2019 3D Printer Recommendations

[boba87fett]

Hi everyone,

Is there a 3D printer in the $300-$500 range that would work to make my wife and kids their cosplays for SWC next year?

I don’t need it to be top of the line or able to pump them out super quick, but I do want quality and reliability.

It would be nice to be big enough to print a full size helmet or at least a child sized helmet.

Any info is appreciated!

Thanks,
Steven

 

[Grimstuff]

CR-10 is probably your best best, especially with the larger build volume being incredibly useful for prop sized prints. It's a great machine. Can't get em for quite as cheap as you could in the pre-tariff days, but still one of the lowest cost options.

I have the original and love it, but there's a lot of newer editions with self-leveling and such you can look at too.

 

[Jc27]

I would go with a CR-10S. The control board has the ability to have firmware upgrades, where the standard CR-10 does not. If you do decide to go with a creality 3d printer and want to order directly from creality, make sure you go to creality3doffical.com. There is another site called creality3dshop, which is not affiliated with creality.

 

[boba87fett]

What about filament?

 

[Jc27]

What would you normally be printing? ABS you will need to keep the printer in an enclosure. PLA and PETG don't need an enclosure. PLA is eaier to print, but I like PETG since its more resilient than PLA (its not susceptible to warping in hot weather).

 

[boba87fett]

What would you normally be printing? ABS you will need to keep the printer in an enclosure. PLA and PETG don't need an enclosure. PLA is eaier to print, but I like PETG since its more resilient than PLA (its not susceptible to warping in hot weather).

I want to be able to print helmets and armor for a variety of Star Wars costumes for my wife and kids.

 

[Grimstuff]

Yeah the big risk with printed helmets, and casting them in many poly resins too, is warping in heat. So the higher melt temp of the material, the more it'll resist warping in hot weather too (although the actual melt temp may be >200, it'll still soften slightly at half that which can make your helmet warp under it's own weight just sitting on a shelf in sunlight for days on end).

Two approaches are either to print it fairly thick and with a stronger higher-melt material like ABS or PETG, this sorta front-loads the work into much longer print times and possibly more failed prints from the materials being a bit more difficult. Or print it in PLA then fiberglass the inside. Even with this method though don't print it super thin, or just the heat of the resin curing could warp the helmet too.

Fiberglass resin is pretty nasty stuff though, so thicker PETG will probably be best. You'll also be able to design internal details and stuff if you want, that glassing the inside would just cover up.

 

[Mythos Fenn]

I am have been interested in this as well. Commenting to follow along and will definitely be looking into the above mentioned options

 

[Jc27]

This was printed on my CR-10S in PETG. It took a while to get the gloss shiny, but overall PETG isn't too bad to work with once you get your printer amd slicer settings figured out.

 

[ConvergenceProp]

This was printed on my CR-10S in PETG. It took a while to get the gloss shiny, but overall PETG isn't too bad to work with once you get your printer amd slicer settings figured out.

Would you be willing to share what settings you typically use to print armor at as well as the slicer info? I just picked up one of these off a buddy recently in a trade (though Im not sure if its the regular 10 or the 10S) and have a few projects I'd love to try doing on it.

 

[Jc27]

Would you be willing to share what settings you typically use to print armor at as well as the slicer info? I just picked up one of these off a buddy recently in a trade (though Im not sure if its the regular 10 or the 10S) and have a few projects I'd love to try doing on it.

If it has 2 z axis stepper motors its the 10s. PETG needs to print a little slower than PLA so I have mine set at 40mm/s. I use Cura becasue I'm too cheap to spend $150 on Simplify3d.

 

[boba87fett]

How much does it end up costing to print parts out? How much filament would it take to print gauntlets, a pulce, helmet?

 

[Jc27]

The way I figure it out is to run the parts through the slicer and document how much filament each part takes. Then add it all up and figure out how many rolls it will take to get the amount you need. I am sure there is an easier way, but this is how I do it.

 

[boba87fett]

The way I figure it out is to run the parts through the slicer and document how much filament each part takes. Then add it all up and figure out how many rolls it will take to get the amount you need. I am sure there is an easier way, but this is how I do it.

What's a ballpark guess on how much it costs for parts? Is it cheaper than buying resin cast stuff?

 

[Jc27]

I printed an ursa wren helmet for my wife. It took about 1 spoil of filament which is about $25. You have to figure in the primer filler putty and sanding that it will take to get it ready for paint.