Recommendations for a 3D Printer

It might depend a bit on whether you have experience with 3D printing at all.  Many like the Prusa printers.  I have an Ender 5 Plus by Creality that has worked well.  There are lots of after market supplier mods that can be made to this printer if you like to tinker.  How large of a piece do you see yourself printing.  The Ender 5 Plus has a pretty large print surface.  Creality customer support is pretty poor.  There are more printers than you can shake a stick at (old fart saying).  Learning curve can be intimidating for some.  One of the best improvements I have made to mine is a filament dryer.  PLA filament will really give bad results if exposed to humidity but it is easy to "dry out".  What filaments  do you think you will print with?  Much to be considered as different filaments require different drive mechanisms, different hot ends, different levels of patience.  For the most part, they are more plug and pray than plug and play.  To get the best results you will also be embarking on a journey to learn 3D modeling which is a whole 'nuther ball of filament.  I would go to YouTube and take a look at the videos on the subject.  Several YouTube creators really offer some great insight.  Good Luck!

I'm using a Creality CR10S Pro. It's modified slightly with a new hot end and octo pi.

I recommend it or an Ender 3 if you have some mechanical and computer ability. Sometimes Creality machines take a bit of tinkering to get them dialed in. I think that's a great way to learn but some people want a machine that just works and I completely understand that.

LOVE MY Ender 3!
Need time to set up well.

If you want to make detailed parts/accessories for O-scale I highly recommend getting a resin printer as traditional FDM printers will leave layer lines that you need to sand down. If you do go down this rabbit hole, go for the bigger print dimensions if you can (better to get it now than buy a 2nd printer later on). On my 9.1" printer, I am making 19th century freight cars as we speak.

The below were printed on my Elegoo Saturn S for my 1/48 Military installation



Bryce

I have studied additive for 35 years.  My company had some of the first resin 3d printers made in the 80's  $$$$.   Home resin units today are 0.25-1% of the cost of those originals.

First decide what you want to do.  What is your goal for 3D printing.  FDM vs resin, each has advantages.   What is your budget? 

Printing existing models or are you going to model?  What modeling software?   I use Solid Edge 2022 for makers.  Free unless you start making a lot of money off of your models.    I tried many of the "free" CAD offerings and decided professional CAD software and documentation is well worth it in the long run..

Are you intending to make buildings, accessories, loads or cars/engines?  What detail and size?

Slicer software that make the code to run the machines are a key part.   What slicer software is available and how well supported is it.

How much "Post processing" can you handle.  Sanding or other smoothing methods on FDM if needed,  UV curing on resin.    Painting, assembly etc.

How much shelf space can you dedicate to it? How much do you like playing with software.   Or do you want off the shelf solutions?  What learning curve will you accept?    How valuable is your time?   What kind of support do you need and what will you get?

I chose Prusa MK3s+ originally, slicer included.   Time to get it up and running well was good.  Long term support looks good.   I am expanding to the XL, multi-head printer next year.   I may add resin eventually.   

The market is still maturing, and has a way to go, even after 35+ years.

Check out THIS ARTICLE on the OGR 3D Catalog site. It might be helpful.

When I started thinking about a 3d printer I was all about fine detail which pointed me to a resin printer.  After examining some prints they were indeed nicer than those from a PLA.   However, extreme care must be taken when using a resin printer as their consumables are not very environmental friendly and can be quite hazardous inside the home.   Ventilation and curing have to be considered as important safety concerns.    Eventually I ended up with a ELEGOO Neptune 3 PLA which has worked quite well for my needs plus it was considerably less expensive and no concern about air quality, etc,...    I may end up with a resin printer sometime in the future but for my building flats, bridge girders, tools, etc, the PLA is quite acceptable.   I have done a couple of vehicles and once painted and weathered, they were fine.  Same with barrels, boxs, crates, other trackside items.

-Mike in NC,

@Mike in NC posted:

  I may end up with a resin printer sometime in the future but for my building flats, bridge girders, tools, etc, the PLA is quite acceptable.

This is about where I'm at. It seems like every few months, I find some settings to tweak to get even better detail with my printer. Resin has a great surface finish but I find PLA is getting it done for me, personally. I often wonder lately what I could accomplish with even better printer parts. I'm using mostly middle of the road components at the moment.

It's also worth mentioning that some layer lines can be hidden with paint. I've only seen it done on flat surfaces but I was shocked to find out I was looking at an FDM printed part.

