Choices

Here we go.

If you have read any of my previous wafflings, you will know that I enjoy a bit of engineering and sharing knowledge with people. I don't really get on well with forums however as I find them pretty abrasive places so I tend just to chuck things on a blog if I do something helpful or interesting that you may benefit from or at least enjoy watching me muck up.

I have been watching the 3D printing community grow from the outside for a while and seen some very interesting things being created. I finally broke this September and decided I was going to join in the fun.

I primarily want a printer to produce mock ups of items I wish to produce in more complex ways or expensive materials. I also want to be able to make useful bits and pieces to use around the workshop and on projects like brackets and such.

Shopping

I watched stacks of videos, read blogs and asked friends what would be a suitable printer to set out on.

I didn't want to spend lots of money just yet, preferring to keep it under £300 where possible but I was willing to spend more if the budget options proved to be inadequate.

Eventually I ended up with a short list of sorts:

Creality Ender 3 (pro)

The Ender 3 is hugely popular which gives the benefit of a large community base who understands it.

The printing area is fairly good for its very low price and there are modifications for days out there to further improve these machines. For a modest extra bit of cash I could go for the pro model with a number of improvements that I would probably end up doing myself anyway.

Creality Ender 5

I liked this option more however. It sits somewhere in the background of most reviews as it doesn't offer a lot over the 3 pro and is close to the CR10 price but it does look sturdy and those that own them generally speak positively of their performance.

Creality CR10S

Now the price point is starting to creep up but these are available around £300. The slightly older 10 certainly is.

This offers a larger build volume and again is very popular with those taking the next step on from their Ender 3's.

I liked the idea that I wouldn't grow out of this too soon and again it has a lot of modification potential

Copymaster 3D 300

Boasting a direct feed printing head, a 300x300x400 build space, heated magnetic bed and being a British company, this one really appealed to me too.
I was a little put off by the lack of info outside of the manufacturer and main distributor but I could get a manufacturer reconditioned one for £200. It just looked better build than the Creality options but I was worried that the lack of community behind it could give me issues if things didn't go so well.



I agonised for days but eventually I broke and purchased the Copymaster.
The next day it was at my front door and it was soon built and sat sideways on my desk as it's so damn big!
Well now is the time to get to learning how to use it.