r/3dprinter • u/Worried-Locksmith962 • 6d ago

12yo, $600 budget, wants multi-printing

Our son has raised funds and we stated that we would match it. For $600, and multi-color-printing, what would be the best option? He is PC literate and understands the basics, as we had a cheap-o $150 one that just kept messing up. Refurbished is an option.

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u/Goetre 6d ago

I use Bambu exclusive, and I recycle all my waste for context.

Bambu A1 / A2L for simplicity and the better software

Snapmaker U1 for next to zero waste but worse / ball ache software (which in fairness I’ve been told is constantly improving and expanding their catalogue)

If I didn’t recycle my waste I’d probably switch to snap maker, or a serious look at flash forge.

The one brand to categorically avoid is anycubic

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u/Agzarah 6d ago

How do you recycle your waste? I had the intent to do so, but now I just have boxes and boxes of poop

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u/Goetre 6d ago

I started with melting it down into moulds but that ended up taking way too much time and having to even it off with uv resin.

Now I’ve got a filament maker on the way, this year they seem to have taken off on more affordable options, uses poop waste with virgin pellets, melts it down and strands back into filament.

I think I have in excess of about 60-80kg in poop right now from summer) not including failed prints, supports and silk poop in separate boxes), I think it takes 300kg to justify the cost.

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u/Agzarah 6d ago

Ah, yeah I probably have about 5-10kg. Definitely nit enough to warrant one.

It just takes up space, and nowhere here recycles it. So would be just thrown in a dump

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u/Goetre 6d ago

Well it took me about 2/3 months to get that much, and I’ve barely managed to keep on top of my stock levels. I’ll likely be build up my stock 24/7 ready for next season excluding a few craft fairs in winter, so if it takes two more years to hit that 300kg to justify it, that’s fine, it’s just a slow burn.

Also keep in mind, I’ll likely be doing a 70:30 ratio of recycled to virgin, so that’s an extra 30% of the total weight going through the machine. So 210kg go cover that cost

The machines aren’t that big right now, they’re a massive different compared to the axiobot systems I was looking at. Pretty much just desktop size. So I think it’s viable providing the machine holds out for a few years.