Recommendations for a 3D Printer

SpeedAU on 22/12/2024 - 21:10
Last edited 22/12/2024 - 23:56 by 2 other users

Hi, I’m starting to think a 3D printer would be a great investment for me. I often find myself wanting to create accessories or holders for network equipment, specifically UniFi prosumer gear that isn’t rack mountable.

Since I’m new to 3D printing and know very little about it, I’m looking for recommendations on a budget friendly printer. Ideally, I’d like something that’s reliable, can handle most common tasks or prints from sites like Thingiverse, and uses cost-effective refill materials.

What would you suggest as a good starting option?

• 

  Hybroid on 22/12/2024 - 21:14

  +2

  That depends what your budget is. Bambu Labs is a decent starting point. There are dedicated websites, reviews and subreddits to do your research before you plonk any cash down.

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  duk242 on 22/12/2024 - 21:15

  +3

  100% get one of the Bambu ones.

  I've been using the Ender 3's for years.. got a Bambu P1S and it just works and is so good. Yeah it'll cost you a bit more, but it's so so so much better.

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  sumyungguy on 22/12/2024 - 21:20

  +1

  Are you in Brisbane? You could try the ones in the State Library or Logan (Hyperdome) Libraries to get an intro. I need to make a part for a floor mop so I'm planning to learn more about Thingiverse and submit my design for printing on their printers.

  • 

    SpeedAU on 22/12/2024 - 21:26

    they have printers you can use?

    • 

      sumyungguy on 22/12/2024 - 21:39

      Hyperdome Library: Prusa i3 MK2S; State Library: Prusa i3 MK3 & Prusa MK4 but you have to enrol to do an induction.

      • 

        rumblytangara on 23/12/2024 - 09:20

        You might want to check the prices of library printing- my local library charges 50c per gram of filament. That's $500 for an entire spool of PLA, which typically retails for $20.

        Randomly selected STLs- a mount for an AP uses 36g of filament, an under-desk mount for a Cloudkey uses 105g.

        One of the really big deals about printing that people don't mention is the ability to repeatedly prototype- you can do umpteen design revisions on screen, then the first time you print it out you realise that something needs to be tweaked. For a keyboard shell, I've printed maybe 5 versions each with minor changes.

        @OP A1 Mini, or an A1. The former is just of $300.

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  Mike-A on 22/12/2024 - 21:25

  +3

  Budget, go a Bambu A1.
  i built my first printer from a friend who printed parts + hardware, then had a original series Makerbot, then a couple others that are more recent, honestly, I now have a x1c, first printer i happily just print random crap and more accessories & storage options than any other printer I've previously owned. I enjoyed my previous experiences, but felt like real effort to get a good print, not the case with these Bambu's, it's now a true "tool" to help you achieve other things.

  Here's some random stuffs for your unifi kit: https://makerworld.com/en/search/models?keyword=unifi

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  Jimothy Wongingtons on 22/12/2024 - 22:14

  +1

  A1 or a1 mini

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  pegaxs on 22/12/2024 - 23:32

  +1

  Had a AnyCubic Mega for years (free from work to test out prototypes and to fluff around with) and it’s really decent for what it does…

  Pulled the trigger this year on a Bambu P1P and Jeezus, the quality and speed are insane… prints that would take an hour on the AnyCubic take about 10 mins on the Bambu. I had a print for a pamphlet box ready to go, but on the AnyCubic, I held off, because it was a 28h print… on the Bambu, it was less than 4 hours. It’s nuts how fast and how good the prints are.

  But with that being said, it’s more of an industrial printer than it is a home hobbyist printer. It will do shit that will never be able to use it to its full potential, but the reason I got it was because work gave me a sizeable chuck of change and I print shit for work on it…

  If I was to get my own with my own money and wasn’t printing for work, I would have gotten one of the Bambu A series printers with the AMS or something a bit simpler.

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  apsilon on 23/12/2024 - 05:58

  +1

  Bambu is hard to go past today as others have said but the big question is, can you create your own 3D models? The printer is just the bit that spits out the item, without the model it's just a paper weight. We see it all the time as we sell 3D printed items. People say they'll just get their own printer without realising that hundreds of hours of gone into designing and tweaking the model. You may be able to get away with downloading others models but you specifically mentioned creating your own.

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  ScottyDont on 23/12/2024 - 08:47

  Our local library prints for $1/hr, and there are plenty of people offering similar near me. If you don't want to spend much on a printer this could be another option, as budget generally needs more work to get good quality

  • 

    rumblytangara on 23/12/2024 - 09:24

    There's no extra filament cost? That's far more reasonable than my library.

    • 

      ScottyDont on 23/12/2024 - 12:57

      +1

      No there isn't for PLA, they may charge more for other filaments. I'm not sure if it's subsidised by the council but it's very competitive. They have a flashforge guider 2s so it's decent quality too.

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  foursaken on 23/12/2024 - 10:28

  +2

  There's two kinds of people who want to 3D print. Those who are interested in 3D printing, and those who wanna make stuff. If you wanna make stuff, I agree with all the ocmments - Bambu. Now go learn CAD. That's by far the steepest learning curve.