Looking for recommendation on a good 3D printer for classroom (Page 1 of 2)

Wait for others to offer their options before you make any decisions.  At that price point you will be hard pressed to find a printer that will survive a classroom environment.  I am assuming you’re looking for something that actually prints out of the box.  If you are looking for a kit that a class could assemble, there are plenty of options. Some clarification would help.

I would not recommend CR-10. I will recommend the upgraded CR-10S over CR-10. Do some research about the difference. The cost is about $400-500, and they both are very good printer despite the difference.

However, I don't know how much need it is to have huge build volume as CR-10/CR10-S for classroom use. It takes long time to print a huge object. If the print time is limited in class, I would recommend Ender-3 kits, it cost around $200-250, and you can spend the rest money on an Delta printer kits. Ender-3 and Delta printer are controlled differently and will be fun to watch in class room. But keep in mind these are kits and require some assembly.

Wanhao D7 is also a great alternative, cost at about $500, small build volume and great print quality, the printing process is not that fun to watch for classes, and the smell of the resin may also be potential issue for classroom use.

Maybe we should define
Printer good for classroom
i would think enclosed printer
sturdy build
ease of use
easy to repair
open source

First of all a disclaimer I am not a professional educator  so I have no classroom experience. I am a teacher by heart in that I always want to teach someone something.
Who is going to be the owner proprietor of this machine ? The go to person when something goes wrong or breaks.
This person needs good mechanical, electronic and some software skills And last but not least the time to deal with issues on the machine.
I have a friend that sells 3d printers to schools and the owner issue seems to be the make or  break of a successful 3d printing program.  If you do not have someone committed and designated and skilled to maintain the machine or it will turn into an expensive paper weight.
Also if you are the teacher you will need a good understanding of 3d CAD. And you will need to be comfortable with slicing software, Repiter Host etc and teaching it.

Do not believe the hype of you can print anything with the push of a button. These printers do not exist in the real world yes some very expensive machines com e close but way out of your budget. 3 d printers are simply machines they run a program. Well tuned they give some very good results.. However someone needs to maintain and set up /tune the machine mechanically and through firmware. And you need to learn the slicing software for good and optimal results.
There is a bit of a learning curve and  you or the designated proprietor need to climb this sometimes slippery slope.

In no way am i trying to discourage you from purchasing a printer for your school  but it may not be as simple and easy as you imagine.
3D printing is not a fast operation somthing simple as a key fob will take 20 - 30 minutes to print  larger prints may take hours. so you need to take this into account when managing equitable printer time with the students.

While detas are indeed fun to watch they do take a bit more time to tune and maintain. another consideration.

The ideal printer  for any induvidual will vary depending on skill lever and life experiences. Taste  goals etc.

The classroom has its own dynamics
What are the ages of the kids
How much hands on will they have with the printer.
Time allotted to the 3d printing aspect. .....

And i apologize for throwing up more questions than answers but is the long term will help you make a better decision  and you and the class have a more positive experience.

Some serious misconceptions here...

1. I would not think enclosed printer is good - you can still have enclosed and still be able to see what is going on. a clear acrylic box is easy and it keeps small fingers out of harms way.

2. I would choose easy to move over sturdy build - these two items are not mutually exclusive. you can have sturdy and easy to move in one package.. if it is the right package.
A sturdy frame is important on ANY 3d printer.. without it, well.. things don't work as expected. In fact, I would suggest that a sturdy frame is of HIGH importance, especially in this instance, because of where it would be..

3. Print quality is not that critical, - Uh, beg to differ here.. Print quality is ALWAYS important.. you want your printed item to look decent. I know if I was a kid, and the stuff i saw coming off a 3d printer looked like crap, i would lose interest pretty quickly.
The better things look, the more interest is cultivated and fostered.

Go back to your adult students, please.. you really don't have a clue what is needed here, (as is typical of most of your responses.)

It says alloy frame on Amazon so my guess is it has a metal frame with a pretty ABS cover such is the current trend.

Can confirm Dremel 3D45 is a nice unit. That is my main printer right now (while I work on the 3 others). It is just easy. Everything is pretty well dialed in.

A clear acrylic box will make demonstration very difficult. and it will reflect lights and block many observation angle. I don't see a need to keeps small fingers out of harms way, unless the teacher are very incompetent.

I don't see many 3D printer with sturdy frame fits into this budget, MonoPrice Maker ultimate might be the only option. I think 3D printer with stable frame and easy to move is more important, keep it a way from kids when class is over.

"Print quality is not that critical" mostly refer to maximum resolution. If print come out looked like crap, the printer need repair or upgrade.

I handle all kinds of virus, radioactive material and explosive chemical on daily basis, I do understand the importance of safety, I also understand there are safety procedures that you need to follow to get things done safely.

I don't see a need to keeps small fingers out of harms way, unless the teacher are very incompetent. I don't see a need to allow student to get close to the running printer in class, safety distance is a must for running printer. They can observe closely only when the printer is powered off and unplugged from the wall.

Yes, because enclosure does not make it any safer, you can open it, kids can open it. Safty procedure, and safty distance and finish with complete lock down.

Just please stop giving  bad advise .

wiring out of the way is out of the way side covers prevent reach through and doors that can be opened can be locked.
Only letting kids watch a shutdown printer teaches them nothing. Having a a hands off policy is fine but tough to enforce.
Kids are kids they are curious they want to experience thing this mean touching . A safe distance is also not going to teach them anything so you are suggesting an open printer and binoculars . just does not make sense.

You really need to just stop. Cut your losses and GTFO here. Ive had my kids design and print stuff at 5 years old. Safety is number one! Hands on learning is the best way to learn. Yes learning to level a bed and tightening a belt is part of learning about 3d printing. IF these kids get learn how from someone they hopefully wont be one of the various idiots in all the FB groups asking the same stupid questions over and over. Which means there will be less people like you giving out bad advise. HAving an enclosure would be best especially lockable. Normal class rooms are like 20-30 kids nowadays, Id like to see you keep an eye on that manys every single minute. Having the enclosure would permit them to print better stuff and have a higher range of materials to work with. It would even allow them to print bigger stuff which would run longer than a single class. Your bad advise has made you a running joke of the forum thank you for the laughs

You must not have went to American public schools. There are times the teacher will actually step out to do things. Also depending on the grade in the US most grades up to 4 stay in the same room all day. However the time used to teach about the printer would only be about an hour or two per day. But you could easily break the class into small groups and give them all adequate exposure over the course of a week. Also while one group is having hands on the other groups can be learning theory, history, slicers, host, terminology, model design and development, and even gcode.

To be honest I would doubt students in their normal course of study would ever see a printer. The printer would be found in a course dedicated to manufacturing technology that would be an elective course. Elective courses usually run three hours in most cases and the classes are usually less than 20 students. So in that case it would be easy to give the full class hands on experience. Granted these would be high school level students but if I where a class developer I would not consider trying to teach 3D printing to any grade level below high school.