3D Printer Suggestions?

erinh

I'm building a DIY CNC to make baffles and such for my reviews (with the goal that one day I'll start producing DIY speaker build plans).  The CNC calls for 3D printed parts.  I can either buy those printed parts for a decent price or use this as an excuse to make the plunge in to the 3D printing arena.  Aside from using the printer for the MPCNC I was thinking I could use it for various projects and even DIY waveguides some time in the future.  

I was wondering if any of you have input in to specific models that you use and are happy with.  I've heard good things about monoprice printers.
Are there any aspects that I need to consider and that you would advise; for example, footprint, filament brands, enclosure or not, etc?

I don't want to get hamstrung by budget but I see these things can get expensive.  So, let's say budget-wise, it would be nice to stay below $300.  I don't know if that nets good quality in 3D printing or not, though.  If necessary I could do without a few other things for a bit and spend maybe $600 on one.  

hifiside

Is it a V1-Engineering CNC?

kenrhodes

The Creality Ender three has been a great machine for me. Often on sale for $200 for the pro model.

brek81

I have an early ender 3, it took a bit of tweaking to get it dialed in.  Overall a great machine, but if you can, the prusa is better

erinh

hifiside said:

Is it a V1-Engineering CNC?

It is.  It's the Lowrider2, though.  I wanted to have a larger space to cut than the MPCNC permits.  

JasonP

Of the six printers I have I like the Tevo Nereus and the AnyCubic 4MAX Pro the best. The Nereus because of it's large working area and easy upgrade path. The 4MAX Pro is enclosed, pretty quiet, and just gets the job done every time.

BrannigansLaw

Get used to the idea that ALL 3d printers have flaws, and will need regular maintenance and lots of fiddling with settings if you want really good quality results. Pretty much all printers will have some flaw that you will want to address with upgrades or modifications sooner or later, it's a matter of choosing the ones where that is easiest and least essential to do. When you narrow down to a shortlist, I would find and join the 'user group' of facebook (I know, FB is terrible for this stuff, but that's where these things happen now) and read for a few days - take note of the most common issues and fixes. 

I would recommend the Artillery Sidewinder X1. Good size build volume, great quality prints, the few weak points are easily addressed. It is my second printer, and it has been a workhorse out of the box. My first printer was an anycubic predator delta - very large build volume, but due to some physical flaws the print quality deteriorated over the course of a few months to the point of unusable, now waiting for warranty parts to fix those issues. When it was working well, it was just as good as the sidewinder (though much louder and larger), but it took about 2x as much fiddling to keep it going. The sidewinder was very good out of box, with a bit of tweaking it's excellent. It has a few flaws that need addressing, but they are fairly easy fixes and aren't urgent.

erinh

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions.  You guys have given me some good ideas.