I’m thinking about buying a 3D printer for creating cosplay props like helmets and armor pieces (only once I figure things out, I’ll start small of course) among other things and since there is a sale on the Ender 3 V3 series and they seem to be well received I figured that it would make sense to buy one. Having done some research, it seems like the regular V3 with it’s 220x220x250mm build volume is too small for what I’m planning to do. Though splitting some parts will of course still be required, from what I could gather the V3 Plus better matches the recommended build volume having one of 300x300x330mm. The sale puts it at about the original price of the regular V3 which works for my budget.
I’d love to hear some thoughts on this, since my knowledge is limited as well as theoretical and the quality of internet sources varies quite heavily.
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Creality is good because they brought an entry level 3d printer to market for an affordable price, and people like me got into the hobby because of that. The price point shows in the parts they use to assemble it. I’ve clocked countless hours learning how to correct failures, and upgrade the cheap parts for better, more reliable parts, add features, modify and flash firmware.
Five and a half years ago I bought that ender 3 pro. I think it was around $250 USD. I probably spent over $300 more upgrading it and replacing parts. In retrospect I shouldn’t have cheaped out, but that’s the conclusion I came to. I no longer want to waste time fixing the printer. If I walk away and don’t print anything for weeks/months at a time I’d like to have confidence when I fire it up it’s going to work.
I ordered a Prusa MK4S about a month ago which was the top-end hobbyist printer back then, and I am blown away by the difference. Prusa may not be the top at the moment, but the quality and support is there.
I recommend that unless you have the free time, you’re willing to tinker, and are not easily frustrated, you should look into a higher quality brand.
Like others have commented, I think I spend more time tinkering or troubleshooting my Ender 3 than actually printing. I’ve had a lot of fun but it wouldn’t be my first choice.
I think I would look at the Prusa or Bamboo printers as they seem to work better out of the box.
I’m mostly focused on an msla printer these days though.
PrusaXL might be great for this. I don’t even know how much it costs, but I’m sure it’s a hell of lot. Unfortunately I think any large format 3d printer is going to be either expensive or a headache. Large scale though is really what you would want for your particular needs though.
