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My work has recently decided to purchase a 3D printer for prototyping parts. I got the job of selecting one, but have no experience with 3D printing.

I have done quite a bit of research the last few days. Enough to realize how little I know about 3D printing, and need some help!

I have identified some criteria to narrow down my printer selection:

-ability to print nylon and ABS (so heated bed and high-temperature extruder tip)

-high print resolution to produce functional parts (including threading)

-Medium to high print volume

-Easy to use is a plus. This printer will be used by more than just me, and AFAIK no one at my work has 3D printing experience.

-In the ballpark of $2500

Current top choices are Ultimaker 2+ and CubePro, although the FlashForge Creator Pro is intriguing especially at its price point (but from what I can tell it doesn’t print nylon?). Would appreciate some insights!

Thanks.

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I would highly reccomend looking at the Prusa Original Mk2, it came out recently and has nothing but amazing reviews. It uses great quality parts, and has an E3D v6 hot end which is capable of high temps and interchangeable nozzle sizes for smaller more intricate parts or larger parts printed more quickly.

I’d also look at the 3D printing trends section of 3D hubs where you can find loads of reviews and ratings for the top printers used by hubs on this site.

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Either the MK2 as @MSdesignCo suggested or a Taz6! The Taz is a fantastic workhorse of a printer, you will just have to build an enclosure for the Taz if you want to get perfect ABS prints every time (minimizes draft and temperature drop across the print). The Taz has one of the biggest print volumes, larger than an Ultimaker, and outperforms Ultimaker in my opinion.

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Thanks for the reply. It looks like the Mk2 does not have a cover. Would adding a cover affect the print quality?

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Just checked out the TAZ. It looks great! I see it advertises capabilities for printing metals, that would be a plus. Thanks for you input.

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Adding the cover/enclosure would help when printing ABS and nylon.

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It doesn’t actually print true metal, it can print the metal/PLA composites very well. They advertise an all metal hotend, meaning it can print material like Polycarbonate which require temperatures hot enough to melt hotends that aren’t fully metal.

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Gotcha, polycarbonate is a plus too. I can’t seem to find any specific information on connectivity. Does it connect via USB, wireless, both?

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I believe it is USB and MicroSD, I’m not sure about the WiFi capabilities. Don’t make a selection based on that though - I never had much luck with built-in WiFi printing. Prints always came out choppy or skipped layers, and WiFi printing is just not all that reliable on most networks.

I run OctoPrint for wireless printing on my machines. It’s fantastic, free, and really easy to implement.

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First of all I love our home brewed Folgertech group! Just purchased their FT-5 and LOVE IT, second thought if going with a smaller build size like the maker-bot flashforge printers check out the QIDI tech. Qidi tech is plug and play, but the FT-5 requires a complete build…20 hours lol If I had 2500 hundred just to burn I would check out the new ultimaker 3

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If only the Ultimaker 3 was $2500… It starts at $3500, with the extended model at $4295, and the build volume of both is still smaller than competitors! But it is Ultimaker, so you know you’re getting quality.

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Hey @krahks, our 3D Printer Guide is a great resource for people looking to buy a 3D printer. You can check out which one is right for you based on your criteria and our community reviews right here. As @MSdesignCo also suggested, you can find our Trend Report here for a look at popular and trending printers. I hope that helps!

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Thanks!