3D Printing

[KenLowe]

I'm on the lookout for a cheap(ish) 3D printer of reasonable quality, and stumbled across this :

https://www.hbuys.shop/index.php?route= ... uct_id=910

It looks to be the same as this one:

https://www.snapmaker.com

I'm a total novice when it comes to 3D printing, so looking for a bit of guidance before committing. Anyone had any experience with this printer?

Other suggestions welcome!

[daveejhitchins]

The mechanics are similar to the one I use the Kodama Trinus, which is good but will have the same ('ish) limited work area! But I do get good results. I noticed that the one you've linked to doesn't (probably!) have a heated bed, as it looks quite thick. Not always needed - especially if you use PLA from Rigid Ink.

BUT - do be careful! There are a number of scams being reported, where people are advertising low priced 3D printers but have no intention of shipping product.

Watch/Read as many reviews as you can - and investigate the supplier thoroughly!

Oh! and keep us updated

Dave H

[KenLowe]

Hi Dave. Thanks for the feedback. One of the pictures does suggest that it comes with a heated bed, but I'm definitely a bit wary about this one!

[sweh]

One thing to be careful of... the contact page mentions "2.27 Romer House Lewisham High Street, London, England, SE13 6EE" as their address. This seems to be a front company for a tonne of other places. The phone number looks like it might be a Hong Kong one. They list support@cpjus.com as their email address... and that domain has a lot of scam alerts associated with it.

If you search for some of the words (eg on the T&C page) you'll see a lot of similar looking sites.

The original snapmaker goes for around $700... this one goes for $300, discounted to $60.

When something like the monoprice select mini goes for $190 and this is a small (120x120x120mm) slow (55mm/s) printer, seeing something that can do 3d+laser+CNC for $60...

This screams "scam" to me.

[KenLowe]

Yeah. I did note the UK address, but foreign telephone number. As appealing as it sounds, I'm probably going to pass on this one and get something from a more legitimate source.

[DariusMil]

That actually looks dodgy as heck. Good thing you spot it. I'm also looking for some sort of a good deal when it comes to bang for the buck. My kid wants a 3D printer for Christmas. I'm totally pushing him in that direction anyway because I want to play with it as well. haha

[scruss]

3d printing is my job. Right now, in the cheap + adequately good sector there are:

• Monoprice MP Select Mini. Minimal assembly to get going. Very small.
• Creality3D Ender 3. Some (quite fiddly, 2+ hours) assembly required: all tools are supplied, instructions are good, but this is not the one to give and expect it to be working on xmas day. If you can find a local supplier, they might assemble for a small fee and perhaps upgrade the power supply: the stock one isn't BS/CE/UL(C) approved.

You'll also need a spool of PLA filament. Nice-to-haves are a couple of SD/µSD cards for moving files around and a new trash bin for failed prints. You'll also need another computer to run the slicer (use Cura: it's cross-platform and supports most printers out of the box). Although Windows 10 has a 3d printing subsystem built in, it doesn't support many printers.

Neither of these simple printers have the handy automatic bed levelling feature. If you're careful, you don't need it, but it does reduce the number of failed prints drastically. I have the Ender 3, and I like it. Print quality is really good, and it's open source so modifications are easy to make. Only downside is the noise: it's got four fans and a super-annoying beepy control panel. The demo print, though cute, is needlessly large, takes about 5 hours and uses all of the filament sample pack.

Snapmakers are okay but tiny and expensive. Anything with a laser engraver built in needs full shielding, unless you wish to risk blinding your family, your pets and yourself.

[george.h]

That actually looks dodgy as heck. Good thing you spot it. I'm also looking for some sort of a good deal when it comes to bang for the buck. My kid wants a 3D printer for Christmas. I'm totally pushing him in that direction anyway because I want to play with it as well. haha

It *IS* a total scam. That exact same deal has appeared on at least two Shopify "shops":

https://cdb-shop.myshopify.com/products ... 3d-printer

the other:

https://ccm-sale.myshopify.com/collecti ... 3d-printer

Both since taken down. One listed an address in Canada, the second had a naff "screen snip" of the Companies House listing of an outfit on the UK. They didn't even copy and paste the text - just a straight image.

Again just a rip off of the pics and videos from:

https://shop.snapmaker.com/products/3-in-1-3d-printer

Both gave different telephone numbers (fake) but the same email address: 'support@cpjus.com'. Interestingly, before they were taken down, the Youtube vidoes on one came up as (words to the effect of) "This channel has been removed for copyright infringement".

George

[KenLowe]

Well, I'm glad I didn't go for the first offer I saw. Instead of paying £60, i can now get it for £25:

https://www.greatflux.com/collections/f ... /3dprinter

Seriously?????

I think it really does show this up as a complete scam.

Annoyingly, these are continually appearing as ads on Facebook.

[topcat96]

Am considering getting one of these for myself ...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Comgrow-Creali ... B07GYXP9ZL

[scruss]

Am considering getting one of these for myself ...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Comgrow-Creali ... B07GYXP9ZL

Go for it. The Ender 3 is a great printer for the money. I haven't tried this newer magnetic bed version.

There's definitely "some assembly required" with this printer, but it's not too hard. Don't forget to buy filament when you're at it, as it comes with a particularly measly sample.

[sbadger]

Well, I'm glad I didn't go for the first offer I saw. Instead of paying £60, i can now get it for £25:

https://www.greatflux.com/collections/f ... /3dprinter

Seriously?????

I think it really does show this up as a complete scam.

Annoyingly, these are continually appearing as ads on Facebook.

lol, not as cheap as this smartwatch discounted 100%, i.e £0.00

https://www.greatflux.com/collections/f ... mart-watch



best bit, buy two save and extra 20%!