3-D Print General - Feeding Printers Filament

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My work is looking at getting an FDM printer so we can replace a certain part ourselves. Does anyone have a suggestion for a printer, preferably one with an enclosure and auto-level, as I would like it as simple to run as I can get. I had an anycubic years back I used for hobby projects but the motherboard crapped out, I haven't really kept up with things since then.
 
My work is looking at getting an FDM printer so we can replace a certain part ourselves. Does anyone have a suggestion for a printer, preferably one with an enclosure and auto-level, as I would like it as simple to run as I can get. I had an anycubic years back I used for hobby projects but the motherboard crapped out, I haven't really kept up with things since then.
Is there a budget?
 
My work is looking at getting an FDM printer so we can replace a certain part ourselves. Does anyone have a suggestion for a printer, preferably one with an enclosure and auto-level, as I would like it as simple to run as I can get. I had an anycubic years back I used for hobby projects but the motherboard crapped out, I haven't really kept up with things since then.
Budget, material you're planning to use, do you need it to come preassembled, build volume? My knee jerk reaction for something economical but fits your needs is the Flashforge Adventurer 5M. I've heard it's fine and the price will at least make your finance department happy.
 
Is there a budget?
There's no set budget, I can probably swing the prusa-core-one-kit, I more want a couple options to present and see what they go for.
Budget, material you're planning to use, do you need it to come preassembled, build volume? My knee jerk reaction for something economical but fits your needs is the Flashforge Adventurer 5M. I've heard it's fine and the price will at least make your finance department happy.
Probably won't need anything stronger than ABS, and the part we are planning to replace is only palm size, so the build volume isn't to big. The flashforge seems a good middle option.
 
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Probably won't need anything stronger than ABS, and the part we are planning to replace is only palm size, so the build volume isn't to big. The flashforge seems a good middle option.
That or the Centauri Carbon. The only catch there is that the printer is in pre/back order until June
 
Probably won't need anything stronger than ABS
I'd say going from PLA/PETG to ABS the main thing is fumes especially if running it all the time. PLA is relatively safe to have going in the same room while working but ABS is a total pain, the fumes are way more toxic and the slightly higher print temp puts more junk in the air.

If you are building you could get a voron kit but then you are essentially getting sent a box of random bits and building it from nothing. Depending on where you are will depend on what kits you can get easily, once it's built you can print parts for another or spares.
 
So I put my money where my mouth is and decided to support the best open source resin printing solution out there it seems: Athena II.

I'm done with the cheap chituboxes.
 
So I put my money where my mouth is and decided to support the best open source resin printing solution out there it seems: Athena II.

I'm done with the cheap chituboxes.
Do they have a half decent slicer? The only resin slicer I've used that's worth a damn is Preform but that's only usable on Formlabs printers. Chitubox sucks the most ass of any slicer I've used outside of Lychee, which basically feels like a reskin of Chitu.
 
That or the Centauri Carbon. The only catch there is that the printer is in pre/back order until June

How suitable would the Carbon be as a first timers printer? Is there any "must have" feature that it lacks? I know next to nothing about 3d printers. With the accessory kit it runs about £400/$500 which is the upper end of what I'd be prepared to part with. The back order situation isn't a problem for me and actually works out nicely as I'll have some free time over the summer to get to grips with it.
 
How suitable would the Carbon be as a first timers printer? Is there any "must have" feature that it lacks? I know next to nothing about 3d printers. With the accessory kit it runs about £400/$500 which is the upper end of what I'd be prepared to part with. The back order situation isn't a problem for me and actually works out nicely as I'll have some free time over the summer to get to grips with it.
From the looks of things it seems to be the intro printer. The price is great and it looks like it has all of the creature comforts you could want. I'd almost recommend against the accessory kit since you're usually not going to be swapping buildplates constantly and you can print feet. Hell, you can use a foam pad if you care a ton about the vibrations for it. The extra hotend is nice, but way cheaper by itself. Here's a review that goes into plenty of the features and pros/cons.
 
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There's just no fucking escape from this shit, is there?

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You will never print resin. You have no resin tank. You have no UV LCD screen.
 
How I use my 3d printer, usually not to print actual items. About half of what I print is jigs, spacers, etc.

Today's project is working on the electronics enclosure for my CNC router. I need a USB and Ethernet port. These are both square/rectangular.
2025-04-06_16-34.png2025-04-06_16-33.png
Cutting those holes accurately at my skill level in a metal enclosure sucks.
So, I make a 3d printed cover panel:
2025-04-06_16-31_1.png
But the metal still needs to be cut. What's the easiest thing to cut in a metal enclosure... circles.
So, I used the holesaw to cut a 2" (50.8mm) hole in the enclosure and 3d printed this:
2025-04-06_16-31.png
Set the jig so the round is in the hole, use a square to align it. Mark the first hole. Drill it, screw the jig to the enclosure, mark and drill the remaining holes, throw away jig, deburr all the fucking holes, put the final coverplate on.
 
Does anyone have CAD software suggestions for free or cheap? It's not for 3D printing but I figured this thread would be the place to ask. I have been learning to use FreeCAD but am finding it really obtuse and rotating things is unbelievably painful process.
 
Does anyone have CAD software suggestions for free or cheap? It's not for 3D printing but I figured this thread would be the place to ask. I have been learning to use FreeCAD but am finding it really obtuse and rotating things is unbelievably painful process.
I'm a lunatic who uses Blender, because I'm insane. :)
 
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Does anyone have CAD software suggestions for free or cheap? It's not for 3D printing but I figured this thread would be the place to ask. I have been learning to use FreeCAD but am finding it really obtuse and rotating things is unbelievably painful process.
I use this:


It is extremely lightweight and easy to learn. I've been using it since I build my first 3D printer back in 2012. There's a 90-day trial under the "Download" tab if you are interested.
 
Does anyone have CAD software suggestions for free or cheap? It's not for 3D printing but I figured this thread would be the place to ask. I have been learning to use FreeCAD but am finding it really obtuse and rotating things is unbelievably painful process.
I use onshape because it works for Linux and is free, but it's web based and the free version doesn't let you make your work private
 
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