3D printer recommendation

[Chiquita]

I am looking into getting a decent 3D printer for my daughter.

What do you recommend?
What should I consider when buy one?

Thanks for your input

 

[LuvDog]

Do you have a Microcenter near you?

$100 Creality Ender 3 Pro 3D Printer | New Customer Exclusive

New Customer Exclusive! Sign up to get your coupon via text. Limit one coupon per person. One time use in-store only coupon. While supplies last.

www.microcenter.com

 

[TXJM]

I am looking into getting a decent 3D printer for my daughter.

What do you recommend?
What should I consider when buy one?

Thanks for your input

I think it depends on the person and what you are trying to do with the printer. I looked at build volume and price when I bought mine many years ago. We have gone through a few printers at work and Prusa seems to be the easiest to use out of the box. The Prusa also makes beautiful prints. https://www.prusa3d.com/
Another thing to consider might be resin printers. They are dirt cheap. They make absolutely perfect prints. The down side of resin is the mess since you are working with a UV activated resin. I recently purchased an Anycubic and once I got it printing, it has been perfect.

Anycubic Photon Mono 4K - High Speed 4K LCD Resin 3D Printer

The Photon Mono 4K is an ideal entry-level and budget-friendly MSLA 3D printer for beginners and makers that allows larger, more detailed, and accurate 3D printed parts.

www.anycubic.com

If you are going to just print stuff off the internet you will be limiting yourself and I don’t know that 3d printing will stick as a hobby. You will really need to start 3d modeling. Although some people are happy buying and printing crazy figures on resin printers.
It seems like multiple people on the forum have printers and do at least some 3d modeling. You should be able to ask questions as you go through the decision and learning process. Holler if you have any specific question.
Chip

 

[DR_2297]

I have a highly modified ender 3. It is OK but not perfect. Out of the box it was very frustrating to use. Since I do a lot of production run type stuff I ordered a Prusa in the hope that it is better than what I have.

 

[jim1903a1]

+1 for Prusa. Costs more than some but they're a quality machine. You can get it in a kit that will save $ and you may end up with a better understanding of how it works. Prusa also has their own slicer software that works well. If your daughter is in high school, they may have classes that use modeling software. My son learned a couple in high school and got me started. When you can design your own projects, 3D printing really takes off.