I’m tempted to start playing around with 3D printing I’m considering buying a 2nd hand Printrbot Simple Metal. It has no upgrades installed as far as I know. The price is USD 300,-.
Is it any good? Has it been surpassed by newer (cheaper) printers?
What do you think of the price?
Thanks,
Tobias
At its original price the Simple Metal has been surpassed but at $300 that’s a pretty good deal. I still have mine but I haven’t run it in a while because I accidentally fried the pinout for the fans on my 32 bit board.
Although the Monoprice Maker Select V2 gives you larger build volume for the same price brand new. Can’t say which kinematics is better but my genuine Prusa produces much better results than my Simple Metal did.
We are about to put up a non-heated bed version of the Simple Pro for $599. It’s superior to the old Simple. But I’m using both even tonight on my print farm 
for $300, it’s a solid price. I’d put the solid all-metal construction of that Simple against anything at that price! It’s upgradable and totally open, which matters in my opinion. But I designed it, so grain of salt here
Brook
The Simple Metal is an awesome printer, especially for $300. Out of the box it easily surpasses anything in that price range. It would be great to tinker on, learn the firmware and slicer settings.
Thank you for your comments.
One more question: Has the Printrbot Simple Metal been sold with two different hot ends (Ceramic & Metal), with metal being superior?
That is my impression.
How can I tell which hot end is on the machine I’m looking at? Any closeup images of the hot ends somewhere?
This is the hot end currently installed. Which type is it? Seller says the printer was bought assembled, and this was how it was delivered.
missing/deleted image from Google+
That’s the ceramic. I think I may have an extra metal one but it’s not the current revision. I haven’t tried the latest one that Brook put out but if you’re upgrading you may want to look into going with an E3D V6.
@Brook_Drumm any plans for hardened nozzles?
Thanks @Adam_Steinmark . Do you think I should still buy the printer, even if it is the ceramic hot end? What hot end should I get instead? What is the price range for such a thing?
I was having heat creep issues with the all metal one from Printrbot but they since fixed the issue. I replaced mine with an E3D V6 which is nice because it has a silicone sock to keep it clean and you can swap in hardened steel nozzles if you want to print abrasive stuff like carbon fiber. Does the printer have a heated bed or is it the version without?
https://www.amazon.com/E3D-All-metal-HotEnd-Full-Approximately/dp/B00NAK9JFO/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1510678219&sr=8-5&keywords=e3d+v6&dpID=41VS8vtu9GL&preST=SX342_QL70&dpSrc=srch
Yeah giving a closer look that’s the version without a heated bed. I would strongly recommend getting a printer with a heated bed, it lets you use so many different materials and you don’t have to worry about bed adhesion (as much).
I’d recommend going with the Monoprice Maker Select Plus ($400). It lets you print 50% faster than the Maker Select V2 ($300) and has a nice touch screen. Both the Plus and the V2 have ceramic hotends which you may want to eventually upgrade both hotend and extruder. The E3D Titan Aero is a really nice replacement at $122
Maker Select V2
https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=13860
Maker Select Plus
https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=15711
Titan Aero (potential replacement hotend and extruder combo for down the road upgrades)
https://www.amazon.com/3DMakerWorld-E3D-Titan-Hotend-Extruder/dp/B06Y2Q7SRD/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1510678891&sr=8-1&keywords=titan+aero&dpID=51EdqDbgNXL&preST=SX342_QL70&dpSrc=srch
I’m a low-pressure sales guy. Budget is an individual choice. You should never believe that E3d stuff is better- it’s not. For US market, you won’t beat our service, community and we are competitive on price. Our 13S is our base model (33 watts) and assembled at $59. Every part it replaceable. Tips are $8. E3D tips do fit but I don’t talk about it ;). Upgrading to any hotend is a drop in replacement. The Alu v1 extruder doesn’t do flexibles well buy that’s years old. Our Alu v2, injection molded extruder and both gearheads do flexibles out of the box. All hotends can do all materials. All go to 275C no problem… the soon coming high temp goes to 450C (90 watts!) and has a drop in (new firmware) temp sensor w the most accurate temp of any offering- besting the pt100 from e3d which requires extra electronics.
Carl, the designer, has examined e3d hotends and is 100% sure the Ubis13S is superior to the v6… telling you why is technical and I hate helping competitors. It’s enough to say it’s good enough for most people.
I don’t really care what people use if they are happy. But I’ve never understood why USA customers would pay more for less overall when considering shipping, etc.
Best of luck whatever you choose
Brook
@Brook_Drumm , you make good printers, but in my mind, I never think of your company as a supplier of printer components. That makes me think the primary difference between you and E3D is marketing. E3D is simply more visible to me as a component supplier.
Bought the Simple Metal for 250$. I’m having a lot of fun with it, now that I have found some usable painter’s tape (I have never seen the blue tape here in Denmark).
I really like the aesthetics and build quality of the machine. Thank you @Brook_Drumm .
Sweet. I’m glad you like it!
Happy printing,
Brook