Edit 2: I purchased the Bambu A1 mini. If I regret it, there will be more chances in later years. Haha. Maybe by then I can work with resin and make the really fun minis. Thank everyone who responded for your advice and help.

Edit: I am leaning against resin printing due to the lack of sufficient ventilation in my current work space and the potential for injuring my cats. I also do not plan to do exclusively miniatures; they were just the thing I was most excited for when making this post.

 

I looked around for a pinned thread or purchase wiki type thing, but didn’t see one. I apologize if this is the wrong place.

After visiting a family member, I have decided that 3D printing has finally gotten affordable enough for me to maybe add to my list of hobbies. My primary use cases would be making miniatures (no particular scale necessary, as I just like to paint them at the moment), making parts for other hobbies (including cross stitch), and just generally making gifts and fun knick nacks. My budget is no more than $250 for the machine itself. I have not-insignificant computer experience, and some training in CAD programs.

Several seem to be on sale in the US for Father’s Day (today), and I was wondering if anybody had some advice or suggestions on some specific ones.

  • Creality Ender-3 V2 is what my family member has had for a while now and enjoyed, and less than $200 is very nice. It does seem to be dated at this point, and Creality support seems to be lacking.
  • There’s also the Neo of the above for the same price, but I am honestly having a hard time pinpointing the difference.
  • Sovol SV06 seems to be a common recommendation for the price range, but I’ve heard similarly negative things about their support, especially on Amazon (although I no longer trust Amazon reviews very much).
  • Flashforge Adventurer 5M appears to be on a significant sale on their official eBay (240 USD), but I have only really seen it recommended in almost spammy manners, which seems like either excitement for the sale or an ad campaign.

Any help you can give is greatly appreciated, even if it’s just not getting into the hobby at this price point.

  • TolookahEnglish
    8·
    6 months ago

    I’ve got a 3v2, and I would not use it for d&d sized minis.

    It’s a decent machine, but it’s definitely a hobby on its own keeping it happy.

    • MisshapenDeviate@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPEnglish
      3·
      6 months ago

      Yeah, it didn’t seem like it could handle detail at a very small scale. However, making something in the 5-6 cm range would still be wonderful for painting. How do you have to keep it happy?

      • A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        6 months ago

        Just takes dialing. I printed minis on my E3Pro without much issue(after dialing in of course) with pretty good detail (even the handles for the warhammers and swords came through acceptably)

        Definitely wouldnt get FDM if all you are printing is minis though.

      • AdrianTheFrog@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        6 months ago

        Ender 3 IMO is mostly obsolete now, nowadays you can easily get something for a similar price with better features across the board. Yes, an ender 3 will work, but why get one if you can get something better for the same price? (video on the topic)