Recommendations for First 3D Printer (Page 1 of 2)

Although XYZPrinting Da Vinci printer use mostly high quality parts and come with very solid frame and case, the wire harness and hotend have some issue and will cause reliability issues. It also not compatible with 3rd party and open source software. They also over-drive the motors and lead to over-heating issue and there is no easy way to fix that.

If you have lots of experience with electronics and don't mind spend 20+ hours to fix all these problem, bid a broken one on ebay for $100-$150 and get it fix. It can be a great printer and works much better than the $500+ stock new printer you buy from XYZPrinting.

If this is your first 3D printer and you have no idea how to fix it when anything went wrong, stay away from XYZPrinting printer. They have bad custom service and problem of some kind will show up sooner or later and easiest is solution is sale them for parts on ebay for $100-$150.

PLA and PETG are both considered safe, PLA is usually cheaper than PETG but not as strong.

As a previous Da Vinci owner I would say avoid them at all cost. If you need parts you can't g et them. They require you to ship the entire printer back to them at your cost for the smallest repairs. I would only buy from a place in the US that has support in the US and offers parts. Your best bet is to try and communicate to the supplier and ask about support and parts. That gives you an  idea of if they are willing to help and if they can supply parts. Don't jump the gun and buy too quickly just to get going as you will be let down. Take your time and do your homework.

Here is one with a 4.7^3  build area fully enclosed with HEPA 7 filtration system built in for $599.
Looks nice sounds nice but buyer beware.  Do your homework before purchasing this can be deliverer to your local home depot or your home free shipping.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/AFINIA-H-Se … 801760-_-N

I have not owed a davinci but it is on my short list of those not to buy. Spend too much time helping those who have been sucked in by the xyz company. I wish I had a dollar for every newby who comes to this board with an intro  " Hi my name is _______ I am new to 3D printing and I just bought a XYZ Davinci ."     And i so want to respond with
"Sorry to hear that!!!"

there are going to be compromises.  if you go with an open printer you can save some money. or spend above your budget for a smallish print volume and a completely enclosed printer.

and just a couple years ago you would have had to spend a grand for something decent. Even today a good printer runs between  $1500 and $6000
https://printedsolid.com/collections/3d-printers

This realy is a great time to buy a printer but you need to find the right one for you.

Hope this helps
Tin Falcon

Is an open printer safe to use inside? In terms of breathing in particles does it made a big difference open or closed?
Also why is an enclosed printer so much more money?

I have watched the first two as well  and can be trusted for reviews.
I would add the 3D Printing nerd to that list as well.

Please search you tube and the net for review tips troubleshooting , suggested upgrades etc. , for any printer you are considering.

If you are anywhere close to  Bel Air MD consider attending   ERRF http://eastcoastreprapfestival.com/
Tom an joel (the 3d printing nerd were at  MRRF so some of the big names may be at Errf as well.

IMHO  YES!! if you print only with pla  is see no issues. I have 4 printers all in my house no filtration.
I am under treatment for asthma. and chose to avoid abs. I have made many prints on or adjacent to the dinning room table.
And my shop is adjacent to the kitchen. That said I do live in an older house and dust is pretty much a way of life.
And i do not live alone . My wife has never complained about any plastic smell. And I have grand kids in he house on a fairly regular basis.

That my friend is the $1800 question.  Unless you have a hepa  or nilfisk rated vacuum cleaner you are likely breathing in particles.  the UP box i expect does a great job of filtering.  But is it worth the extra money?

A difference yes  with pla you may or may not notice any difference.

I think it comes down to the added cost of adding a bunch of parts.
There is hidden cost to these parts as well design engineering manufacturing and added shipping costs.
An open frame printer such as a prusa design can be shipped flat with some assembly required  an enclosed Pinter you are shipping a cube with packing to prevent damage, so more weight and volume to ship. Free shipping is never really free the consumer is always paying for the bottom line.

IMHO if you were printing ABS a closed frame printer with excellent filtration could be a good investment . For pla not as much.
If you live in a clean room you might need the filtration  but likely not the case. 
Again I hope these thoughts help you make the right decision.

Tin Falcon

1st off, lets clear up a small misconception here - the so called "breathing in of particles" has been severely over-hyped.
yes, some people are more sensitive to the odors of some filaments, and that is something to take into consideration.

