I don’t think so. It looks like it lacks ABL, and the time savings from a core XY with ABL or auto first layer are MASSIVE. Also your print quality increases exponentially.
Take a look at the FlashForge 5M if you want a budget auto first layer printer, or the Qidi line for a slightly more robust printer (but needs more manual intervention).
And if you’d like to focus on printing and not tinkering forever, get a Bambu. Any of them.
Creality isn’t a bad company, they’re just hindered by the ignorant. The Ender 3, the baseline, old 8 bit model - was a perfectly fine machine if you knew what needed to be tight, and what didn’t.
The new 3v3 SE is a wonderful machine at like $180 with direct drive, magnetic PEI bed, dual Z screws, and the works. It doesn’t require all the knowledge that the old versions did. It’s a perfectly fine beginner machine.
The problem with Creality is just that everyone bought one as an enthusiast, so they told all the non-enthusiasts it was a great machine, and without that same level of knowledge, those people fell HARD. In doing so, they returned and claimed that creality machines were garbage. But they really weren’t. As far as bottom-of-the-barrel budget machines go, they were pretty alright.
The Elegoo Neptune 4’s are pretty good. Avoid Anycubic FDM machines, but their Resin printers are good. Avoid Dremel; their nozzles are literally a smaller MK10 nozzle from 12 years ago with nichrome wire wrapped around it. They are unserviceable. Nozzle clogs, and you just buy a $35 replacement everything. Avoid XYZPrinting. New-gen Creality is good for beginners in this new higher-expectation world. Old-gen Creality, don’t even bother unless you’re getting it for <$50 and know enough to repair it yourself. (Old Gen is Ender 3, CR-10, Ender 3 v2, Ender 3 Pro, anything with “Neo” in it. Yes, Ender 3 is a version number. Yes, Creality is basically calling their printer the Ender v3 v2. Only Ender worth getting is the Ender 3, v3 (SE, KE, etc)) - If you have the budget, the Creality K1 Max is really the only alternative to a Bambu if you need a larger build size. Possibly the Sovol SV08 - but as much as I love the Klipper team, it is NOT the most user friendly on that front. If you like techy-stuff, the SV08 isn’t as polished as a Bambu, but may be worth the price/size ratio.
Ignore people telling you to print carbon fiber, most of them are idiots. Glow in the dark is also destructive to your machine, avoid that unless it’s DAS filament (who ball-grind their glow powder, so it’s not abrasive to brass nozzles and other softer parts of your machine).
Sovol machines are a pretty good Prusa-alternative. They cloned the machines quite well, and are much cheaper.
Stick with PLA for everything until you find a situation in which it fails. Move up to PETG after that. Don’t get caught up in the “TPU Trap”. Great, you can print a phone case. What are you going to do with the REST of the roll? TPU doesn’t work in remote-drive systems. YES, some of us who are headstrong can force it to work, but generally just accept that it doesn’t, and if you MUST use TPU, make sure you’re using it on a direct drive machine. If you have an enclosed machine, feel free to move up to ABS/ASA, HIPS, and others. Be prepared for the stinky. They do smell like burning styrofoam depending on the mfg.
Anyone selling you a used machine - you are adopting their problem. They wouldn’t be selling it to you otherwise. There is ALWAYS a problem. Buy new when possible. Also, though I HATE Jeff Bezos, get your shit from Amazon. It’s not their product, and if it’s defective, they’re not going to give you the run-around in replacing it. I’ve seen lots of people even told to keep the old/busted machine (great for spare parts later!). Amazon don’t give a shiiiiiiiiit. This isn’t possible for some machines: Bambu for example. They just don’t work with resellers.
And don’t go getting the cheapest bullshit filament you can buy. Stay above the…eh…$18/spool range. Lower than that, and you start getting some crusty shit.
If you have pets - good…fucking…luck. Pet dander, and all the shit they add to the air, is cancer to 3D printers. There is not a single pet owner that I have met where they aren’t constantly servicing their machine due to clogs.
Obligatory anti-Bambu pro Prusa comment here for achieving goal of printing without constantly boring around with printer. With Lemmy generally being so conscious of data privacy concerns, I’m surprised to see so much pro-bambu talk here.
I like Prusa as a company but their products are nowhere near as competitive as they were 2 years ago when every printer was a bed slinger. The fact that they still want $1,000 for a fairly basic bed slinger is pretty ridiculous.
I chalk it up to not being able to drop prices to the level of the Asian market with a European work force.
As long as they continue to innovate, build quality products, and have great customer support, I’ll consider it a cost and not a loss.
