hi im new here, i have been a 3d modeler for alittle bit but want to take it to the next step by getting a 3d printer and making a living with that, can anyone point me in the right direction on learning about 3d printers and best way to start thanks…
Actually printing things is not likely to make you any money. It might help you build some sort of portfolio, but there is a large enough community of people with printers that the profit from printing is almost nothing.
If you’re just looking for practice, many modern machines will do just fine for you, you just need to determine what your requirements are.
@ThantiK thanx for the response do you think a 300 dollars printer is good to start with or is it garbage at that price
@Bt_Paulie The Anycubic Photon DLP 3d printer for about $550 is perfect for figures if that is what you are trying to make. It uses uv resin that makes a very sturdy and great resolution print(hard to see layers). If you are trying to make something bigger then any FDM printer should suffice.
ok i will look into that thanks
@Bt_Paulie keep in mind that if you aren’t spending over a grand, you’ll likely be making modifications to your printer. If you get a more popular printer, http://thingiverse.com has tons of pre-modeled parts you can download.
http://thingiverse.com
@Kevin_Danger_Powers thanks I will look into that in the morning
This is just my idea, No matter what printer you buy a cheap or an expensive one in the end, modifications will be the key to getting the printer to work the way it is best suited for you. But don’t make the same mistake I made when I bought my first printer and said that a 100 x 100 x 100 mm build plate is ok as I wont be printing big things. Soon as I got my first successful print, I was looking into bigger and better prints until My printer just could not keep up and within 3 months I had to buy another. Look long term in terms of build plate and preferably one you can upgrade later into a super size build plate. Wishful thinking about super sizing. but that’s how I see it when buying your first printer. Make it count. The Anet A8 is cheap and has a fairly good size build plate. Easily upgradable. But that’s just me. Thanks.
The best way to learn is to build one from scratch. Google hypercube evolution.
@JD_Engineering that makes sense like getting a phone without expandable storage, somewhat… thanks for the tip
@Joseph_Ronie I will be googling it in the morning
Here’s how I went about finding my first printer: I went to this site first and put in my parameters. What I wanted out of a printer, what price range etc. That narrows the field down a good bit, and may let you know of ones you hadn’t heard of. Then do research on individual ones after you’ve narrowed the field down.
Also if you get a cheap Chinese kit (like the A8) do some reading and fix the safety flaws (connection to heat bed for one) while building. Just remember there are some high current wires and you have 2 heaters on a printer typically. No matter what printer you buy do not print unattended until it has printed for many hours safely and continually inspect high current connections.