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Started By
Message
3D Printers for a total newb
Posted on 12/12/25 at 10:34 am
Posted on 12/12/25 at 10:34 am
So my damn son is begging me for a 3D printer for xmas.
I plan to be involved with him on this "journey" as we can spend time together figuring this out. But i have a few questions for anyone that can school me.
1. I want a printer that I can print almost anything that it is capable of. Basically, I don't want to have to choose from an app that has pre determined tchotchke type junk trinkets.
I want to be able to create ideas and maybe even print a replacement part for a broken toy/tool/appliance.
2. What is the best 3D printer on the market that is geared for beginners, but also one we can grow into and print useful items?
3. I am prepared to dive into this shite at an upper level if it is worth the effort.
Thanks for any reply's.
I plan to be involved with him on this "journey" as we can spend time together figuring this out. But i have a few questions for anyone that can school me.
1. I want a printer that I can print almost anything that it is capable of. Basically, I don't want to have to choose from an app that has pre determined tchotchke type junk trinkets.
I want to be able to create ideas and maybe even print a replacement part for a broken toy/tool/appliance.
2. What is the best 3D printer on the market that is geared for beginners, but also one we can grow into and print useful items?
3. I am prepared to dive into this shite at an upper level if it is worth the effort.
Thanks for any reply's.
23
Posted on 12/12/25 at 10:37 am to Mouth
quote:I recommend a copy of Strunk & White‘s the Elements of Style instead.
Thanks for any reply's.
Far too many American men do not understand even basic English grammar. It starts at the home.
Posted on 12/12/25 at 10:40 am to Mouth
My personal experience:
Bought a 3d printer in January of 2024 since my son begged and begged to get one. Bought a Creality CR-10 Smart Pro for about $500 since it was large enough to do some bigger builds. Have yet to build anything decent with it and I am stuck trying to figure out the POS since my son just walks away when we start working on it. Massive waste of $500.
Bought a 3d printer in January of 2024 since my son begged and begged to get one. Bought a Creality CR-10 Smart Pro for about $500 since it was large enough to do some bigger builds. Have yet to build anything decent with it and I am stuck trying to figure out the POS since my son just walks away when we start working on it. Massive waste of $500.
This post was edited on 12/12/25 at 10:45 am
Posted on 12/12/25 at 10:41 am to bad93ex
you've come to the right place
Posted on 12/12/25 at 10:42 am to Mouth
So one vote for a book and one vote for don't waste your time. Gotta love the OT sometimes.
Posted on 12/12/25 at 10:43 am to Mouth
Bambu Lab or Prusa
Posted on 12/12/25 at 10:43 am to RFK
quote:
Far too many American men do not understand even basic English grammar.
Shut up, loser
This post was edited on 12/12/25 at 10:43 am
Posted on 12/12/25 at 10:44 am to Mouth
Bought my son a creality and it sucked from the first print. Sent it back and got a Bambu labs a1 mini. It’s been pretty awesome. Some of the stuff he prints is pretty damn cool. I needed a spacer washer for my pressure washer and didn’t feel like going to Home Depot so just printed one and had it in 6 minutes and it worked great. I want to do more stuff like that but haven’t found a need yet. I want to make it where if I need to repair something I think of printing something first.
This post was edited on 12/12/25 at 10:44 am
Posted on 12/12/25 at 10:45 am to DVinBR
quote:
Bambu Lab or Prusa
This is the correct answer. It would be on the pricier side of hobby printers (Bambu Lab is very high quality and might not be considered hobby)
But you won’t have to sink money into repairs and upgrades.
Posted on 12/12/25 at 10:47 am to Mouth
Bambu lab is plug and play. I have the x1c with ams. No issues here. Only downside is it has one nozzle. So if you are printing multi colored items, it has to switch and purge every time for a color change. Which wastes a lot of filament and is time consuming. They just rolled out a new model that has 2 nozzles but it’s pricey. Close to 2K I believe.
Yes, they have an app with pre loaded files, but you can download the desktop version and print any file you find from the internet.
If you are wanting to get into designing your own files, you’ve gotta learn some form of CAD. There’s a few different beginner CAD programs out there - tinker cad, sketch up, and a few others.
Yes, they have an app with pre loaded files, but you can download the desktop version and print any file you find from the internet.
