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[hopeitfloats]

hi guys. im looking at buying a 3d printer in the not to distant future. would any of the members be able to advise me what I need to look for as far as specifications etc. taking into account im obviously a beginner and not that tech savvy. thanks

[tigertiger]

This is quite and involved topic. It is definitely worth doing a Google search on this.
The technology is moving forward pretty quickly. This link seems up to date (at today Jan 2019). https://all3dp.com/how-to-buy-a-3d-printer/
There are a lot of online guides, but be careful as some of the reviews are not up to date, as are some of the youtube videos on choosing a printer.
If you are just dabbling it is worth considering a 2nd hand printer, there are lots of aftermarket upgrades. This can save you a lot of money and you will get to know your machine very well.  There is a lot of info on buying used printers on the Web as well.


There are also FREE courses on 3D printing, like this one https://www.instructables.com/class/Beginner-3D-Printing-Class/. Doing a couple of these  short course may also help you decide what type of printer you want to buy. You need to register with the Instructables website, but there is no spam and lots of interesting other stuff on there.

[SJG001]

All3dp.com is a good place to start, but there is a lot of crap advice out there about buying a 3d printer so be careful. Also check out some of the Maker pages/books on 3d printing (Amazon). The printers seem to work best in warm / stable temperatures (mine is set up in my living room) and the filament can be badly affected by humidity so consider where you will sit it.


Best advice is decide what you want it to do, write it down and compare the list against the printers. I run a Flashforge printer and it works fine for me.

[timgarrod]

I have a Geeetech A10 and love it over my last one.

they are getting easier to use but still can be a pain at time to use.

[sugarcane]

Hi guys! As for me, the best 3d printer for beginners is Wanhao Duplicator i3 mini.
https://www.wanhaousa.net/product-page/duplicator-i3-mini

The printer costs less than $ 200. But despite the simplicity of the design and low price, it makes high-quality models, especially if they are from PLA.
Here are some of the main pros and cons: Nothing needs to be further customized and invented. To start the printer and print the model you don't need any special knowledge. But this printer doesn't have any heated platform, the case is open and the print area is small but it still large enough for most projects.

If you want to know more about how to choose the 3d printer and make the right decision, I will recommend reading this article. It was very helpful to me. Good luck with your choice!

[RST]

....Thats my steadytech mini printer with a different name on the front, as I pointed out a week ago on sale for under £100 now, I paid £150 and that was dear at the time!!! Mine's great for the money!  As all the reivewers keep saying -just keeps working, and I'm churning out things on mine.  You are pretty limited to PLA only though, but does keep working and a portal into bigger and better.  You just need to find a decent glue stick that works (not as easy as it sounds) and I use the blue "contractors" 3M masking tape on the build plate and get used to the right settings with it in Cura.  Getting it to stick first-off is the key and seems to be more "intuative" after lots of learning time, after that it tends to work pretty much every time afterwards when the first 2 layers are down.

[RST]

 BTW that advert isn't correct.  It does NOT have a heated bed.  The sticker on the suppied bed has an extensive "hot" warning message and you get a spare bed sticker also saying the same -thats as close as it gets to being a hot bed.

[Yoshka]

I have a Prusa which while a bit more expensive it is well made and you can get great results with good support from both the maker and on a Facebook group. You can buy a kit for less or a fully built one. It has a heated bed and one can print a variety of materials.