anyone 3D printing stuff

[vapourminer]

if so, what printer? and what major pros and cons are there.

i know some have printed fan adapters and whatnot, and i would also. ive seen basic ones for $250is but i want something fairly serious, all enclosed and heated etc. i would use it to print stuff for COVID use if possible.

ones ive looked at range from 2k to 4k USD. but im not real up on this stuff.

anyone care to enlighten me? i assume there is software (proprietary?) also needed.

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[VB1001]

I am not a direct user of 3D printers, but if I can give you an option, my recommendation is Ultimaker, they have the company in the Netherlands:

Headquarters
Stationsplein 32
3511 ED Utrecht
https://ultimaker.com/

The main problems are the precision and the temperature of the bed must be uniform to maintain the shapes and measurements of the parts, if you choose kit printers or other brands, they work, I can only tell you about Ultimaker because I have seen it work for many hours and 0 problems, If you look at documentaries, TV news, you will see that in all kinds of laboratories, architect offices, research centers, almost all have Ultimaker, to make their pieces or prototypes.

[Mitchell]

I personally own a Ender 3 Pro, which I got from AliExpress for 180 euro during an 11/11 sale (regular price is around 250 euro). It's a great starter machine, especially if you buy something like a BLTouch to go with it (it auto levels the bed for you). You only need an enclosed printer if you are printing something like ABS, however, it is possible to print without an enclosure in some cases. You can print PLA and PETG without enclosure without any issues, as I've done it with mine.

To print something, you use a slicer, for example Simplify3D or CURA (my recommendation) which are both free and support most common printers.

If you want no fuss, just get an Ultimaker 3 (very pricey) or if you don't mind reading up, you can get something cheaper like the Flashforge Adventurer 3 ($400) as they are both enclosed and pretty well rated.

[btcltcdigger]

I would suggest a Prusa MK3S (i have one).

You can assemble it yourself or get a pre-assembled one. It depends on your tinkering skill and how detailed/patient you are.
The printer is amazing. Silent, reliable, and precise.

It's open-source, so you can tinker. The slicer is also open source. Design is open source.

[vapourminer]

thanks everyone for your replies, my apologies for not getting back to you guys sooner.

i am looking at all those suggestions now.

[Mitchell]

The Ender 3 is a Prusa clone/derived from the Prusa, so I can recommend that one as well.

[btcltcdigger]

The Ender 3 is a Prusa clone/derived from the Prusa, so I can recommend that one as well.

Yes that's true. Any I3 printer is a Prusa clone.
However, there are benefits to buying original Prusa. It is a bit on the expensive side, however, it's worth the money
It's stupidly quiet, has many awesome features, and print quality is a few grades above anything else.

Yes, you can get Ender3 which is a great printer in itself, but what I see is many people spend hundreds of $ on upgrades just to get it to Prusa level.