We use MakerBot replicator 2’s with no trouble at all. They are great - and if you find one used, the things to look for maintenance are

• stepper motor cable for the intruder
• Heater
• temp sensor

If anything ever goes wrong with that printer, it’s one of those three things.

I couldn’t even tell you the number of hours we have on those printers. A ridiculous high amount

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A Robo 3D R1+ if you want a more popular model or Creality CR10S

@jstarne1 That printer is getting a bit small in size at: 10 x 9 x 8 inch 254 x 228.6 x 203.2 mm will look at the creality CR10S

@DJ Sures

Quote:

We use MakerBot replicator 2’s with no trouble at all. They are great - and if you find one used, the things to look for maintenance are

• stepper motor cable for the intruder
• Heater
• temp sensor

I'll take a look as this is very good to know.

Ok this tread should get a lot of hits!

Lets look at price The current market leader and most bang for the buck is the CR-10 that prints on a 11.81"x11.81"x15.75" heated bed. When I purchased it I had zero confidence and knowledge about 3D printers.

My journey

1. I paid $350 for my CR-10 on a GearBest.com holiday special https://www.gearbest.com/3d-printers-3d-printer-kits/pp_441281.html?utm_source=email_sys&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=shipping
2. I had to put it together (Excellent videos on YouTube and huge fan base)
3. I upgraded all the fans to make is silent (Excellent videos on YouTube)
4. I added dampers to the remove vibration and make it silent (Excellent videos on YouTube)
5. I upgraded to a 2nd z lead screw (its the screw that moves the printer up and down, this is now standard in other models) a. must have when you print tall objects. I make a lot of rockets and this fixed any symmetry problems
6. I put it in an enclosure and now print ABS with 99% success rate
7. I print on sheets of glass purchased from IKEA a. this way enables me to print one after another the other with zero down time
8. I changed the nozzle to Micro Swiss hardened steal. Copper hot ends get brittle very quickly

Conclusion I have over 5000 hours printed on my printer. My printers quality is better than the Ultimaker 3 which cost between $3000 - $9000. The Creality CR-10 is not plug and play. You need to learn how to level the bed and install simple upgrades. But for the price it can't be beat. Plus there are endless youtube videos if you run into trouble. Your real challenge will be learning the slicing software and CAD software.

@DJ Sures Sorry man we many turn your website into a 3D printing haven. LOL

Best wishes to all!

I just bought the Creality 10s. Only about 10 hrs print time on it so far. It was a really good value. It replaces my Geeetech i3 Pro which is a Prusa clone. I got thousands of hours and a full inmoov out of that printer. I expect the 10s will be even better.

@Perry_S

Quote:

I just bought the Creality 10s. Only about 10 hrs print time on it so far. It was a really good value.

Keep us updated on this as I've heard good things about it and would like to see how it ends up being after a while.