Granted I have nothing to compare to, but I dig my Ender 3 Pro. I got the MicoCenter $99 deal in October and it's been pretty smooth sailing for me. I'm come from an architectural 3-D modeling/rending background, so the CAD part was the easy half. I do see lots of people that struggle to get/keep them working but I chalk that up to lack of mechanical aptitude and trouble shooting skills. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I have only printed in PLA so far, but I'll probably branch out to other materials soon as need arises.
FWIW, I started off my journey with a very similar printer, and I very quickly found the limitations. It ended up costing me far more than the initial purchase price to upgrade the printer to be reliable.
If you want to do your toe into the hobby without spending a lot of money, my recommendation is currently the Sovol SV05.
It’s not a “bed slinger” like the ultra cheap printers and comes equipped with basically everything it should have out of the box.
The only upgrade I recommend for it, is a Wham Bam PEX build plate.
@danabw bought one of these on my recommendation and can provide great feedback on his experience so far.
The main issue with the Ender 3 Pro is the single Z axis lead screw. This will cause you issues sooner or later due to the V-slot rollers wearing out and the right side of the gantry will start sagging.
It also has no automatic bed probe to ensure accurate first layers every time. This means you’ll likely spend a lot of time using bits of paper to manually measure and tweak your bed screws to get it back to level when the springs or gantry sag.
Btw, I highly recommend using Prusa Slicer instead of Cura. As @danabw discovered, Cura isn’t Very logical, or well laid out. Hopefully Dana can post his config here for you to import.
I will secretly email you Derek's home address, personal email address, and even his wife's number. Please feel free to call or text at any time day or night.
I ordered one reel of black PLA to start with. It looks like a life-time supply when it arrives, but I figure a lot of what I'll do the best color will be black. More colors and types (e.g., PLA+) as time goes on. amazon.com/dp/B07XG3RM58?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
The printer comes w/an SD card/reader that has info and potential initial projects on it. Take a look at it. In particular you can do the xyz cube - takes about 40 minutes and lets you confirm how your printer is set up doing. If you PM me I'll send you a copy of one of my projects and that will have my profile info (tweaked w/@dJOS's help).
My horror story. I purchased a crealty Ender 3D v2 with the auto levelerlast summer. I wasn’t looking to break the bank so wanted to a lower cost printer as I didn’t expect to print much. Set it up, first print was perfect. After that, it was a constant battle trying to get the bed level… spend 20 minutes to get it level only to have the print fail. The first month was leading me to regret my decision until I found a YouTube video explaining how the plates in those models was awful and to replace them. Got the new plate and it has been great since then. Only once has it needed to be leveled.
Maybe I am just a nut, but I prefer OpenSCAD as my software of choice for designing models. Then I always post the base scad file also so anyone can change the parameters or make their own based on it. I drives me a bit crazy when I find some model somebody posted and it is "close" but not quite what I need.
The main difference between the Sovol SV05 and the Elegoo Neptune X that I can see is the direct-drive extruder. The Neptune X uses a Bowden tube extruder. Otherwise, they are both the same size print area and both are Cartesian (not CoreXY) printers.
I bought one of these. It has performed well. I found that periodically washing with dish soap helps to ensure that parts adhere well. Taking care that the Z offset is right helps also. Too much space and parts don't stick well. Too close, and they stick too well.
For those saying they can't justify the cost: you just haven't found the proper reasoning behind why you need one
The number of times my printer has come in clutch making things I have replaced or broken has significantly paid for the costs of owning and maintaining a printer.
Disclaimer: I am an engineer by trade, and spend 8+ hours a day designing in CAD. Maybe that helps me out with the attitude of trying to print a solution. Though, in my almost 10 years of 3D Printing, it has definitely been an exciting and fun journey to see how plastic and a couple cheap machines can solve my (and others') problems.
Just a few things I have used my printer for off the top of my head that have led me to believe my printers have paid for themselves many times over:
The obvious many desk ornaments, trinkets, and even some small signs for myself and friends
Fidget spinners. Remember that fad? I can't even recall how many of these things I printed in different colors for people
Printed replacement pegs for some wooden photo frames my wife has, after we lost the original ones moving
Printed cable clips to organize cables for my desk
Printed a battery adapter that adapts the newer craftsman batteries to older tools so I can keep using my old tools, but continue buying the newer batteries
Monitor mount for the third monitor at my desk, used an offset to align it nicely with my main monitor
Printed hanging hooks that go under my desk to hold my headphones when they are not in use
Webcam didn't have a lens cover, printed one
Since this is a Hubitat group, I printed a slider mount to go in my cat's gravity feeder to hold a contact sensor. When it reaches the bottom, it comes in contact with a magnet to let me know the food is low. Pull the slider up, refill, and its good to go for another month or two.
Printed a camera doorbell mount to fit it nicely over the trim board where the original doorbell was mounted. Now it seals nicely to the trim, and I don't have to worry about water getting in
Printed a mount for a Unifi AP, so I could mount it in the ceiling of by basement (directly off a 2x10)
Printed brackets to mount accent light strips to the wall
Printed a little shelf to mount a camera on
Printed a mount for a google home mini so I could mount it in my garage up above the door opener
Printed hat hooks that use command strips so I can hang hats in my closet
Printed cases for ESP8266 projects that hold breadboards and other electronics
For a couple years I had blinds I made smart by 3D printing a gearbox to turn the louvers (eventually retired these because the pull strings on the blinds kept breaking, no failures with the printed parts or electronics)
Back in my drone racing days I would print parts for these things all the time. Camera mounts, radio mounts, battery shields, you name it. I even printed replacement frame parts for some of them.
Designed and mostly printed a linear cord reel for the charging cable for my Tesla. This has a locking feature that locks the cable out in the extended position for charging, and reels it up along the ceiling in my garage when not in use. Nice to always keep cables off the ground!
And my best and personal favorite, a license plate bulb housing for a car! This one was printed with transparent ABS, so the light illuminates thru the plastic. They have been on the car over 5 years (installed 2017) and is still working today. The car has only ever been outside (Midwest winters and hot summers) and not in a garage since, and they are still holding up!
There's definitely more things I have printed over the years. These are some of my favorites over the years, that I can remember at the moment. For some applications, it is really nice to have the problem solved that day, rather than waiting a few days for a replacement part to ship.
If you can spare a few hundred dollars on a reasonable quality printer, and have some or are willing to learn some 3D design skills, the printer will definitely pay for itself long term.
As mentioned, I was a 3dP noob, though I did have a lot of experience with drafting & SketchUp. I'd only briefly seen a printer in the flesh just a week prior to mine arriving from kickstarter. To get some experience, I Tinkercad'd some simple drawer organizers along with some din rail mounts. While the WAF was high, I'd suggest not starting with drawer organizers if you have 3d ideas for you shop, tools, etc., as I now have a honeydew list of drawer organizers and soap dishes that'll take a couple of weeks to print even at 5x speed.
I'm already maxing out the 235mm bed size and big, flat prints at high speed (3 x faster than the Sovol top end) have a tendency to warp along the edges. I found this stuff to be pretty good at aiding adhesion on the PEI plate. Some use hairspray but I prefer the dauber applicator.
Magigoo MO2016 All-in-One 3D Printer Adhesive Glue, Reduces Warping for ABS, PLA, PETG, Hips and TPU Filament on Glass, PEI, Buildtak, Kapton 50ml, 1.69 fl. oz. : Industrial & Scientific
