extend the available area for the soundbar to rest on.
Wife's WFH set up had a laptop riser platform that was a bit front heavy meaning an extra hard push could spell disaster. Designed some simple hooks that slotted into a hole at the base of the legs and went down to hook underneath the table edge to prevent any tilting. Designed it in 30 mins with a pair of vernier calipers. Each hook printed in 34 mins. This was just last night.
Hope that gives you some inspiration!
Wow - thanks so much for takintg the time to detail 👍 It has certainly motivated me, I guess I was stuck at the "what" then "how to design it" step… so you hit the spot
Cheers!
Edit: Do you use the feee version of fusion 360? Adequate for a hacker like me?
Yep get Fusion 360 as a hobbyist and you'll get it for free. You just need to renew it once a year. It's the only thing I use.
This is the first comment in many years of browsing I have bookmarked, thankyou.
Oos
Ender 5 out of stock. Dang. This is the deal i was waiting for.
Looks like they added a little bit more stock.
Is there any direct drive version of the endear on budget?
Nope but its not too hard to print your own parts or buy the Creality kit for $50 and upgrade and existing printer.
Ender 5 price has gone up now $379 bringing it to $322.15 after coupon
Yeah just noticed too. Lame. I even signed up for eBay plus for this. Damnit.
Price jack on aisle 5!
I purchased an ender 3 for $151 delivered a few weeks back (only had 2 left on the listing) and it's fantastic - easily worth $199 if you're looking for something basic.
Took 20 minutes to build and works great!