Initial 3D Printer Goal: I wanted to build physical products ideally in multi-color arrangements with near production or at production level material toughness and rigidity.

 

After trying out and returning half a dozen 3D prints (thank you Amazon for the great return policy) I found the premier 3D printer that I consider a Pro-sumer level machine. What really sets this printer apart from other printers in the sub-$2,000 range is the following.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3D Printer of Choice = Prusa Mk3S

 

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1. The Remove-able PEI heat-bed that also magnetically attaches to the base plate is a extremely useful. I never scrap prints off of the build plate; I simply remove the build plate most of the time since I print primarily in PETG they just pop off from the plate. If I'm using nylon or PLA then I might need to slightly bend the build plate and it breaks the prints free 99% of the time. Its durable and just simply lasts which isn't the case for many of the printers in this category.

 

2. A host of Great Features that when combined create a really nice user experience. These would be the Filament detection sensor which prevent you from running a print through the night without filament on the spool. Once it notices the lack of filament it stops and lets you know it needs a refill. Once you've added more it continues on with the print like nothing happened. The mesh bed leveling and the ambient temperature drift compensation. Once you've used these features any printer that doesn't have them will seem like amateur hour just started. Then there is always the multi-material print add on that can expand your printer to be able to create 5 different color models.(the only catch is it works best with PLA. I was interested in using this for PETG but its not really geared toward that material. After learning that the hard way I've included my recommendations for a versatile multi-material accessory below.)

 

3. The Prusa Slicer program is simply the best i've seen both for beginners but also for the advanced users. It's intuitive and easy to modify parts prints on the fly. To speed up the print you can change the print resolution at varying parts of the design. This way you can have the key features of the model in hi-res while the standard body can be done in a lower-res that prints 5x faster. When you're bringing in parts from all around the web and meshing them together in a new file things in the model can get corrupted or create unbuildable interfaces. With the Prusa Slicer it 99% of time auto-corrects those issues and you just have to click print.

 

Bonus Reasons - You may not think you need an open source 3D printer but it's actually really nice to have an active community that can support you on different projects and its nice to know overtime this design will have robust updates to keep it on the cutting edge.

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But wait,, there's more.. Prusa does it again... With the recent release of the Prusa Mini+ they have created a modern, ultra-high res 3D printer that is perfect for commercial print farms down to hobbyist that is at an extremely affordable price. If you don't mind the slightly smaller build plate of 7x7x7 inches then this is the one to get. 

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It provides all of the same precision and repeatability as the blockbuster MK3S+ but with a slightly smaller build footprint. 

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Check out the details in the link below and happy printing!