discussion Best 3D Printer – Need Expert Advice

[jimni]

I’ve been researching the best 3D printer over the past few days because I want to start printing custom models, prototypes, and small functional parts at home. I’ve read reviews on trusted sources like The New York Times (Wirecutter), Consumer Reports, and Popular Mechanics, and they consistently highlight these two models as top choices:

FLASHFORGE AD5X Multi-colour 3D Printer
https://www.amazon.com/FLASHFORGE-Multi-Color-Extruder-Leveling-220x220x220mm/dp/B0DNW25S87?th=1

Creality Ender 3 V3 SE 3D Printer
https://www.amazon.com/Creality-Ender-V3-SE-8-66x8-66x9-84/dp/B0F8J78BN1?th=1

Both printers are highly rated for print quality, reliability, ease of setup, and value for money. However, I’m having trouble deciding which one would best suit my needs and would really appreciate expert advice.

I plan to use the printer for home projects, small mechanical parts, hobby models, and learning 3D printing. I’m looking for a machine that offers good print accuracy, stable performance, easy maintenance, and beginner-friendly features, without requiring constant adjustments.

So which 3D printer should I buy? Any recommendations or real-world experience would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Steven000]

Hi, can't help you much regarding those printers, but mainly an FDM printer (like above) is ideal for house and mechanical objects, also beginner friendly - but the finish is quite rough for scalemodels.

For scalemodels a resin printer is recommended, but is't quite messy, toxic and for most people I would not recommend it as a beginner friendly type of printer.

I use a bambulab x1c 'FDM printer' for general stuff and an Anycubic dlp D1 'resin printer' for scalemodels.

 

[Neil Merryweather]

Hi, can't help you much regarding those printers, but mainly an FDM printer (like above) is ideal for house and mechanical objects, also beginner friendly - but the finish is quite rough for scalemodels.

For scalemodels a resin printer is recommended, but is't quite messy, toxic and for most people I would not recommend it as a beginner friendly type of printer.

I use a bambulab x1c 'FDM printer' for general stuff and an Anycubic dlp D1 'resin printer' for scalemodels.

totally agree with Steven000.
I use a Ultimaker S5 for FDM, but only because I got it from work when I retired( they're crazy expensive) All my ex-colleagues in the modelmaking profession swear by the Bambulab, and if I ever need to replace mine that's what I will go for.
For resin printing, which I use for the kind of stuff we do on this forum (see any of my recent threads) I have the Elegoo Mars 2 pro, which is great, but has been superseded several times in the 3 years since I bought it.
I do believe the Bambulab is very easy to set up out of the box at beginner level