Hi,
I just have some questions regarding 3D printing. Despite doing this for 2 years I still feel like a beginner.
Questions:
I’m looking at the Ender 5 Plus and Prusa MK3S, I’ve seen plenty of people say the Prusa is better because the Ender 5 Plus requires more “tinkering”. I just feel that the Prusa is overpriced and don’t know if I should just bite the bullet and get it or something else? I want to get back into the printing game.
I live in a trailer and my room is pretty small about 30ft x 30ft, would it be safe to use my printer in my room if all I print is PLA (I’m not talking about using it overnight either since I don’t trust it). Or should I leave it in my living room?
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Its almost the same price? Easy decision between these 2, get prusa!
Ender cons:
- Larger build area - yeah this is con for shitty ender-like frame
- 4 point bed leveling - this is funny
- Wheels instead of smooth rods/bearings - this is acceptable for 200$ machine imo
- They still use shitty hotend where nozzle is sealed against PTFE? This is kinda unhealthy, dont use this thing in bedroom, and be careful everywhere else. Its scarry what “engineers” are capable to do just to save 5$
- Bad support, higher chance of getting faulty parts etc.
Prusa is expensive imo, but not overpriced if you are looking for reliable machine. Just check the prices of quality components, only smooth rods + bearings can cost more than some machines. Dont get me wrong, enders can make amazing prints, but you need more luck, time, tools, knowledge, patience, petting, upgrades, etc. Creality made 3D printing more available, they pushed other manufacturers to improve and decrease prices. Hats off, we all benefit from that.
Im not a fan of bed slingers at all, I think coreXY is way better for 3D printers, but Ender for 700$ meh…
Bambu printers look promising, but I wouldnt buy one just because its still “new” and closed source. If I wanted to spend $1K+, lot of DIY customizations and reliable machine I would probably build a Voron. For <$1k Prusa, for <200$ Ender 3 and probably something like sovol sv06 in between.
If you get all metal hotend you should be fine with it in the bedroom if printing PLA only. I would still try to get enclosure (it protects you from noise, helps with printing, protects printer from dust and more)
Just my 0.02
With the MK4 out now, you can find super cheap MK3S+'s on places like Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist (in the US). I have been seeing a ton of them listed locally lately. From what I have seen, you can pick one up for $400-$550 depending on whether prusa assembled it or it was a kit and what accessories it comes with.
I had an Ender 3 clone, and that is how I got into 3d printing. Would I buy one again, now that I have an Prusa MK3S+, no. Creality makes a good product for the cost, but it will cause you headaches and cost more in the long run. I probably spent $100 on parts my first year alone…more the following years. I have had my Prusa for 2 and haven’t spent a nickel on it and haven’t ever had to repair or adjust anything.
So take that for what it’s worth. From a SAFETY perspective, I trust the software and hardware on the Prusa over anything on the market. It has much more reliable failsafes and sensors looking for thermal issues. I never worry about my Prusa for safety. Just make sure you update it if they have any big firmware changes.
Do you want a 3D printer to actually print things? Get the Prusa.
Do you want a 3D printer to mess around with, upgrade so it punches above its weight, and experience the high-highs and low-lows? Get the Ender.
I have an Ender 3 v2, and sometimes it’s amazing and sometimes I want to throw it out a window because that dang first layer just won’t stick. But I got a 3D printer because I wanted to mess around with a 3D printer, not to make high quality prints with minimal effort on my part.
I’m going to go against the grain here and say you should get a Prusa. I had an Ender 3 V2 as my first printer and it was an endless series of headaches with all of the little adjustments and tweaks I needed to make every other print. I nearly gave up the hobby and took a break for about a year because I was so sick of it. Furthermore, an Ender absolutely did not teach me everything there is to know about how 3D printers work, even with all the fiddling.
Eventually I got an i3 MK3S+ kit. The kit helped me to actually learn everything about what goes on inside a 3D printer. I would recommend staying away from preassembled printers, at least at first. Ever since building it, it’s basically been a fire and forget type of machine, barring routine maintenance and a shorted thermistor that was my own fault. It’s my main workhorse and I now use it to run a small 3D printing business.
On top of all that, Prusa’s designs are all open-source, their printer profiles are extremely well-tuned using PrusaSlicer, and getting official replacement parts is a breeze. It’s definitely something I would get if you want or need something that can’t have a lot of downtime.
