Advice from 3D printer owners

[saz468]

I’ve noticed the price of 3D printers are reasonable now I’ve been looking on YouTube and other websites and I know a few members on this site use 3D printers to make certain items for their cars. What is a good one not to go full production on but something to tinker with ( make brackets figure) is a resin printer good or plastic
any advice would be appreciated I always get good advice from is site even non civic
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[vtecr]

Creality pretty much has the affordable printer market sewn up at the moment with the likes of the Ender 3. If you're looking for something to churn out good quality prints at a reasonable size then it's ideal. They do various other sizes too but the price increases for the larger beds.

The commonly used filament is PLA but the Ender 3 will manage ABS too, especially if you enclose it to keep the heat in.

A resin printer is a different technology to the more common FDM and they're typically more expensive too. The difference is basically how the machine goes about building the model itself.

Resin, or DLP/SLA printers generally will give a really high quality detail to the finished print and are ideal for printing things like figures, characters etc as they won't have the layer lines like an FDM printer. There's a fair bit of cleanup involved though and you need a good ventilated area since the fumes are pretty toxic.

FDM on the other hand doesn't really give off any harmful emissions (depending on filament) so it's safe to use indoors without having a lot of ventilation. It prints layer by layer and if you look closely you can see/feel the lines. It's perfect for functional prints, brackets etc and even for models and figures but it won't print the tiny details as well as a resin printer will.

You can design your own models to print using tools like Fusion 360, TinkerCad etc. Or you can browse Thingiverse for models that others have designed and print them yourself.

That's just a really basic overview but hopefully it helps get you going. It's a great skill to have and you'll find endless uses for it once you get one. ?

 

[saz468]

Creality pretty much has the affordable printer market sewn up at the moment with the likes of the Ender 3. If you're looking for something to churn out good quality prints at a reasonable size then it's ideal. They do various other sizes too but the price increases for the larger beds.

The commonly used filament is PLA but the Ender 3 will manage ABS too, especially if you enclose it to keep the heat in.

A resin printer is a different technology to the more common FDM and they're typically more expensive too. The difference is basically how the machine goes about building the model itself.

Resin, or DLP/SLA printers generally will give a really high quality detail to the finished print and are ideal for printing things like figures, characters etc as they won't have the layer lines like an FDM printer. There's a fair bit of cleanup involved though and you need a good ventilated area since the fumes are pretty toxic.

FDM on the other hand doesn't really give off any harmful emissions (depending on filament) so it's safe to use indoors without having a lot of ventilation. It prints layer by layer and if you look closely you can see/feel the lines. It's perfect for functional prints, brackets etc and even for models and figures but it won't print the tiny details as well as a resin printer will.

You can design your own models to print using tools like Fusion 360, TinkerCad etc. Or you can browse Thingiverse for models that others have designed and print them yourself.

That's just a really basic overview but hopefully it helps get you going. It's a great skill to have and you'll find endless uses for it once you get one. ?

thanks for the advice I was looking at the 3 Ender I’m hoping it will work well with a Mac book

 

[vtecr]

thanks for the advice I was looking at the 3 Ender I’m hoping it will work well with a Mac book

Operating system are pretty much irrelevant as a lot of the tools are either available on all or they're browser based so you won't have any issues.

 

[saz468]

Operating system are pretty much irrelevant as a lot of the tools are either available on all or they're browser based so you won't have any issues.

Does the computer plug in directly or memory card or both?
btw thanks for the information

 

[BoostinIX]

Had an Ender 3, Ender 5, Elegoo Mars Pro, and Prusa MK3S.

All of them run off USB stick or SD/MicroSD. Direct connect is an option, but if you shut off the computer/overload the processes, can create printing errors. Don't bother with it, use the included card. The good news is you can use most slicing software. Pretty sure Cura works on MAC. FB groups are going to be your friend if you go Ender. You'll want to find common settings and printer profiles for Cura. Note- Personally I prefer Prusaslicer even for the Ender's.

Ender's are good starting platforms, but be prepared for lots of tinkering to get quality. Lots. and Lots. of tinkering. In the end the only stock parts on my Ender 3 was the frame before I got rid of it and bought the Prusa. Day 1 on the Prusa > my uber modified Ender. To the point my Ender 5 hasn't been touched in months, use just the Prusa. Spent as much on the Ender in the end as just buying the Prusa. Ender's are good learning experiences but to get the same quality...oh the heaaches.

Resin is neat if you need that quality and detail on something like DnD minis, but the labor is a pain. Lots of chemical cleanup and considerations, not to mention 91% iso. is still a rarity to find. Not worth it for car parts. Mine's been idle for months now until I need mini's again. The slicers are also miserable.

If you're making brackets for the interior, PETG is what you want. ABS is a lot more difficult to make work right and has fume considerations. If it's for the engine bay, yes ABS or maybe ASA, carbon, or nylon.


I can't get to youtube at work, but here are some good channels to go watch:
Makers Muse
Teaching Tech
Thomas Sanladerer
TH3D

This site has tooooooons of good reading material too.
https://all3dp.com/1/best-3d-printer-reviews-top-3d-printers-home-3-d-printer-3d/

 

[ez12a]

Old post but i have an Ender 3 with some light mods like bed springs and auto leveling with a bl touch. I print in PETG and get decent results. All controlled with OctoPrint running on an old laptop i have. Designed and printed a drill-less plate frame for the Civic and also cable combs for my next PC build.

Does what I need it to do for light duty. If you are a tinkerer it is fun to play with and tune.

 

[enishi]

ABS is great for car interior but you need an enclosure. Also great for printing 3d printer parts for use in an enclosure so it won't melt.

PETG is less brittle than PLA but it soak up moisture so fast in the factory you might need to dry it once you open the vacuum sealed roll so you might have to dry it in an oven and learn how to do that that the right way. Some say petg doesn't melt inside car but my experience differs.

PLA is never good for car interior because it melts for sure and it's brittle unless you are printing for non-functioning part.

My advice just get the cheapest new printer you can get preferably with a psu that is not those tiny ones and get an enclosure. If you have time you can prob get a use one on facebook marketplace for at least $50 less than a new printer but you risk having it be a pos although my experience has been good.

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