I own 5 printers, 3 of which are fully enclosed, 2 open frame - all "unfiltered". I have run as many as 4 of them at one time in my home "hobby room" which is basically a standard sized bedroom turned workspace (approx. 11x12ft, give or take). I sit in close proximity to the printers while they are running and have run them up to 10 hours straight in a day - I do not leave my printers unattended while they are running. I have never had a problem with breathing "particles". Oh, and I run primarily ABS (the same material Lego's are made of) and occasionally PLA, Nylon, and PETG - depending on the project I am working on.

Each material has a given set of properties and the choice of which to use would/should depend on what you are making and what its use will be. For simple models meant for display, then PLA would probably be fine.

I would not buy a DaVinci, or a Dremel, or some of the other proprietary systems out there. Unless you are willing to invest the time, energy and cost of rebuilding them, you are stuck buying only their overpriced materials and parts.

Look for something "open source" - meaning you can buy your materials and replacement parts anywhere you like.

Do not buy the cheapest thing you can find, either.. be smart about what you are buying. Research the heck out of it. Find out the cost of replacement parts - hotends, motors, beds... things WILL break, and will have to be replaced.
That is a fact of life, just like with any other machine..
Can you use material from other sources or are you stuck buying theirs?
Look into customer support - are they easy to reach? easy to deal with? is there a forum or group that can maybe help you with things? (soliforum is a great resource, to be sure. helped me tremendously when we got our first one)
Is it a well built machine? will it be durable for the long haul, or is it going to break/crack the frame inside of a year?
Obviously a metal frame is going to last longer than acrylic, wood, plastic.

Why do fully enclosed machines cost more than open frame? Simple, more materials in the building of it.
An open frame machine just needs a framework.
A fully enclosed machine needs the framework AND the panels that enclose it, therefor more cost to build it.

As for an actual recommendation... well... for someone in your situation, there is only one "brand" that comes to mind that is open source, relatively easy to use, and has fantastic customer support. The down side to this is that it is not cheap. But - it is extremely well made and will last for a very long time.

this is the entry level machine: https://www.printitindustries.com/colle … 3d-printer

this is the next step up: https://www.printitindustries.com/colle … 3d-printer

The partners in this company are all members here at Soliforum. They know their stuff.
No, they are not one of the "big name" manufacturers, but they know what they are doing, and the machine is solid.
Yes, I was very lucky to be chosen as a beta tester for them and started out with the 8.10 version. I was later sent the parts to upgrade to the Horizon version (i like to tinker, so it was easy for me to install the upgrades).
No - I am NOT paid to endorse these machines. I do so out of the knowledge of having used them myself. I will not endorse junk - even if I was paid to do so.
I have had mine for going on 2 years now. Have hauled it 5 hours to the Milwaukee Maker Faire for 2 years running, and taken it 3hours to Minneapolis for a Maker Faire there. it made the trip in excellent shape. Ran beautifully during the events, and made the trip home again with no problems at all. Still runs perfectly.

So yeah.. do lots of research and figure out exactly what you want to do with it before you buy anything.

Here is another option filament for this is a bit pricey at $29 for a 500 gram roll.FYI tis is 4x what i pay for pla. As far as i know you can use any brand pla but you may need to respool on to a dremel roll or make an exterior holder.  and I do not-think it is open source.
build volume  9 x 5.9 x 5.5 $ 399 so well within your budget you have enough left for a few rolls of filament.
No heated bed. 
This is a factory reconditioned unit. and should work for you but check reviews before you buy . Also check for availability of spare parts.
This is not a recommendation just posting options
No mention of any filtration but this is a closed printer built for pla. It is UL listed so it will not burn your house down.
Not as good as the one suggested by Heartless but within your specified budget.
This is likely an older Model original MSRP is listed at $799.
This is a PLA only machine out of the box. And not designed for tinkering / upgrades.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Dremel-Fact … DAody0cCCA

If you are looking to get a fully assembled home 3D printer, here are some effective options:

• Wanhao Duplicator i3 Mini
• Tevo Michelangelo Cantilever 3D Printer
• Anycubic i3 Mega Ultrabase 3D Printer
• Tevo Tornado 3D Printer
• Wanhao Duplicator i3 V2.1 Steel Frame
• Creality 3D CR-20 3D Printer V2.1

All these 3D printers are available at extremely cheap prices on websites such as 3D printers Bay etc.

https://www.3dprintersbay.com

As a previous XYZ owner (Da Vinci 1.0) I would say stay away from them. They have poor customer service, if you need repairs they require you to send the entire printer back to Taiwan at your cost. They do not sell parts beyond hotends which are never in stock. They use poor quality wiring that will work for a month or so then you had better know how to find broken wires and replace them other wise your $200 dollar machine is now a $200 paper weight.

