3d printer advice

[kiwi_al]

After seeing all the items you guys are printing and watching this thread for months, it's finally got to me 
I live in NZ so my options are a little limited to the 3 printers I'm thinking of buying,
Yes I can get them from China cheaper but the postage doubles the price and I might as well buy one locally - very little difference in price..

1st candidate:
Crealty halot one mono

https://marvle3d.co.nz/3d-printer/1923-creality-halot-one-mono-lcd-printer-130x82x160mm-auckland-local-stock.html

2nd Candidate
Creality LD-002H Mono LCD Resin 3D Printer

https://marvle3d.co.nz/3d-printer/1869-creality-ld-002h-mono-lcd-resin-3d-printer.html

3rd Candidate:
Elegoo Mars 2 Pro LCD/SLA Resin 3D Printer

https://marvle3d.co.nz/home/1847-elegoo-mars-2-pro-lcdsla-resin-3d-printer.html

4th Candidate:
ANYCUBIC PHOTON MONO SE
https://marvle3d.co.nz/home/1864-anycubic-photon-mono-se.html

Which one would you go for?

[John]

I have had a lot of problems with my MonoSE .. failed motherboards and front panel display -- but anycubic support is good while in warranty -- they have shipped me a bunch of parts .   but the printing quality is good ..

I don't know about the others

[narrowminded]

I haven't had any issues with my Anycubic products.  I've run the Photon quite a bit with zero problems.  My newer Mono SE only has about 80 total hours on it but also has been trouble free this far.  Therefore, I will vote for....

[John]

So in fairness -- I also picked up a second mono .. and have had no problems ..

[C855B]

So in fairness -- I also picked up a second mono .. and have had no problems ..

Your first one must have been built late on a Friday afternoon. Was there a beer can welded to the inside of the driver's door?   

[Erock482]

what scale do you model in and what kind of items are you thinking of printing?

I would recommend the anycubic photon mono, but if larger items are in the pipeline I'd spring for the mono x or the new mono x 6K

[kiwi_al]

what scale do you model in and what kind of items are you thinking of printing?

I would recommend the anycubic photon mono, but if larger items are in the pipeline I'd spring for the mono x or the new mono x 6K

I model in N scale and am thinking of Steam locomotive and diesel shells. The Steam shells will be long. I'm drawn to the price point of the crealty printers in my country, the Anycubic  Photon is a lot more expensive.

[kiwi_al]

Thanks for all your replies, Now I see the 8K thread and am wavering again!!

[cgw]

Just a little heads up before you go out and buy a 3d printer,   Make sure you can model in cad to create your design you want to printed.    I have gotten several resin printers cheap from folks who did not realize that you have to create the cad models, develop an understanding on slicing and process parameters used to print. Once they realized how much effort it takes to print something from scratch they lose interest.  A lot of the folks whose work you have seen on the forum are CAD users either through work or maker spaces.  It is a skill set that takes some time to develop.   For some folks it is a difficult process. Other pick it up right away. I have a mars, and the photon se  as my primary machine in making Warhammer stuff and occasionally making some N scale details for personal use. Good luck in choosing the best printer for your needs. the one's you listed are all good to print shells and details.   The only advice is to get one of the mono  screened printers,   The LCD's last a lot longer than the old color screen units.

[Chris333]

Just a little heads up before you go out and buy a 3d printer,   Make sure you can model in cad to create your design you want to printed.    I have gotten several resin printers cheap from folks who did not realize that you have to create the cad models, develop an understanding on slicing and process parameters used to print. Once they realized how much effort it takes to print something from scratch they lose interest.  A lot of the folks whose work you have seen on the forum are CAD users either through work or maker spaces.  It is a skill set that takes some time to develop.   For some folks it is a difficult process. Other pick it up right away. I have a mars, and the photon se  as my primary machine in making Warhammer stuff and occasionally making some N scale details for personal use. Good luck in choosing the best printer for your needs. the one's you listed are all good to print shells and details.   The only advice is to get one of the mono  screened printers,   The LCD's last a lot longer than the old color screen units.

Yeah it seems step one is buying a printer and step two is complaining that what you want to print is not on Thingiverse.

[peteski]

Just a little heads up before you go out and buy a 3d printer,   Make sure you can model in cad to create your design you want to printed.

That is the exact reason (plus the time one needs to spend on creating the designs or manipulating them on the computer so they are printable) why I have not jumped into the 3D printing hobby.  Plus it is also somewhat messy, and requires space on the workbench (which I don't have enough of already).

I have dabbled with some 3D CAD back in the '90s, and more recently SketchUp.  I can deal with the basic shapes, but anything more complex is non intuitive to me and seems that it requires one to learn a new way of thinking about how to create more complex 3D things on the screen.

[turbowhiz]

Just a little heads up before you go out and buy a 3d printer,   Make sure you can model in cad to create your design you want to printed.    I have gotten several resin printers cheap from folks who did not realize that you have to create the cad models, develop an understanding on slicing and process parameters used to print. Once they realized how much effort it takes to print something from scratch they lose interest.  A lot of the folks whose work you have seen on the forum are CAD users either through work or maker spaces.  It is a skill set that takes some time to develop.   For some folks it is a difficult process. Other pick it up right away. I have a mars, and the photon se  as my primary machine in making Warhammer stuff and occasionally making some N scale details for personal use. Good luck in choosing the best printer for your needs. the one's you listed are all good to print shells and details.   The only advice is to get one of the mono  screened printers,   The LCD's last a lot longer than the old color screen units.

I'd offer the same advice. I've been monkeying with 3d printing now for pretty close to a decade (built my first Fused Filament printer in 2013), and without a doubt you need to be able to model stuff in 3D in order to realize much value from a printer.

The other advantage to Mono screen printers is the print speed as well; Less exposure time per layer is needed since the mono screen more efficiently lets through the UV light.

I only very recently bought a resin printer; Its been a game changer for me in terms of what I can accomplish for modeling purposes vs a fused filament printer. They both have their place to be sure, there is still a utility for the FF printer for me. But for models, its a whole new world. The FF printer wasn't of much use for models, it was more printing the odd mechanical bit here and there, such as servo turnout mounts or say tools for doing gear replacements on a whole fleet of HO proto 2000 locomotives with failed gears.

To be honest, and it could be the Frankenstein nature of my FF printer, but I find the resin printing process much more straightforward, at least in terms of getting prints themselves done without drama. The whole design not to warp thing is another matter, but so far my prints have been smaller functional parts where that has not been an issue.

I'm by no means highly skilled in 3D design/CAD, but basic skills a necessity in order get much value from a printer.