so im a teen with not alot of money but i want to get into 3d printing, another community suggested the ender 3 original. it looks like a solid printer but who know im a noob after all. my budget is around 100$ or less. im looking into making mini figures and painting them or whatever nerdy thing i find. i know the budget is tight but im hoping there is something, also im debating on buying a used 3d printer because they seem cheaper.
also any tips for a noob would be great like what makes said model good or bad compared to other models and such.
Monoprice Select Mini V2, I’ve used this little guy for a few years now, and it’s rock solid
I would say anything but this one if you’re looking for a printer as a tool. My mp select mini v2 has been wonderful for me but thats because I wanted to learn electronics and have 3d printing be my hobby. Not have it as a tool.
This printer has a mandatory bed rewiring that if not done can cause a fire or the printer to lock up. Has a odd z-axis screw that needs to be replaced as it has weird magic numbers to work with for nonstock firmware, and the board causes the motors to be incredibly loud. A bed plate that is recommended to have a glass plate added to it for adhesion and to prevent warping as it’s only 1mm thick. And a very limited 120mm build volume.
I love this thing, it taught me soldering, it taught me about electronics and voltages, how to repair and tune a printer. The fact that the motors didn’t make the printer loud but stepper drivers do. How fusion 360 and sketchup work. Plus the amazing part of gcode changes like arc overhangs.
I’m finally starting to be very happy with mine but its a ship of Theseus situation now.
I’m currently building a voron and utilizing my printer and my coworkers stock ender3. And tbh I love the ender3. Its great, and at your budget price range it’ll do most things. $100 won’t be great for anything safe to use resin wise. So before you make a jump for ender3 look up the differences between fdm and resin prints as ender3 is fdm.