3D Printer

https://www.joann.com/polaroid-playsmart-3d-printer/17038696.html

Hey, is this price good for this 3D printer? I wanted something to just mess around with

 

I would spend a little more and get a Creality Ender 3. You can get it for $170 directly from Creality (looks like it'll ship at the end of the month)
https://creality3d.shop/collections...wuBwAGKPAs7KyGgpcdgviHqYOdCyVBPwaAryjEALw_wcB
The ender 3 has the largest community, support, and printable upgrades.

If you want it faster, you should be able to get one for around 200 from Amazon or elsewhere.

 

I have a prusa mini. Very happy with it. They also have a good community and support.

 

I don’t have a need for it but the $100 price point makes me want it lol

 

Is the upgrade to the Pro version worth it? I plan on buying one for printing firearms/parts and wasn't sure if the Pro is enough or if i should just upgrade the base kit on my own.

 

I’ve also heard awesome things about the Creality. There’s nothing worse than a bad 3D printer. You’ll spend more time adjusting and fixing issues than printing if you pick the wrong one!

-I’ve printed about 200 projects over the last couple years

 

Go to thingaverse.com and take a poke around and see what you would be interested in printing. Take a look at the build volume of the $100 printer and see if what you would want to print will fit in there.

So the thing with the ender is, its an inexpensive starting platform. You can customize the bajesus out of it. Things you would want to do right off the bat:
Glass build plate ($10 at lowes)
All metal extruder (the plastic one will break eventually)
upgraded leveling springs to keep level for longer
auto bed leveling
capricorn bowden tube

So only the first one is something i would do right off the bat. The smooth glass surface gives your print a better chance at sticking and it will be perfectly flat (important).
The other things i would do as you go. All the upgrades are pnp except for the auto bed leveling. That requires flashing of the firmware, but there's about 100 different youtube videos that make it quite easy.

I think the main things with the pro over the non-pro is upgraded y axis, better power supply and a flexible build plate (i'd still use the glass one). Imo, not worth the extra $

if you want to spend a little more, i would look at the ender 3 v2 or the ender 5. I think those you can just plug the bl-touch (auto bed leving) and it works.

 

Hmm... sounds a lot like modding a truck.


I’m lucky- have access to an Ultimaker S3 at work. Don’t have to spend much time tinkering with the machine but still spend plenty of time tinkering with the designs I print on it.