I don’t think so. It looks like it lacks ABL, and the time savings from a core XY with ABL or auto first layer are MASSIVE. Also your print quality increases exponentially.
Take a look at the FlashForge 5M if you want a budget auto first layer printer, or the Qidi line for a slightly more robust printer (but needs more manual intervention).
And if you’d like to focus on printing and not tinkering forever, get a Bambu. Any of them.
Avoid creality.
Creality isn’t a bad company, they’re just hindered by the ignorant. The Ender 3, the baseline, old 8 bit model - was a perfectly fine machine if you knew what needed to be tight, and what didn’t.
The new 3v3 SE is a wonderful machine at like $180 with direct drive, magnetic PEI bed, dual Z screws, and the works. It doesn’t require all the knowledge that the old versions did. It’s a perfectly fine beginner machine.
The problem with Creality is just that everyone bought one as an enthusiast, so they told all the non-enthusiasts it was a great machine, and without that same level of knowledge, those people fell HARD. In doing so, they returned and claimed that creality machines were garbage. But they really weren’t. As far as bottom-of-the-barrel budget machines go, they were pretty alright.
The Elegoo Neptune 4’s are pretty good. Avoid Anycubic FDM machines, but their Resin printers are good. Avoid Dremel; their nozzles are literally a smaller MK10 nozzle from 12 years ago with nichrome wire wrapped around it. They are unserviceable. Nozzle clogs, and you just buy a $35 replacement everything. Avoid XYZPrinting. New-gen Creality is good for beginners in this new higher-expectation world. Old-gen Creality, don’t even bother unless you’re getting it for <$50 and know enough to repair it yourself. (Old Gen is Ender 3, CR-10, Ender 3 v2, Ender 3 Pro, anything with “Neo” in it. Yes, Ender 3 is a version number. Yes, Creality is basically calling their printer the Ender v3 v2. Only Ender worth getting is the Ender 3, v3 (SE, KE, etc)) - If you have the budget, the Creality K1 Max is really the only alternative to a Bambu if you need a larger build size. Possibly the Sovol SV08 - but as much as I love the Klipper team, it is NOT the most user friendly on that front. If you like techy-stuff, the SV08 isn’t as polished as a Bambu, but may be worth the price/size ratio.
Ignore people telling you to print carbon fiber, most of them are idiots. Glow in the dark is also destructive to your machine, avoid that unless it’s DAS filament (who ball-grind their glow powder, so it’s not abrasive to brass nozzles and other softer parts of your machine).
Sovol machines are a pretty good Prusa-alternative. They cloned the machines quite well, and are much cheaper.
Stick with PLA for everything until you find a situation in which it fails. Move up to PETG after that. Don’t get caught up in the “TPU Trap”. Great, you can print a phone case. What are you going to do with the REST of the roll? TPU doesn’t work in remote-drive systems. YES, some of us who are headstrong can force it to work, but generally just accept that it doesn’t, and if you MUST use TPU, make sure you’re using it on a direct drive machine. If you have an enclosed machine, feel free to move up to ABS/ASA, HIPS, and others. Be prepared for the stinky. They do smell like burning styrofoam depending on the mfg.
Anyone selling you a used machine - you are adopting their problem. They wouldn’t be selling it to you otherwise. There is ALWAYS a problem. Buy new when possible. Also, though I HATE Jeff Bezos, get your shit from Amazon. It’s not their product, and if it’s defective, they’re not going to give you the run-around in replacing it. I’ve seen lots of people even told to keep the old/busted machine (great for spare parts later!). Amazon don’t give a shiiiiiiiiit. This isn’t possible for some machines: Bambu for example. They just don’t work with resellers.
And don’t go getting the cheapest bullshit filament you can buy. Stay above the…eh…$18/spool range. Lower than that, and you start getting some crusty shit.
If you have pets - good…fucking…luck. Pet dander, and all the shit they add to the air, is cancer to 3D printers. There is not a single pet owner that I have met where they aren’t constantly servicing their machine due to clogs.
Obligatory anti-Bambu pro Prusa comment here for achieving goal of printing without constantly boring around with printer. With Lemmy generally being so conscious of data privacy concerns, I’m surprised to see so much pro-bambu talk here.
I like Prusa as a company but their products are nowhere near as competitive as they were 2 years ago when every printer was a bed slinger. The fact that they still want $1,000 for a fairly basic bed slinger is pretty ridiculous.
I chalk it up to not being able to drop prices to the level of the Asian market with a European work force. As long as they continue to innovate, build quality products, and have great customer support, I’ll consider it a cost and not a loss.
I second the Qidi recommendation. Both of mine have been champions thus far.