quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
Thanks to all contributors. As usual, The Forum is the fount of knowledge.

Huge believer in UPS systems here. Wouldn't be without one not only for power loss, but for line conditioning as our power tends to be a little on the dirty side. Any electronics prone to any sensitivity whatever are on a UPS. (Which reminds me, I need to get one for the upstairs TV)

Seeing as this is my first excursion into 3D printing, and it's just for the odd print at a hobby level (at least initially) I've settled on the Ender 3D V2. Question now is Amazon or direct from Creality. Creality has a significantly better price, but they haven't yet said whether or not the price includes shipping. Prime free shipping may make it a wash.

Make sure your UPS is up to the task - the heaters pull a lot of juice, constantly. Stock 3dPrinters don't handle odds & ends well, in my experience. My davinci has a dedicated raspberry Pi that will pause the print & shut down if the UPS goes on battery for more than a power blip. I can then re-start the print at the same line of GCode. I don't know of a stock printer that has that option. I've also had luck with measuring the height it stopped at & re-starting the print from there, but it's 50/50. My Dbot will have the same set up, when I get around to it, eventually, maybe.
I haven't researched the Ender line AT ALL, but the SD cards will usually handle GCode files only - you can't just put a .STL file on & go (usually). Built in 'slicer' programs on printers are usually a variation of sli3er or Cura, and usually don't have many options. They may have improved in the years I've been using my method, but I haven't heard of anything super-amazing (but I haven't looked, either).

I use Simplify3D as my slicer, but I've used Sli3er & Cura (both free) in the past.
The reason for simpify3D is 1) I own it and 2) the support structure control. It also doesn't completely change the names of settings like @$@#$!@#% Cura did after an update..
A well-done slice is the difference between a good print & a pain in the ass, no matter the hardware. I fought my DIY printer for weeks because I had a decimal point in the wrong place on the first layer width.....

I'd love to have a printer that you could just throw a CAD file at & hit 'print', but I suspect that is a long way off, or way out of my price range.

This thread has sparked my interest.
I put a Pi 400 on my Christmas list, just to play with it, but this would be a practical use for it.

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
@DoctorSolo - Points well taken but I'm just dicking around at the hobby level and price point is a major factor for me so I'll deal with the tweaking and Chineseum.

Thanks for your input.

Gotcha. You will have fun, don't get me wrong. I learned a LOT about 3D printing with my first printer, which was a sunlu S8. The knowledge you gain applies to all 3D printers, and once you have one you will ask yourself how you ever lived without one.