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I’m new to 3D printing, but have been doing 3D modeling work for years (mostly architectural/industrial/medical visualization and custom models). I’m looking into buying a 3D printer and for a good niche to fill in my local area.

My thought is to start with an FDM printer, and eventually add an SLA printer when I can settle into a more specific market. I would appreciate feedback on that idea from those who have gone that route before. Meanwhile, it just so happens that it’s coming up on Black Friday here in the US, and I was wondering if anyone knows of a company that might be selling a good quality FDM printer at a discount that you could recommend.

Right now I’m looking at the Makergear M2, but the regular price is a bit more than I’m hoping to spend. Can anyone suggest something comparable that might run a bit cheaper or where to find a good deal?

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Hey @Jessup3D, you can also check out our 2017 3D Printer Guide to read about the most reviewed 3D printers on our platform by owners themselves. You can also go through our Printer Index to compare printers by price and reviews. Happy buying!

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Hi @Jessup3D although I’d recommend FDM for your first printer, it’s worth bearing in mind that SLA is an entirely different process, with it’s own quirks and “features”, so there’s possibly little learning that you’ll gain from FDM that can be transferred to SLA, apart from learning what FDM can’t do! SLA also has quite a lot of overheads, both financial and in terms of post-processing; others may disagree with me, but to me it does seem like tech that really needs a dedicated work space, rather than something that can be done in an ordinary room.

In terms of what FDM printer to buy, that’s a really tough decision. It’s tough mostly because it’s hard to know what you’re going to want; it’s a chicken and egg situation, you need to have a 3D printer in order to learn what you need in one. Most of the learning of 3D printing is about the process itself, not the machine. It’s a lot like learning to drive, most of the learning is about driving itself, very little of it is about the specific car you’re learning in. So in that respect, any 3D printer is going to give you the opportunity to learn about the process, so it’s debateable whether you need to spend as much as you could.

The other caution I’d offer about spending is that in the 3D printing world more spend really doesn’t always mean better quality (in terms of prints, build, or use). For example, if you compare the Makerbot M2 with the Prusa i3 Mk2 (FDM 3D Printing Service | Instant Quotes, Online Ordering | Hubs) there’s virtually no difference in specs; OK the Makerbot can go down to 25 microns, not “only” 50 like the Prusa, but to be honest, 50 microns is going to be more than good enough for virtually anything you want to print and the Prusa is less than half the price. The biggest problem with the Prusa, right now, is that the waiting list is about 6 weeks…

What you buy is going to be influenced a lot by how much you want to get your hands dirty. There’s a lot of fun (for those that enjoy that sort of fun) in having a printer that allows (or needs) tinkering, and you’ll learn a lot. On the other (less dirty) hand, there are machines out there (like the Zortrax M200 - FDM 3D Printing Service | Instant Quotes, Online Ordering | Hubs ) which is much less open to tinkering (it’s not open source, requires its own filament, etc.) but which works out of the box and apparently very reliably so.

If I was in your shoes, knowing what I know now, I’d probably go for the Prusa kit (you could buy three for the price of the Makerbot); it would just depend upon whether I had the patience to wait for it to arrive :slight_smile:

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Thanks for the input. I like the idea of being able to tinker with a printer myself, but my schedule doesn’t allow for much time for that kind of thing right now. I think I’d be better off with something that works right out of the box (compared to a DIY kit anyway) for my first printer.

I know the technologies between FDM and SLA are different, and I’m more concerned with what kind of technology would produce the most print jobs for a client (and figuring out how to evaluate the local market is something I’m not sure how to do right now).

A lot of the stuff I could do that would not be done for clients would be fine to do with FDM printers, so I am focusing on those right now… plus there are more budget friendly options available. The 2017 Printer Guide is a bit of a challenge to evaluate for a first time buyer though, because you hear about problems with many machines and some are considered low quality or problematic (e.g.; Makergear M2 vs Makerbot Replicator), and I don’t want to get something that’s going to be a lot of trouble to work with.

A friend of mine has a Folger Tech 2020 but has only had about 3 print jobs (from clients) in the first year. In relatively expensive, but not listed on the printer comparison lists on 3DHubs. Does the “name brand” of a printer make any difference in terms of landing print jobs? My understanding is that these are essentially the US branded versions of the Prusa printers (please correct me if I’m wrong). I’m also looking at the Folger Tech FT-5, which has a 12 inch x 12 inch x 15.75 inch build area, but the reviews favor the Makergear M2 (much m ore expensive, but presumably because it’s a better machine?).

I’m also a father with 5 kids at home, so I want something with an enclosure (or that I could build an inexpensive enclosure for). Hopefully, I can find a good deal on something that will be reasonably reliable, can land some jobs (to pay for itself and build up a side income), and is lower maintenance (to avoid some of the horror stories you read about with cheap printers).

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Thank you. I have been looking through the printer guide, but am primarily trying to see whether a cheap 3D printer can realistically compete for print jobs with the name brand “work horse” machines. I want to build a side business (pardon the pun) more than start printing as just a hobby. The researching continues… I just hope I don’t end up kicking myself later if I miss a special sale deal (it’s Black Friday here… lots of sales going on today).

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Hi @Jessup3D in terms of order numbers, a lot more seems to be about the quality of your presence here on 3DHubs than it is your actual capabilities. You’ll need some good images on your Hub page, a good description and, most importantly, good reviews. When first starting out you’ll need to be competitive on price, and you’ll need to ensure you offer a fast turnaround and as many print options (materials, colours, layer height) as you can. I don’t know why your friend only had 3 orders in a year, but I can say that I had that many in the first month I was active on here and the orders (and value) have increased substantially month on month since then. There’s likely to be a variation in geographical terms as well; most of my orders are very local to me, even though most are shipped rather than collected (I suspect this is mainly due to 3DHubs listing in order of distance from the customer) so if you’re in a densely populated area you’re more likely to pick up orders.

FDM vs SLA order wise, I can’t answer (and I wish I could, I’d like to know myself). SLA probably has more scope for higher value orders, but then it also has higher running costs. In your particular case, if you’re concerned about safety with kids in the house, bear in mind SLA is likely to be quite messy and involves cleaning and post-processing that isn’t particularly child friendly.

All in all, taking into account the child-safe aspect, I’d probably now lean towards the FlashForge Creator Pro. I have one of these and it’s a real workhorse. It’s fully enclosed, has dual heads, a heated bed and is easy to calibrate. It really needs a glass bed and a PEI surface to print well (without warping) but that’ll only add another $100 to the price and it’s a price that’s really good value for what you get.

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