Hi, I am brand new to 3d printing and I think it’s something I’d like to get more into. The only issue is I have extremely limited space, and I travel for work.
I am wondering if there are any 3d printers that would be practical for this type of lifestyle. I was eyeballing the prusa mini +.
Are there any 3d printers that pack/travel well?
take a look at the ender 2 pro, seems to be what you’re looking for. my experience is with the ender 3 pro but if it needs to be light weight, it looks like a decent beginner printer to learn and tinker with.
also keep in mind there’s tons of mods you can print to better suit your needs.
That seems to be one of the best options for sure, thanks for the recommendation. I’m really torn between that one and the prusa mini plus that someone else recommended.
The lower price of the Ender model is certainly hard to ignore.
Have you done many modifications to yours?
The Cetus Mk3 delux could also be an option if you like the ender 2.
That definitely seems like a really clean and compact design. It seems like there’s not an official place to purchase one though, maybe because of the newest model or something? Resellers seem to be the only options.
They released the Cetus 2 (interesting printer) this year meaning they probably stopped the production on the Cetus 1. Tiertime must have shipped dozens of them as they are often available on the used market, which is not surprising as it is a great printer and they delivered a popular printer before with the Up mini (2013?; great for ABS on a budget back then).
One aspect that sets the Cetus 1 apart from other budget printers is that it used high-quality parts for the motion system (e.g. genuine Gates GT2 belts and good linear rails). There are downsides to it like the belt z-axis dropping when powered down. In later revisions, they added a break for the z-axis to stop this.
I’ve done a ton of mods to my pair of ender 3 pros. A few are aesthetic, some are to fix quality control or design issues, and others are for quality of life improvements or to make some part of the process easier. Everything is done through trial and error and printing long enough to learn all the quirks of your machine.
Here is the stock version for you to compare,
and here are a few pictures of my setup, sorry if it’s hard to make out whats going.
https://files.catbox.moe/bh1v4m.jpg
https://files.catbox.moe/n3homw.jpg
https://files.catbox.moe/dnxosr.jpg
https://files.catbox.moe/xob9qy.jpg
https://files.catbox.moe/lj9o41.jpg
https://files.catbox.moe/9rw1lf.jpg
I’ve named them Blue and Yellow, Blue is the one with Spider-man riding the extruder gear. Both printers have had the plastic extruder arms replaced with the red metal ones as they break down over time. I’ve added glass beds and reinforced springs because of commonly warped beds and weak stock springs. I moved the filament spools to my pegboard to reduce shaking when printing. Corner braces are there to support and to make sure the frame is square/level. I changed the belt tensioners on both to make it easier to adjust the belts. Both printers have had their motherboards upgraded for speed/noise/etc. and they’re controlled by a raspberry pi running klipper.Though they differ, I have also changed the hotends on both printers. All this to show how much is involved in something like this, don’t get me wrong, some of these mods were optional but I am someone who is constantly calibrating and trying to get the most out of these.
If anything take a look here at what other people are making for the ender 2.
Honestly if you’re just trying to print and have the money, go for the Prusa. If you like to problem-solve, figure out how things work. and have the time to learn, try out an Ender! hope this helps~
That is absolutely fucking amazing! Thank you for sharing all of this with me, and I do want you to know that I appreciate how helpful you’ve been. That last part is especially helpful. I am definitely leaning towards the Prusa, but we’ll have to see. I don’t mind tinkering, but I can’t really say that I’ll have the time to… I may respond some more later when I’ve had the time to analyze some of the links you provided.
This is such a cool thing to have discovered! I mean, I’ve known about 3D printing, but I feel like my eyes have really been opened recently. I’m fucking STOKED dude! Lol