I will be just starting out but wanted to purchase something that would be useful not just as a learning tool, but also in the long term.

Want to be able to print both small and large items using a verity of print material.

That might be a bit tricky. My CR10S Pro printed ok out of the box but it needed assembly and whatnot. I had to tinker a bit to get really great results from it.

What exactly will you be printing? That would probably be a big help in giving you advice. If you're printing models for your model railroad, PLA or PETG are going to be sufficient. You won't need to print with exotic materials generally.

Yes I will be starting by printing items for my RR, however, I want to be able to expand in bigger and grater things.  I would like to purchase a printer that will allow me to do that.

Thanks Rich!

This question has come up before.  Check out this thread https://ogrforum.com/...getting-carried-away.  Take your time and read this end to end.

If you want a finish like plastic then you need to look at a resin printer.  All are pretty much the same (that's MSLA) in capabilities and cost.  The price goes up with size and resolution.  I have both FDM and MSLA printers.  Mostly I print on the FDM but for a high quality finely detail print I go to the resin printer.  The issues with resin have already been mentioned.

Customer support can be critical for a newbie.  I've found Elegoo's to be outstanding.  I'll send an email, go to bed, and there will be an answer bright and early the next morning (and they apologize for taking so long).

I'm not a spokesperson for Elegoo but that make a quality printer at reasonable prices.  If you want an FDM printer look at the Neptune 3 Pro.  I recommend this over the earlier versions because of it newbie friendly features that will let you start printing right out of the box.  I also have a 2S and a 3.  The PRR F32 flatcar in the referenced thread was printed on a first generation Elegoo Saturn.

If you don't go after the top of the line printer you can find good prices as most manufactures are have closeout sales as they retire earlier models.  Compare specs and don't forget to search youtube for reviews.

Several forum members have been using 3D printers  in their modeling.  Trainman2001 I feel pioneered the use on the forum.  Norm charbonneau recently start 3d printing part for upgrading;locomotives using both FDM and resin printers.

Jan

Curious.  Are there hobby level printers that can print a F85 flatcar (21.25” long) in one piece?  Or would it have to be done in multiple pieces and glued together?  Probably would need a metal rod along the bottom for strength.

Ron,

There are some large resin printers out there.  The Elegoo Jupiter ($1300)has a XYZ diagonal measurement on 17+".  A 3D car would have to be smaller than that to accommodate the width and height.  The Phrozen Sonic Mega ($3000) has a diagonal dimension of 21.6".  The Formlab 3L ($11,000) has a diagonal of 19.3".

The printers are getting close to being able to do it.  But for now the car would have to be built in 2 pieces.  The F32 flatcar frame was originally done in two pieces with the deck a third piece.  When we got our Saturn the car was printed as one piece.  The car is quite strong without any additional strength members.  The design could included a metal bar to add weight (and additional strength).  There are "high strength" impact resistant resins available,

If you wanted to print the car using and FDM printer then there are dozens of machines to chose from.

Jan

PS.  Creating the 3D design I feel is the real problem.  It requires CAD skills plus access to the data.  There are businesses that have printers that can print the model in one piece.

PPS. Found this article after I posted this reply https://all3dp.com/1/best-larg...r-stereolithography/

@NYC 428 posted:

Yes I will be starting by printing items for my RR, however, I want to be able to expand in bigger and grater things.  I would like to purchase a printer that will allow me to do that.

If you're considering resin, you may be better off purchasing a smaller printer, as the "learning curve" is much easier than a large one (not to mention failed prints are a lot less costly). They're cheap enough, and still come in handy even if you have a larger printer on hand. I've got (currently) an Elegoo Mars 3 and an Elegoo Jupiter. The Mars 3 replaced an older printer I'd had for 3 years that developed issues with the screen. A new screen was about 1/3 the cost of a new printer, and the Mars 3 had a slightly larger build area and a MUCH higher resolution (and it was under $200). I use it for smaller print jobs and prototyping smaller items that I may print in bulk later on the Jupiter. It gets much more use than the Jupiter, as it's a lot easier to clean. As I mentioned earlier, a large failed print in the Jupiter can toast an entire liter (or more) of resin. That's not cheap. Large printers can also introduce their own issues regarding the forces of the resin separating from the FEP and potentially pulling items from their supports. None of which can't be overcome, but it's an additional impediment to someone just starting out.

If you're considering FDM, get one with as large a build area as you can afford.