I’ve been waiting to finish up with some major life stuff before diving into the world of 3D printers. Now that is finally behind me, and I am currently trying to find out which printer I want so that I can place an order.
So far I’ve set my eyes on the new Prusa CORE One. It ticks a lot of the boxes that I think I am after, including:
- As open as I can get (before going into that Voron-stuff, which I think I’m not ready for). I don’t want to be bogged down with having to run proprietary slicers through Wine and things like that. I am not sure how big of an issue that is with e.g. Bambu or Creality (if at all), but I’ve seen enough rug-pulls and enshittification processes that I don’t really want to risk that. I want to be sure that I can use FOSS tools such as Blender and FreeCAD for design, and similarly open slicers, and the whole workflow will work just fine.
- As future-proof as I can possibly hope for. I think the upgrade path from the MK4 to CORE One shows that they are serious about sustainability and longevity of their devices, and as far as I can tell, I should have no troubles sourcing replacement parts. I also want to support companies with this philosophy.
- Has a decent print volume (I know there are bigger, maybe I will be constrained by this at some point?)
- Enclosed - a major reason I did not want the MK4S was that it was not enclosed (but maybe you can get an enclosure?). It will be placed in my study where I spend most of my computer time (which often times is a lot, so I imagine I will be in the room while it is printing). I imagine, with the additional filter, that it will be better with an enclosure. Also, it will be easier to keep good temperature control during prints, as it can get cold here during winter.
- Locally produced (I’m EU based).
I understand that other manufacturers provide more “bang for the buck” and that I in that sense will be overpaying feature-wise. I am fine with that given my emphasis on the above criteria.
However, I am a complete newbie to 3D-printing. I am sure there are some limitations I have not thought about, and I was wondering if there are any major things I have not thought about that would actually affect me negatively and should make me reconsider this model?
In general, I want to build my skill set to include CAD-modelling and printing things that could help me around my home and for other non-helpful, but fun, things. Some examples below. I am not looking at adding this to my professional skill set.
In general, I would like to tinker some. But I don’t want it to be prohibitively difficult to get started. I am new to this, and am not looking for an incredibly steep learning curve. For instance, I have understood that the Voron might suit my desire for openness more, but my impression is that it would be too much tinkering at this stage.
The immediate projects I have in mind are cases for various Pi/Pi Pico-based projects. Some indoor climate monitors for instance. There are several other smaller projects I have in mind, which could be for instance some custom mounts for my devices. So not too large things to begin with, and these things are what is most important to me now. But I want a multipurpose printer, that could handle both smaller figurines and larger sculptures also (not that exceeds the print volume of the Core One as of now). I know for instance that miniatures would probably be a lot better with a resin printer, but for now I don’t have a space that is properly ventilated for this. In the future I will consider getting more specialized printers if I find that I need it and have space for it.
The Core One is in the higher end of what I had envisioned spending on this, but I can go a little higher if necessary
Tbh it sounds like the core one is a good choice here. Look at tinkering as something you use the printer to do and less as something to do to the printer itself.
I’ve got 2 prusas and while the XL has required a bit more work than my mk3s+ they both are excellent machines that I’ve run for thousands of hours with very little effort.
Welcome to the hobby! CAD modeling is the absolute best way to make your printer useful. A good pair of calipers are all you need to solve myriad issues around the house.
Thanks! Yes, a good pair of calipers are long overdue in my household. Now I will finally have a reason to measure everything!