What do you think of Anycubic i3 Mega S FDM 3D Printer or something better??

[USMC Herc]

https://www.anycubic.com/collections/sales/products/anycubic-i3-mega-s

 

I am thinking about getting a 3D printer.I want a good 3D printer but I cannot afford much more than $300.   

I watch so many people here LSP printing so many models and details for them. I hope in the future some of these guys will share there files for all of us to use.

Any suggestions on a good decent machine would be appreciated.

 

I appreciate ya'lls assistance in advance.

Jason

Edited December 19, 2020 by USMC Herc

[Juggernut]

If you're buying it for modeling, I'd recommend the Elegoo Mars 3D resin printer.  It's a little more labor intensive (gotta clean off the uncured resin with 95% isopropyl alcohol and then let it cure for awhile in the direct sunlight [or purchase/build a UV curing box - not expensive]) than the FDM printers. The prints are head-and-shoulders above FDM for quality of print and fidelity of detail.  With the FDM, you'll have to sand, fill, sand, fill until the surface is smooth even at the finest settings.  With PLA printing, you'll have to sand your brains out....  There are other filaments that you can use and each has it's pluses and minuses.  With the Elegoo Mars, you'll have to buy the resin to do a print as it does not come with any.  A 500 mL bottle  runs around $25 on Amazon ( I recommend the Elegoo resin, it's really good) and lasts a good while if your prints are relatively small.  Caveat - If you're going to want to print large items the Mars is not going to give you more than 6" in height.  The build plate is about 4.5" x 2.5".  For modeling that's a pretty decent build area but it won't do full fuselages or wings.

 

It's a hot item but for about $10 more than the product you're looking at, it's way better for modeling.  Word of WARNING - If you do get into the Elegoo Mars and start printing, do NOT clean the bottom of the resin tank (for lack of the correct word) with anything rougher than facial tissues.  It's clear plastic and is imperative that it remain as distortion free as possible.  If it gets scratched (which paper towels will do to it) the builds will start to suffer quality problems as the light will not be able to penetrate into the resin as well and can screw up the printing process.  Also, although it's a pretty easy process, you will have failures...there's no way around it, especially if you're just starting out...expect it.  I'm told that the resin has an offending odor to it but so far, I've not noticed anything foul or offensive about it.  That's why the printer has a cover over it; in case you do have issues with the resin smell.  I've been modeling with enamels, lacquers, and other stinky chemicals all my life and the resin does not offend my nose at all.

 

UPDATE:  I just discovered that there is also water washable 3D printing resin...it's a little more expensive  than the regular Elegoo Rapid 3D resin but for the effort, I'd prefer to wash the build in water than have to use 95% isopropyl.  The bad thing about using water is you CANNOT send it down the drain after you've used it on the resin...If the resin gets into the water supply it will contaminate the water supply.  The best thing to do is keep it in a clear bucket or covered jar, stick it out in the sun, let the sun's UV cure the resin and then just remove the cured resin...then you can throw it down the drain.

 

Elegoo Mars Resin 3D Printer

Edited December 19, 2020 by Juggernut

[robertmro]

It’s interesting that you ask. 
I’m in a dispute with ANYCUBIC right now for a refund. Fortunately I paid with PayPal and will eventually get my money back but there many people out there wouldn’t. 
My reasons for the cancellation had nothing to do with their inability to deliver product now. The reviews online were very good and at one time the company shipped a good product however things have changed. A day after placing my order l learned that I wanted a smaller 4K screen which delivers a finer resolution but smaller build size. I tried to cancel the order but they have no mechanism for doing that. After a lot of searching I found that the only way to communicate with them is on Facebook Messenger. After some coaxing they agreed but are hedging on the refund. Enter PayPal which is investigating the issue. The bottom line is they are selling machines at holiday discounts that they can’t deliver. If you look at the owner Facebook forums you will find a revolution brewing. If you still decide to buy an ANYCUBIC printer only do it with Amazon and be warned that their product support is virtually nonexistent right now. 
 

