DZToad
1
Okay so I’m able to pick a gift around $400 so I’m trying to get my first 3D printer with that I’ve been thinking about getting this one Folger Tech Cloner - Dual Extruder 3D Printer Kit. Is this a good one that I could start off with overall in a few years hopefully just in one year but we’ll see I want to get the Taz 5 or maybe the test 6 depending on how everything is going at that time but let me know if that’s a good one to get already seen some videos and read some forms on this site and other sites about how that machine works the pros and cons still iffy about it but I enjoy the fact that it uses I think about 6 different filament types and I do want to try to use some exotic filaments for different structural designs for some of my projects and for $30 more I could make it a dual extruder that’s not that bad that’s basically with shipping depends on if it is going to be like around basically the full price 400 probably 10 or 20 less than that and I can use the change for that to get a nice spool of filament
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Getting a quality print from a machine, regardless of the price/quality of the equipment is not easy and NOTHING is plug and play. For this reason I usually recommend a cheap diy kit for anyone’s first printer but at $400, with the features it claims, I cannot believe this is anything but crap. Especially if they are offering “for $30 more I could make it a dual extruder”. This is a gimmick and makes the seller very untrustworthy in my opinion.
Dual extrusion is orders of magnitude more difficult than single. Any commercially available machines with this feature are for the most advanced tinkerer, as there is no easy plug&play way to implement the hardware. I have built several. The hardware is the easy part and I can guarantee what ever they give you for that $30 will end up in the trash.
“I enjoy the fact that it uses I think about 6 different filament types” this is another intellectually dishonest statement(gimmick). Focus on the very BASIC right now. Any money you spend on things you don’t yet understand will be a waste of money and there are no shortage of people out there willing to take advantage of that.
My first printer was a printrbot simple kit in 2012. That was when they were still made out of plywood and held together with zip ties but with a lot of tinkering and patience I got it to produce amazing prints. All my machines since then are custom builds framed with 80/20 rails since then so I cannot really recommend a kit from experience but I cannot stress enough that you focus on the simple stuff and do your upgrades as your experience grows or you will make a lot of bad decisions.
Hope that is helpful.
-Jesse
As a reference. have you checked out: Best 3D Printer Guide 2023 | Hubs?
Written by printer owners (Hubs), so real data
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Have a look into the Geeetech product line. They make some nice quality DIY kits. For pre-assembled you can pickup a Wanhao i3 v2.1 for $399.
DZToad
5
Thanks and I have looked at the data list that provided by this site. I have a pic of the specs for this American brand folger. I was thinking if it was a decent start I could upgrade it as I get more experience
The cloner is an OK printer being a Makerbot knock off but there are newer designs like the Tevo Taratula or even folger’s older reliable 2020 i3 that I think are better. I would really avoid dual extruders, they are more of a sales gimmick and just cause a lot of headaches even on expensive $4000 machines. As for Geeetech… well I know some people who bought them and I wouldn’t touch Geetech with a 30 foot pole.
I just bought a Folger FT-5 which I’m fully customizing to dual extenders, dual nozzles/filaments using the Chimera hot end. I definitely do not recommend buying this printer because it will cause you a lot of trouble if it is your first printer. However, while reading up as much as I can the one thing that stood out to me was the overwhelming amount of positive reviews for their 2020i I thi K it was. When people got the hardware setup correctly the printer delivered excellent results and had a large amount overwhelming positive reviews. If you do consider this kit make sure you get the all metal version. The rigidity of the frame plays a key role in your xy resolution. It should be said I have an ultimaker 2+ Extended as well, so I have a decent amount of experience with 3D printing, but no expert by an stretch. Best of luck