For a starter you are better off with a Monoprice as they have better support, and are more common. They also do not use locked down filament that cost 3 times the market average.

Also lets talk filament. I have a suspicion that russel_etl might be partial to or even employed by XYZ. Their filament on average is twice the cost of the similar material on the market. They also give half of what you would normally get on the market. For example one of their proprietary cartridges usually contain 500G of filament at a price point of around $25 while the normal open source spools that most other printers use give you 1Kg at a price point $15 to $20 and as much as $35 for more exotic or high end brands. You will also use it much faster than he hints at as well.

As far as bed size goes you need to think about this before buying. What do you intend to print? What might you print when you get better at doing so. Will you print usable parts, or just little trinkets? Keep in mind printed item can be joined but that joint can be a weakness depending on intended use. So if the need to print the entire object arises then you need a bigger build volume. Most of us seem happy with around a 10 inch cube or so but there are a few that need even larger. Of course the larger the volume the higher the cost. In all honesty I myself would stay away from sub $500 printers as a first printer. My first was $800 and was all wood. But that was like 15 years ago with a cupcake from Makerbot.

Now you should be able to get a good starter for $500 to $1000 that will be fully open source and have most parts available on the market like ebay or amazon. It is a golden rule in the 3Dprinting world that you get what you pay for. If it $200, there is a reason for that low price. Just keep that in mind.

The good thing is you read here before buying the machine.  To my knowledge the aio is the only printer that offers that feature.
Do not be disappointed as you are not really missing anything great. IMHO home level 3d scanners and software are behind design software and 3d printers. Even the higher level many thousand dollar scanners take a bit of work to produce a scan then there is the touch up to do . so do not be sucked into the hype.
If you want  a 3d printer buy a 3d printer stay away from the multi head machines.

Take a look at the mono price line up and the Wanhao (same printers different label)

these are low priced  import machine but are not bad at least when new. And time will tell i guess.

the crealty machines are improving by leaps and bounds so at least worth watching a few reviews. 

and it depends on what material you want to print if you are planning on abs you need an enclosure.

I have one of the Da vinci Aio machines, if you are just buying it because it has a scanner - dont bother, if you want to use open source filaments - its possible but you have to get into resetting the filament chips etc, if you dont want the faff, dont bother.
If you want a plug and play machine, that prints reasonably well, but where all you do is plug in a factory cartridge (at about twice the cost of open source cartridges - or more), and all you need to do is send prints to it - then this might be the machine for you.
after sales service is not great, they expect the whole machine to be sent back for the simplest repairs, spare parts are not spectacularly easy to obtain (I have just had a small clamshell chip on my second glass print bed- with replacements about £70).
The software that comes with it is basic, but works, the filament heating is all controlled by the data on the chip in the cartridge, you cannot tweak it without faffing with the chips.
so if you dont really want to get into tweaking the settings of the printing, are willing to pay more for your filament, dont care too much about after sales service, then this might be the machine for you.

I went into the purchase of mine with my eyes open, I was willing to trade off the bad points for a machine that didnt need a lot of setting up, as my skills are in CAD and I just wanted to be able to print my designs - not mess around setting the machine up.
I have been happy with the results I have had. - I recently produced a couple of tudor roses as decoration for a friends boat

As previously suspected xyzprinting employee, I can tell you Da Vinci 1.0 printer is not for beginners. Although I can list lots of good thing about Da Vinci 1.0 printer, their problem can drive beginner crazy and customer service is terrible. Also not just Da Vinci 1.0 AIO, all 3D scanner from xyzprinting receive very bad review and is not recommended for beginners either.

I do own many Da Vinci 1.0, Jr., and miniMaker, because I bid them very cheap on ebay and replace the main board so that I can avoid all their problems while take advantage of the cheap prices. If you are not confident on your skills, stay away from xyzprinting.

As big fan of MonoPrice, I would recommend MonoPrice maker select V2 and MonoPrice maker select plus. You can get them for as little as $199 and $299 when on sale. They can be unboxed and assembled in less than 10 minutes and ready to print in less than half an hour. They are not problem free, and not plug and play 3D printer, but they are easy enough to use and are backed by their customer service and huge community support in wikiforum and facebook group.

The other alternative that I have no direct experience is Ender-3, cost as little as $160 when on sale, also backed by their customer service and huge community support in facebook group.

All above three printer do not offer enclosure, and therefore is not recommended for ABS printing without build a enclosure for it by yourself.