To show how screwed up they are I got a message from the telling me that they will refund my money if I close the dispute first. 
 

I will assume that you what you’re getting into by buying a resin printer. 
 

 

Edited December 19, 2020 by robertmro
Add detail

[Juggernut]

I don't think he'd get a DLP resin 3D printer for under his $300 budget.

Edited December 19, 2020 by Juggernut

[USMC Herc]

 

2 minutes ago, Juggernut said:

I don't think he'd get a DLP resin 3D printer for under his $300 budget.

are the extruder type machines better??? And what is the price range for one. Would a good/decent machine fall into my price range??

[Juggernut]

2 minutes ago, USMC Herc said:

 

are the extruder type machines better??? And what is the price range for one. Would a good/decent machine fall into my price range??

 

That one I have no idea on.  Never researched an extruder machine.  To me it doesn't sound much different than the FDM printing.

[Juggernut]

If you're planning on using the 3D printer for model parts, etc, let me ask this....how are you at using 3D modeling software?  Frankly, I'm finding that learning the 3D modeling software is a lot tougher than using the actual 3D printer.  Of course I have to use the toughest software out there (so I'm told), Fusion 360.  I use it because I have a free license to use it since I'm only using it for personal projects; otherwise it's very expensive software.  Some might say that you can lie and tell them that you're only using it for your own modeling and then sell it anyway but I'm horribly honest Joe.  Also, I'm the guy that if I did that, I'd be the one who gets caught and then have to pay the consequences.

Edited December 19, 2020 by Juggernut

[USMC Herc]

32 minutes ago, Juggernut said:

If you're planning on using the 3D printer for model parts, etc, let me ask this....how are you at using 3D modeling software?  Frankly, I'm finding that learning the 3D modeling software is a lot tougher than using the actual 3D printer.  Of course I have to use the toughest software out there (so I'm told), Fusion 360.  I use it because I have a free license to use it since I'm only using it for personal projects; otherwise it's very expensive software.  Some might say that you can lie and tell them that you're only using it for your own modeling and then sell it anyway but I'm horribly honest Joe.  I'm the guy that if I did that, I'd be the one who gets caught and then have to pay the consequences.

That was going to be a follow up question as people commented on this subject as I have been reading but don't understand the nuances so I do not have any idea. I have seen people here using Rhino. Hopefully they can help also. 
ty Juggernut

Edited December 19, 2020 by USMC Herc

[robertmro]

I 

3 minutes ago, Juggernut said:

If you're planning on using the 3D printer for model parts, etc, let me ask this....how are you at using 3D modeling software?  Frankly, I'm finding that learning the 3D modeling software is a lot tougher than using the actual 3D printer.

I agree. It took me a couple of years to get good with the software and years more to get really good. But I use Modo which isn't a CAD program and I use camera matching to calculate dimensions when I can't get blueprints. This can be done for free with Blender. The only down side is these programs only save STL files which can't be used for CNC.

[USMC Herc]

On 12/18/2020 at 9:20 PM, robertmro said:

I 

I agree. It took me a couple of years to get good with the software and years more to get really good. But I use Modo which isn't a CAD program and I use camera matching to calculate dimensions when I can't get blueprints. This can be done for free with Blender. The only down side is these programs only save STL files which can't be used for CNC.

I still need to read to understand witch programes are used for 3D modeling

[Juggernut]

TInkercad (tinkercad.com) is free and easy to use but very limited in what you can do with it.  It's an Autodesk program;  the same folks who have Fusion 360.  You can also visit Thingieverse, they have a whole bunch of 3D designs that may or may not suit your interests.   There isn't a ton of model specific stuff there but there is some...I haven't visited in awhile so there may be more now than when I last looked.  People are adding new stuff all the time.  Best part is, most of the stuff is free to download and print.

Edited December 20, 2020 by Juggernut

[GrahamF]

My advice would be forget a 3D printer if you're not proficient in 3D CAD. 

Graham