As for your question regarding PLA, it should be okay, but if you’re really concerned about it, you can get an enclosure to help contain the fumes. I have the official Prusa enclosure with all the add-ons. I think you can get it bundled with a printer for a discount.
Yup, I’ve only had it for several days, but my MK4 kit I got “just worked” after I assembled it.
I did have to take a look at it yesterday as it was making a clicking/knocking noise. Turns out the applicator took they supply to pack the bearings with grease doesn’t work the best, had to repack the y-axis bearings, no more noise.
Hell, we use two MK3’s at the lab I work at, and they have about 2000 hours of print time between the two of them and they’re just now showing signs of wear (one of the printers had a hotend fail).
Between the fact that they’re open source, they’re damn near bulletproof, and that I worked with them already, getting my MK4 was a no-brainer.
Even a hotbed replacement isn’t that bad. I ended up swapping out the entire hotend when I shorted the thermistor because I thought I also broke the heater cartridge as well. You can partially disassemble the MK3S’s tool head and it’s basically remove-> insert the new part and close it up again - > rewire.
If you want something in between ender and prusa, look at sovol. I went from. Ender 3 to. Sovol sv06 plus. It has all the bells and whistles, but is similar to ender.
Prusa is if you don’t care about messing with stuff, you just want it to work.
First of all, 30ft x 30ft sounds absolutely huge! Maybe you meant 30 square feet? If you’re not printing non-stop and can open a window from time to time, PLA should technically be fine from what I’ve read, although a well ventilated room would always be best.
As for the printer itself, I personally would advocate against Creality products. I would trust a Prusa MK3S with my life, but it is on the pricier side. I’ve read good things about the Sovol SV06 (not the 7), which looks like an MK3S at 1/3rd of the price. Can’t speak from experience though.
Lol yeah 30 square feet. Long day. And I’d be printing mostly on weekends for like a few hours
Also why against creality?
For your use it should be pretty safe then. As for Creality, the couple of printers I’ve worked with from them are an absolute nightmare (but in their defense it looks like they were discontinued the moment they came out). I have the impression that the only positive comments you get about Creality printers are from people who haven’t owned anything else, and joined this “tinkering” circlejerk. They’re unpredictable at best and an electrical hazard at worst.
I recommend reading this reddit post and the other (first) post linked there: https://web.archive.org/web/20230119045038/https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/w7o1pa/stop_recommending_creality_machines_blindly/
I would check out the Bambu Labs P1P or Creality K1. Both are about $600 and from what I have seen print very well right out of the box. I think MicroCenter even has a $200 coupon floating around for the Creality K1 (might have to find someone to give you theirs as I think they are individualized).
Do you have a window? Can you create a little vented area? Maybe even put a fan on it that sucks the air outside? If you can buy or build an enclosure, even better.
Now to be clear, it’s not a huge deal if you’re only printing small things once in a while, but I’m not crazy sitting next to my printer when it’s printing in my office. I usually schedule to do my prints overnight or crack open the window.
Yeah I do have a window I’ll do that then.
I was thinking of an enclosure but I read that PLA doesn’t need it. Would it still be a worth while thing then?
PLA doesn’t “need” it to trap in the heat, but an enclosure would help in trapping any fumes and then you can add a vent to the window to suck those out with a fan. Depending upon how fancy you want to get and how much money you want to spend, you could just buy some cheap sheet metal ducting from Depot for cheap and attach it to the window and then attach the other end to a plexiglass enclosure. Some people use the LACK IKEA side table as their frame and attach plexiglass sides so you can still see the printer working. Those LACK side tables are like dirt cheap at like $15. Or you can build your own.
I’ve never bothered to build an enclosure simply because I can just change the time when I do longer prints. If its like 15 mins I don’t care too much, but if it like a 10 hour print, I’ll do it at night usually.
I’ve seen the lack tables which look really nice and might end up doing that. And I take it I’d need a small fan for the metal ducts to lead out to the window?
Also should I be fine if my printer is 12 feet away from me?
If I was still living in a trailer, I would try to get the cheapest one I could find that works. I don’t think the fumes are all that bad for PLA. There is definitely an odor but falling asleep to the sound of the motors is worth it imo. It’s so relaxing sometimes.