agree anycubic and for myself flsun makes rather decent 3d printers and 3d printer kits
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=3d+printer&_sacat=0
https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=3d+printer
however those $300 printer kits are *kits*, i.e. u'd normally need to assemble it yourself and tune the printer yourself even before the first print. this is actually part of the learning process of 3d printing and it gives you a very maintainable 3d printer. today you can buy just about any parts for those generic 3d printer kits on ebay / aliexpress, this makes it possible for the adventurous, enterprising makers to later make enhancements on the 3d printer that would ordinarily not be available for the average user. e.g. double extruders for multi colour prints (i consider that an expert domain)
for those who can afford, you may like to go for the more 'branded' ones like ultimaker or some of the local makes or imported printers with local support perhaps they may cost closer to $1k or more. i think local sg retailers do import them and re-sell the kits with optional pre-assembly services say for $500-$1k
the main thing about the 'branded' ones that has local support is that they would likely provide a local warranty, those printers are also likely better built, properly tested and shipped with commercial s/w that has more features to aid or manage the prints, they *may* also print faster and more accurately
the $1k printer *may* be pre-tuned and leveled and shipped with all the necessary s/w for a 'beginner' to start printing
as for the locally imported 3d printer kits (even those based on 'from china' ones) as well as local makes, i think buying from the local retailers is a good thing as well as they may offer local warranty, you would also likely to be able to approach them for support, 3d printing lessons , courses etc, (not necessarily free) and some of them are suppliers of filaments as well hence you could buy the filaments from them. it would make for a sustainable/evolving 3d printing market and industry in singapore
3d printing filaments are *expensive* unfortunately, but still relatively manageable for an occasional print
note that these fdm 3d printers along with commonly used solvents (e.g. acetone) are fire hazards,
those printing with abs on heated bed, the heated bed is normally running at 100deg C (boiling point of water or close) and nozzle at 230 deg C. Hence, be careful if there are young children in the house
It is also necessary to 3d print in a well ventilated environment as some (abs) filaments do give off smells/odours when heated/molten
And more importantly, i'd think planning to take care of that fire hazard is pretty important. The trouble is that 3d prints can run for hours (for large models having lots of layers), all that time the nozzle runs at 200+ deg C and the heated bed 100dec C for hours, and worse if the highly flammable solvent e.g. acetone is nearby. hence it certainly merits extra care and fire safety precautions
https://all3dp.com/fire-safety-unattended-3d-printer-nearly-burns-house-down/
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=3d+printer&_sacat=0
https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=3d+printer
however those $300 printer kits are *kits*, i.e. u'd normally need to assemble it yourself and tune the printer yourself even before the first print. this is actually part of the learning process of 3d printing and it gives you a very maintainable 3d printer. today you can buy just about any parts for those generic 3d printer kits on ebay / aliexpress, this makes it possible for the adventurous, enterprising makers to later make enhancements on the 3d printer that would ordinarily not be available for the average user. e.g. double extruders for multi colour prints (i consider that an expert domain)
for those who can afford, you may like to go for the more 'branded' ones like ultimaker or some of the local makes or imported printers with local support perhaps they may cost closer to $1k or more. i think local sg retailers do import them and re-sell the kits with optional pre-assembly services say for $500-$1k
the main thing about the 'branded' ones that has local support is that they would likely provide a local warranty, those printers are also likely better built, properly tested and shipped with commercial s/w that has more features to aid or manage the prints, they *may* also print faster and more accurately
the $1k printer *may* be pre-tuned and leveled and shipped with all the necessary s/w for a 'beginner' to start printing
as for the locally imported 3d printer kits (even those based on 'from china' ones) as well as local makes, i think buying from the local retailers is a good thing as well as they may offer local warranty, you would also likely to be able to approach them for support, 3d printing lessons , courses etc, (not necessarily free) and some of them are suppliers of filaments as well hence you could buy the filaments from them. it would make for a sustainable/evolving 3d printing market and industry in singapore
3d printing filaments are *expensive* unfortunately, but still relatively manageable for an occasional print
note that these fdm 3d printers along with commonly used solvents (e.g. acetone) are fire hazards,
those printing with abs on heated bed, the heated bed is normally running at 100deg C (boiling point of water or close) and nozzle at 230 deg C. Hence, be careful if there are young children in the house
It is also necessary to 3d print in a well ventilated environment as some (abs) filaments do give off smells/odours when heated/molten
And more importantly, i'd think planning to take care of that fire hazard is pretty important. The trouble is that 3d prints can run for hours (for large models having lots of layers), all that time the nozzle runs at 200+ deg C and the heated bed 100dec C for hours, and worse if the highly flammable solvent e.g. acetone is nearby. hence it certainly merits extra care and fire safety precautions
https://all3dp.com/fire-safety-unattended-3d-printer-nearly-burns-house-down/
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