I am looking to purchase a 3D printer as a hobbyist, not for any commercial use. I have limited options with local 3D printers but that’s good as they’re mostly cheaper low end printers so I can look at them thoroughly.
When I’m comparing the different 3D printers I’m mainly looking at the following: Cost, nozzle diameter, layer height, volume, and viable filaments.
My question is, is there anything else I’m missing? Are there important things I should be considering or avoiding?
Different printers have different resolutions but for my purposes it looks like they’re all highly accurate and way past what I need. Not worried about speed either. They all mention bed and nozzle temperatures but I assume they are all within the necessary range for the filaments they allow right? So does it matter?
Also, any advice for maintenance? How to make it last as long as possible any mistakes I should be wary of. Thanks.
Cost is obviously a big factor. Almost every printer can change to any nozzle size and layer height for just the cost of the nozzle. Print volume is a major limitation, depending on your use case. The filaments it can print will probably be the same across any relatively low cost printers, with the only significant change being direct drive vs. Bowden.
Bed leveling is huge, and makes probably the most difference in print quality on low cost printers these days. If there’s an easy way to tension the belts, that’s a plus. If there isn’t a power switch on the front (or even if there is), a emergency stop switch can be a help, like if the nozzle is running into the bed.
Maintenance varies from printer to printer, generally you’re aiming for tight but not too tight on any belts or rollers. If the pulleys on the motors aren’t preinstalled, use something like loctite blue to fix them in place better.
Also make sure if you plan to buy a printer that it’s got a decent amount of community around it. Running into the same problems with a bunch of other people is a big plus as a beginner, so popular printers are better.
Teaching Tech made a calibration guide website that I’ve had a lot of good experiences with.