Prusa are hard to get the hang of but when you do they are ok. $197 is a good price and you will soon be 3D printing although assembly is a pain. manual leveling is hard to get the hang of (I find business card works best), feeding filament is hard, they clog all the time especially with PLA and they don't have an enclosure so not very good with ABS (to cold) but some folks love them. Good luck.

@Herr Ball I have heard good things about Prusa i3, but as Nink has said, not good for ABS unless you put it in an enclosure? I known folks print parts for InMoov on it and get good results on PLC.

I brought a Flashforge Dreamer, paid about the equivalent $900 3 yrs ago, and if I had known then what I know now, I would of brought a cheaper 3D printer, haven’t been that impressed with the Dreamer, and waste of time getting a dual head unit!

Chris.

Here is an Opinion:

For $ 197.00 the machine is a way to get into 3d printing. Just be prepared to add upgrades. It will be worth it in the long run.

Be prepared to suffer thru the learning curve, but many issues would also occur with a higher priced machine.

About two years ago I posted "3d Printer Kit Review" It goes over my experience of building a printer kit.

After a few upgrades, a foam board enclosure and a lot of learning, I ended up with a decent printer. I print mostly ABS and am satisfied with the parts. I printed a complete Rafiki from Dave Cochran and will assemble it once his work schedule lets up. I have put thru about 20 rolls of ABS and 5 rolls of PLA, and with standard lubrication, checking tightness of screws and components and the replacement of 2 heaters (due to broken wires due to the flexing caused by the movement of the carriage) it continues to run fine. With about an addition of $125.00 for upgrades, I am happy with it's performance.

I bought another printer online for parts, but for an additional $125.00 I ended up with a second machine.

Real cheap filament is not a good idea, but with moderately priced filament, feed issues and clogged nozzles are reduced considerably.

Ron

Herr Ball,

I don't know if you want the InMoov head or just a table top head but, I built Antonn with craft store parts, a foam head form, mask, foam board (could also use wood) and hot glue. I also posted a project with assembly information. I will admit I also have a set of 3d printed eyes which will soon be added, but if you want to just build a head, a 3d printer isn't totally needed. The next version of Antonn will be much stronger and will be plastic. It will include a number of printed parts.

If you really want to get into 3D Printing, be prepared to learn as you go. It is a great machine once you sort out the initial "experiences". It is great to be able to design and build a part from scratch.

Ron

I purchased a Prusa i3 4 years ago from FolgerTech and I love it. I have printed my entire InMoov with it using ABS. I have it in a downstairs room where it is free of drafts, no enclosure and get little to no warping. I have done some modifications to the printer. Print bed is an Aluminum plate with 1" standoffs that mount the heated bed that I have put 1/4" insulation tape on the bottom and on that is the 1/8" window glass. I use Elmer's purple glue stick and you can not pry the part off until the bed temp gets below 35C. My brother purchased a Makerbot clone CTC for 3 times what I paid and has had nothing but problems. We are now converting it to a Rep Rap machine.

RichardZ

Thanks to everyone that replied ... I am grateful for your opinions.

Hi All,

I've just bought the Anet A6 which is almost identical like the one in your message (mine is with a rotary switch to select the options). It comes from BangGood for something like 163 EURO's.

Is it a good printer... well, not that bad, but would I buy it again ? No, I'd spent a 100 $ more and buy a Prusa. Al the Anet components feel a little weak/fragile. The bed espescially feels light weith. Also the leveling of the bed is rather painfull and time consuming. I bought it as a kit, so you have to consider about 4 hours of assembly. Conclusion: if you need a 3D printer for occasional use and price is you main motive, you will be satisfied with this model. If however you're more an advanced user with higher expectations, look for something else.

One more thing....

Printing (Repetier) from a Mac (OS High Sierra) hasn't been possible yet. After upgrading drivers etc. the printer is recognized, but the printing commands are not executed. This is still in progress. I hope to do some tests with Windows and Linux later on.

Good luck, greetings and the best wishes for a prosperate new year !

First the ANET is a clone of a Prusa and not a Prusa or made by them. My ANET 3d printer still works, but I do all of my 3d printing on my CR 10 because it is so easy to use and the prints look better. It also has a much larger print volume. I wish I had gotten the CR 10 first. The ANET does print better than my first 3d printer, but you need to make sure the print starts good or your part will come loose and then you have a mess. My CR 10 3d printer has much less trouble getting a good start on a 3d print. If you are printing with ABS then you need an enclosure. PLA is great for most 3d prints, no enclosure needed and you don't need such a hot print bed, so your prints start and finish sooner.