If you are wanting to get into designing your own files, you’ve gotta learn some form of CAD. There’s a few different beginner CAD programs out there - tinker cad, sketch up, and a few others.
Posted on 12/12/25 at 10:55 am to Mouth
Bambu lab for sure.
Posted on 12/12/25 at 11:02 am to Mouth
quote:
I want a printer that I can print almost anything that it is capable of
Bambu P1S
quote:
I want to be able to create ideas and maybe even print a replacement part for a broken toy/tool/appliance
Thats a whole different ball park. Need to learn how to work your printer first by printing "tchotchke type junk trinkets" for a while....or guns
quote:
What is the best 3D printer on the market that is geared for beginners
Ender 3V2
quote:
but also one we can grow into and print useful items
Anything other than an Ender 3V2
quote:
I am prepared to dive into this shite at an upper level if it is worth the effort.
Whats your level of autism?
Posted on 12/12/25 at 11:14 am to Mouth
I have a Bambu Lab Carbon X1, and I looooove it! I can make so much stuff with it. Practical stuff like pull-out spice racks and decorative stuff like lanterns that you can swap out the sides of for different holidays. Also lots of stuff for guys; my husband has made a ton of man things (soldering clamps, working airplane engine, etc).
They have some really good stuff you can make for free on their website. Some of my favorites are the 3D wall hanging lights. They have nice ones shaped like the state for the Saints and LA Tech (haven’t found a good LSU one yet, sadly).
It takes a little tinkering with to get things right sometimes and decent math skills if you want to modify the templates. Everything is changeable, so it’s a lot of fun if you like math and are creative.
You didn’t mention how old your son is, but if he’s old enough that he got decent grades in HS geometry, I would think it would be a good one for your family.
They have some really good stuff you can make for free on their website. Some of my favorites are the 3D wall hanging lights. They have nice ones shaped like the state for the Saints and LA Tech (haven’t found a good LSU one yet, sadly).
It takes a little tinkering with to get things right sometimes and decent math skills if you want to modify the templates. Everything is changeable, so it’s a lot of fun if you like math and are creative.
You didn’t mention how old your son is, but if he’s old enough that he got decent grades in HS geometry, I would think it would be a good one for your family.
Posted on 12/12/25 at 11:15 am to AcadieAnne
Bambu lab is pretty much plug and play or as close as you can get to it.
Posted on 12/12/25 at 11:15 am to Afrojedi
I can get a bit autistic.
Thanks for all the REPLIES.
I'll look into the bambu.
Posted on 12/12/25 at 11:33 am to SATNIGHTS
It can be, if that is the route one chooses to go with it. But on the decorative lantern I mentioned above, I combined 2 different builds from 2 different makers to get what I wanted, which took some math as they were different sizes. I also took a build for a stained glass lamp shade and turned it from 4 sides to 5. There are a lot of modifications that can be done if one wants to do it. Or one could just print out whatever the build is. Depends on what OP and his son are looking to do with it.
This post was edited on 12/12/25 at 11:34 am
Posted on 12/12/25 at 12:01 pm to Mouth
Bambu Labs has some really good printers you don't have to tinker with as much. They cost a little more.
As for replacement parts
And such you can do it but you should learn a little cad for doing your own parts unless what you want to replace is something someone has already made model of.
Autodesk fusion has a free version that is pretty easy to learn. Alibre Atom is also not that expensive to start learning cad. There is also freecad. Tinker Cad is also a ok starter point for cad.
As for replacement parts
And such you can do it but you should learn a little cad for doing your own parts unless what you want to replace is something someone has already made model of.
Autodesk fusion has a free version that is pretty easy to learn. Alibre Atom is also not that expensive to start learning cad. There is also freecad. Tinker Cad is also a ok starter point for cad.
This post was edited on 12/12/25 at 12:03 pm
Posted on 12/12/25 at 12:22 pm to Mouth
Bambu or Prusa…iPhone or Android…
H2S with AMS
Prusa XL
Good luck with throwing the dart. I landed on the Bambu and it’s great.
H2S with AMS
Prusa XL
Good luck with throwing the dart. I landed on the Bambu and it’s great.
Posted on 12/12/25 at 12:28 pm to Mouth
Getting my son a Bambu A1 with the AMS lite for Christmas. I did a good bit of research and it seemed like a good bang for the price and very beginner friendly
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