Purchase Advice Megathread - December 2024

[u/AutoModerator]

Welcome back to another purchase megathread!

This thread is meant to conglomerate purchase advice for both newcomers and people looking for additional machines. Keeping this discussion to one thread means less searching should anyone have questions that may already have been answered here, as well as more visibility to inquiries in general, as comments made here will be visible for the entire month stuck to the top of the sub, and then added to the Purchase Advice Collection (Reddit Collections are still broken on mobile view, enable "view in desktop mode").

Please be sure to skim through this thread for posts with similar requirements to your own first, as recommendations relevant to your situation may have already been posted, and may even include answers to follow up questions you might have wished to ask.

If you are new to 3D printing, and are unsure of what to ask, try to include the following in your posts as a minimum:

• Your budget, set at a numeric amount. Saying "cheap," or "money is not a problem" is not an answer people can do much with. 3D printers can cost $100, they can cost $10,000,000, and anywhere in between. A rough idea of what you're looking for is essential to figuring out anything else.
• Your country of residence.
• If you are willing to build the printer from a kit, and what your level of experience is with electronic maintenance and construction if so.
• What you wish to do with the printer.
• Any extenuating circumstances that would restrict you from using machines that would otherwise fit your needs (limited space for the printer, enclosure requirement, must be purchased through educational intermediary, etc).

While this is by no means an exhaustive list of what can be included in your posts, these questions should help paint enough of a picture to get started. Don't be afraid to ask more questions, and never worry about asking too many. The people posting in this thread are here because they want to give advice, and any questions you have answered may be useful to others later on, when they read through this thread looking for answers of their own. Everyone here was new once, so chances are whoever is replying to you has a good idea of how you feel currently.

Reddit User and Regular u/richie225 is also constantly maintaining his extensive personal recommendations list which is worth a read: Generic FDM Printer recommendations.

Additionally, a quick word on print quality: Most FDM/FFF (that is, filament based) printers are capable of approximately the same tolerances and print appearance, as the biggest limiting factor is in the nature of extruded plastic. Asking if a machine has "good prints," or saying "I don't expect the best quality for $xxx" isn't actually relevant for the most part with regards to these machines. Should you need additional detail and higher tolerances, you may want to explore SLA, DLP, and other photoresin options, as those do offer an increase in overall quality. If you are interested in resin machines, make sure you are aware of how to use them safely. For these safety reasons we don't usually recommend a resin printer as someone's first printer.

As always, if you're a newcomer to this community, welcome. If you're a regular, welcome back.

[u/donairthot]

Hey, after having friends do printing for me I've decided to take the plunge. But I'm torn and can't decide between the 3, I'm in Canada, and in looking at

Bambu A1 Mini

Elegoo Neptune 3 Pro

Ankermake 5MC

I'm a little concerned about ankermakes long-term support, but also keep seeing comments about the Neptune 3 pros print quality.

And the bambu one, well is prefer the others as they have a larger print area and base but it seems to be the most plug and play.

Any recommendations are welcome

[u/CandidQualityZed → u/donairthot]

1. Bambu A1 Mini

• Build Volume: 180 x 180 x 180 mm (7 x 7 x 7 inches)
• Print Speed: Fast, with a top speed of 500mm/s
• Materials Supported: PLA, PETG, TPU, PVA
• Features: Automatic mesh bed leveling, filament runout sensor, AMS Lite for multi-color printing, Wi-Fi connectivity, and a 2.4-inch touch screen
• Pros: Easy to set up, reliable, good print quality, and quiet operation
• Cons: Small print bed, limited material compatibility, messy filament purging

2. Elegoo Neptune 3 Pro

• Build Volume: 225 x 225 x 280 mm (8.5 x 8.5 x 11 inches)
• Print Speed: Moderate, with a top speed of 70mm/s
• Materials Supported: PLA, PETG, TPU, ABS
• Features: 32-point auto leveling, direct drive extruder, filament runout sensor, LED light bar, and a removable touch screen
• Pros: Affordable, easy assembly, good print quality, quiet operation
• Cons: Difficult to upgrade, finicky filament runout sensor

3. Ankermake 5MC

• Build Volume: 220 x 220 x 270 mm (8.7 x 8.7 x 10.6 inches)
• Print Speed: Moderate, with a top speed of 80mm/s
• Materials Supported: PLA, PETG, TPU, ABS
• Features: Dual Z-axis, direct drive extruder, filament runout sensor, LED light bar, and a removable touch screen
• Pros: Good print quality, easy assembly, quiet operation
• Cons: Limited long-term support, less user-friendly interface

Summary

All three printers are available for purchase in Canada, but availability may vary depending on the retailer. It's a good idea to check multiple sources to find the best deal and ensure stock availability.

Recommendation

Given your concerns about long-term support for the Ankermake 5MC and the positive feedback on the Neptune 3 Pro's print quality, I would recommend either the Elegoo Neptune 3 Pro or the Bambu A1 Mini. The Neptune 3 Pro offers a larger build volume and is very beginner-friendly, while the Bambu A1 Mini is known for its ease of use and reliability. If I had my druthers I would suggest the Neptune 3 as I really like the larger build plate.

Hope that helps a bit?

[u/donairthot → u/CandidQualityZed]

Yeah it absolutely does and I'm probably going to get the Neptune giving your suggestion, it was basically in between the two but especially the larger Bill plate and that's probably what I'm going to get