this post was submitted on 30 Jul 2024
44 points (94.0% liked)

3DPrinting

15583 readers
85 users here now

3DPrinting is a place where makers of all skill levels and walks of life can learn about and discuss 3D printing and development of 3D printed parts and devices.

The r/functionalprint community is now located at: [email protected] or [email protected]

There are CAD communities available at: [email protected] or [email protected]

Rules

If you need an easy way to host pictures, https://catbox.moe/ may be an option. Be ethical about what you post and donate if you are able or use this a lot. It is just an individual hosting content, not a company. The image embedding syntax for Lemmy is ![](URL)

Moderation policy: Light, mostly invisible

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Hello all, I am considering on getting a 3D printer. I want to print some stuff for a project. I am relatively new to this. I need the slicer software to be compatible (preferably open source) with linux since that's what I am using. I have only found the stuff from Prusa to be compatible but they are expensive. I have heard of ender 3 but it is the only os printer by creality and saw the repo is 3yo without updates.

Can I get some suggestions?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago

Slicers for FDM are open source and lots of forks. The built-in printer profiles vary a lot but can be created from scratch. You can find lots online to use as examples too. I currently use Cura, Prusaslicer, and Orcaslicer.

I'm more interested in printing plastic than tuning/upgrading the printer itself so I recommend a printer with automatic z-offset and bed leveling. Basic maintenance tasks such as cleaning, oiling, and greasing will need to be done on occasion no matter the printer. Beyond that I've only done simple retraction tuning.

I started with Elegoo Neptune 3 Pro. Klipper firmware upgrade improved speeds a lot. It wasn't bad for a budget printer but lack of automatic z-offset can be frustrating so I replaced & gave it away to friend. Replaced it with Creality K1 which was a lot easier to get started with thanks to automatic z-offset calibration. Output quality is good but to get better would require upgrades + tuning. Been saving up to replace with Bambu Lab P1S combo so I can also do multi-color printing.