Submitted 4 months ago by BussyGyatt@feddit.org to 3dprinting@lemmy.world
I don’t know enough to know what I don’t know, but the price seems pretty low even for a used 3d printer. Do the pictures or description give any indications?
Used printers often require fixes that require you to be knowledgeable in to fix.
I recommend Bambu printers if you wanna dip your toes in the hobby. They’re locked down quite a bit but they just work.
Please no. There’s so many alternatives out there that “just work” but aren’t locked down and indoctrinate you into a walled garden.
Qidi, Creality, Sovol, Prusa, etc.
You could definitely move onto others with experience, and obviously there are other decent options, but I do think Bambu offers one of the best balances between stability and cost.
I’m not surprised Lemmy is against Bambu though because this site is essentially an open source forum, lol. Thats true though, the lack of modding is why I might not suggest sticking with them.
It’s been modded, which is always a crapshoot. It could be a stellar printer, or they’re lying, or they think it prints amazballs, but has really low standards. Or it could be even more amazing and their standards are just straight up OCD.
From what they say, the mods are fairly common for creality printers.
It’s also super common to mod your printers, especially lower-end brands like reality.
I would suggest asking if they could do a test print- and give them the filament to do it with. Something like a Benchy won’t take too long, or too much filament. Also if it comes out nice ask for what they used as print settings.
If it prints well, 150 is a spectacular deal.
If you’re new to 3d printing, I don’t recommend buying a used budget printer unless you have extreme tolerance for troubleshooting someone else’s problems.
They’re cheap enough new.
As the original link has been taken down and your advice is still very valid just one point I wanted to add: This is valid UNLESS it’s from someone whom you know well enough that they tell you the truth and knows what they are doing - in that case it can be a good idea to buy a used printer from someone who knows what they are doing and who has ironed out the teething problems some machines have and can provide advice if something goes wrong.
I was luckily enough to do something similar (with my CNC-machine,though. Standard MPCNC,but the friend I got them from is a pro - he designs his own mainboards and stuff - and would have been able to fix some issues myself without him/would have become frustrated) once and was able to help out a friend this way - he got a nice, highly modified but working very well Anycubic (back then one of the most reliable models…) and I got money for the next machine.
Otherwise: your advice is very valid. I also fucked up in that regard once.
Solid advice above. 3d printing on these things is a huge issue initially. Set up etc is very fiddly. And this is with a new set up with everything documented by the manufacturer. As soon as you start playing with the mess others have made dealing with the same issues. More so after having dismantled and moved a set up to sell.
Really not a fun task for a first timer.
Once you have done it once and understand the issues involved and just how minor errors can mess with plate adhesive and other issues. It would be a fine purchase. But not that cheap. 1/2 price of a newer model seems normal.
But it is also worth remembering. While these printers are very upgradeable. The tech is changing fast. And this is the price range where an older printer is likely to have changed the most compared to newer models.
Agreed, these budget printers are a project in themselves. So if you’re into tinkering/modifying/upgrading it may be in your wheelhouse. If you want to get into 3D printing to pick a print off a website and have it print perfectly every time, this probably won’t be a good printer for you.
That being said, getting one of these project printers throws you in the deep end, you’ll learn more about 3D printing hardware, and at an incredibly deep level. If you stick with the hobby, everything after the initial learning curve will seem easy
Checked the Crealty site and the newer version of that model is $289. Doesn’t seem out of sorts for price of a used printer at all. That said, I am not an expert, but just someone interested in getting into this too.
papalonian@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Like others have said, it’s definitely not “too good to be true” territory, but there’s so many things that can be wrong or not right with it that you’re much better off getting a new printer. Sure you might save $100 getting a used one but the chances of you spending weeks chasing a problem that you admittedly have no knowledge of diagnosing is just way too high for it to be worth it. For someone with a bunch of knowledge and experience this would be a decent deal, but so is a car with a check engine light or salvage title… could be (probably are) opening yourself up to way more headache than the money’s worth.