so im a teen with not alot of money but i want to get into 3d printing, another community suggested the ender 3 original. it looks like a solid printer but who know im a noob after all. my budget is around 100$ or less. im looking into making mini figures and painting them or whatever nerdy thing i find. i know the budget is tight but im hoping there is something, also im debating on buying a used 3d printer because they seem cheaper.

also any tips for a noob would be great like what makes said model good or bad compared to other models and such.

  • RegalPotoo@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Whatever you go with, keep in mind that for the most part the difference between a cheap ffm 3d printer and a mid-tier 3d printer isn’t print quality, it’s reliability. If you are happy spending as much time getting the printer to actually consistently print properly as you do actually printing stuff, then go ahead.

    Cheap 3d printers are a hobby, expensive 3d printers are a tool

  • Overzeetop@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    im looking into making mini figures and painting them

    Boom, right there should limit your section to SLA/resin printers, not FDM as most people here are suggesting. At $100 budget you’re down in the absolute basement of printers, and will have to find a machine on sale. Good news for you is that this is the month of sales (Black Friday month). You are looking at either an Anycubic Mono (out of production, I think) or Mono 2 when they go on sale, or mayby an Elegoo Mars - I’d expect to see it between $99-119 sometime this month. (there’s a monoprice mini SLA printer for $70 out there, but I don’t know how good it is)

    There are two things to know about resin: the liquid used is toxic, so someplace with ventilation and a supply of cheap latex/vinyl/nitrile gloves are a must, as is a workspace which can be easily cleaned (they sell silicone mats…its a good idea; you might try ordering misc stuff from TEMU for your accessory list to save some cash) and a roll of paper towels is going to be necessary. The second is that standard resin requires 95% or higher isopropyl alcohol (IPA) to clean the prints, and to clean up the machine parts. That can get expensive, too - so SKIP IT and get Water Washable resin. It will cost more, but the ease (and lower odor) in clean up will be worth it, especially if your parents would rather you not be slinging flammable IPA around the house.

    You do NOT need a dedicated wash and curing station. It’s a luxury you can’t afford, so just skip it (for now). There are lots of videos about how to clean parts using a two-bin or three-bin method and they just use cheap dollar-store plastic bins or used buckets (do not use tupperware you eat from…water washable is still toxic, okay?). Then, just set your prints in the sun for a few minutes - it even works on a cloudy day (clouds only block a fraction of UV).

    You should be able to make table-top sized miniatures for painting in one go, or make them as two or three parts for bigger models. The detail you get out of an SLA printer will be worlds better than an FDM (extrusion) printer and require a lot less sanding, filling, and misc post-processing prior to painting.

    Quick edit: @QuietStorm@lemm.ee - Creality is also having a sale this month and there are two SLA printers on sale in the $99 range. The nicer (bigger) one is currently out of stock, but you might check back and see if it comes back in. Nearly all of the small SLA printers in this range are very similar, though you should read up in their forums just to see if there are some crazy problems everyone is having with a specific model (no news is probably good news).