3D printers
- Thread starter oxoman
- Start date
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Similarly to "what bike?" threads, what's the budget and what type of printing?
Does he want it to just work with a minimum of fiddling, or get into the weeds of all the million customisations you can do? I guess his age is a factor here.
Does he want to print in multiple filament colours without manually changing each time?
What kind of resolution does he want? For super detailed models or sculptures, a resin printer might be worth considering, but filament is the most likely choice for all round printing.
If it's a filament one, definitely get one with automatic bed levelling, which should be most of them these days. Manual bed levelling is a royal PITA.
Most printers will work from a SD card (you transfer model files and update settings via card) so as long as his Chromebook has a card slot or USB port to connect an external one he's fine. Some will work directly over wifi or LAN or bluetooth.
Does he want it to just work with a minimum of fiddling, or get into the weeds of all the million customisations you can do? I guess his age is a factor here.
Does he want to print in multiple filament colours without manually changing each time?
What kind of resolution does he want? For super detailed models or sculptures, a resin printer might be worth considering, but filament is the most likely choice for all round printing.
If it's a filament one, definitely get one with automatic bed levelling, which should be most of them these days. Manual bed levelling is a royal PITA.
Most printers will work from a SD card (you transfer model files and update settings via card) so as long as his Chromebook has a card slot or USB port to connect an external one he's fine. Some will work directly over wifi or LAN or bluetooth.
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It's probably worth researching 2 or 3 candidates then waiting for Black Friday sales. I got mine (Creality Ender3 V2) in 2021 in the sale and it was something like 1/3 off.
Reading the above article and checking prices I think I'd be leaning toward the Creality Ender 3 V3 SE which is currently £167 if you have Prime.
Reading the above article and checking prices I think I'd be leaning toward the Creality Ender 3 V3 SE which is currently £167 if you have Prime.
I keep thinking of more points 
Consider where he's going to use it, bearing in mind they often need to run for many hours for bigger prints. They can be noisy with all the cooling fans and with some filaments you need to consider ventilation. PLA isn't considered harmful, just a melty plastic smell, but ABS gives off unpleasant fumes. If it's going to be in the living room or his bedroom I'd go for one of the enclosed printers and a kit to vent outside.
Consider where he's going to use it, bearing in mind they often need to run for many hours for bigger prints. They can be noisy with all the cooling fans and with some filaments you need to consider ventilation. PLA isn't considered harmful, just a melty plastic smell, but ABS gives off unpleasant fumes. If it's going to be in the living room or his bedroom I'd go for one of the enclosed printers and a kit to vent outside.
OP
OP
oxoman
Senior Member
I should have said he's a very creative and way to clever nearly 9yr old who's looking to print out various models or designs he's done. Budget wise 300 maybe a little more. Have seen cheep cheep chinese temu things, having seen enough of the rubbish they churn out i won't be going there.
newts
Veteran
- Location
- Isca Dumnoniorum
I've been looking into 3d printers for a while & the standout is the Bambu lab range for reliability & ease of use.
https://uk.store.bambulab.com/colle...KScVtOQp3ezvzHlvp58O7KuAnKsvOAvsaAiSmEALw_wcB
A1 or A1 mini would be a good starting point, plenty of video reviews on youtube.
https://uk.store.bambulab.com/colle...KScVtOQp3ezvzHlvp58O7KuAnKsvOAvsaAiSmEALw_wcB
A1 or A1 mini would be a good starting point, plenty of video reviews on youtube.
In that case I'd echo newts' recommendation and be going for the Bambu.
The Creality printers need a fair bit of self assembly. Mine needed some careful allen key use and mechanical sympathy to make sure everything was aligned. I think they're easier now than when I got mine but just throwing them together is a recipe for sub optimal prints.
ebikeerwidnes
Guru
- Location
- Z’ha’dum
I spent a few months "playing" with these for a local Science museum
The main problem the museum saw with them was the amount of time it takes to print something
when they tried using them in classes with visiting kids the speed was so slow that the kids got bored with it
I know some kids have some patience - and he is able to wait the concept of "all comes to he who waits" is a really great thing to instill in a kid
but my grand kids just wouldn;t get it at that age!
but if he has the patience and ability to use one of the design packages then it would be a great thing for him to do
(personally I had a few designed of bits for my bike reayd to go
but lockdown b******d up my volunteering at the museum before I got a chance to get them done!!!)
The main problem the museum saw with them was the amount of time it takes to print something
when they tried using them in classes with visiting kids the speed was so slow that the kids got bored with it
I know some kids have some patience - and he is able to wait the concept of "all comes to he who waits" is a really great thing to instill in a kid
but my grand kids just wouldn;t get it at that age!
but if he has the patience and ability to use one of the design packages then it would be a great thing for him to do
(personally I had a few designed of bits for my bike reayd to go
but lockdown b******d up my volunteering at the museum before I got a chance to get them done!!!)
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
AKA The Hodfather, legendary DIY genius and general all-round handyman.