Hi all. I’m a beginner modeler looking for a good pro-grade 3D printer for personal/business use, so wanted to ask for recommendations from the Shapr3D community. The three companies I hear the best things about are Prusa, MakerBot, and Ultimaker. Please let me know your favorite printer from these or any company, that combines quality, consistency, and low maintenance.
My research had Markforged coming out on top especially if you want the capability of producing items that are useable rather than only models and prototypes.
I have a Prusa i3 MK3S and if you assemble it well, it can’t print better than a Makerbot. Another good point is that you have a 24/7 live chat for any dude you have; and it’s an upgradable printer because if a new model gets on sale you can buy an upgrade for your printer to convert it to the new model. As well it prints in an amazing quality for a “cheap” price, in comparison to Makerbot or Ultimaker.
Hi Rob. Thanks for your questions. I am updated on Mac OS and iOS. I use Shapr3D on a new iPad Pro 11”. I’m happy to print plastic filament alone for my first printer. That is what I have experience with at my school lab. LMK if you can make a recommendation based on this, or if you need more info.
You can buy it assembled if you want but on the travel the printer could be decalibrated, and it couldn’t print as best as it could and you will have to spend some time trying to calibrate it again. Another point is that you save 250$, your printer will arrive sooner, and I promise you that assembling it is super easy and you can calibrate it perfectly if you follow correctly the guide.
I’ve attached a photo of a 3D Benchy made by my printer:
It isn’t clean of those strands of filament because I just printed it.