3d Printer for Home Office

[longranger]

Any suggestions for a 3d printer for a complete newb for under 500 bucks?

[shogunofharlem3]

I have an Ender 3 and Ender 3 Pro with a Raspberry Pi for each running Octoprint. I believe the Ender 3 S1 just came out and I have read some good things.

My printers both print great. No complaints. Also, if you are near a Microcenter, they were doing a $99 Ender 3 Pro with coupon, that is how I got my second printer. This is from my Ender 3

[longranger]

That’s awesome. I had an ender 3 s1 in my cart but couldn’t pull the trigger. I hear good things, then read a bad review.

[Master Live 013]

If I may ask, for what sort of things do you use your 3D printer shogunofharmlem3? Always been curious if that's a thing I should look to get into.

[shogunofharlem3]

If you have patience and like to tinker then I would recommend an Ender 3. If you go that route I'll give you a few initial upgrades, not expensive, that will make a big difference in the long run. I enjoy both my Enders.

I tend to print more useful parts than anything else. Here are a few examples of things I have printed, some my design some designs from thingiverse.

Beer hold holder for drying for homebrewing. my design

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"Temporary" replacement drain for slop sink. my design

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Rubber TPU filament gasket for slop sink. No leaks yet

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Angled nozzle for my leaf blower so I can get the damn leaves away from the fence. my design

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HDMI holder for each classroom where I teach. The teachers were leaving them laying all over the floor. 5 minutes in Tinkercad to design and 25 printed for the building.

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My setup (each printer has a Raspberry Pi running OctoPrint)

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[longranger]

These are awesome. I’m a teacher as well. I want to be able to print out of the box and a slicer that’s easy to use.
The s1 looks like it has all of the upgrades

[shogunofharlem3]

Cura is the easiest slicer I have used so far. Tinkercad is online free 3d modeling that I use with the kids at school and for my stuff I create at home. I haven't had time to dive into Fusion 360 or those more robust programs.

As far as print out of the box, Prusa may be a better option. The enders have to be assembled, which is cool because you get to learn each part of the machine but can be a bit of a hassle. I have both my Enders dialed in but it took a bit of work to get them just right.

At school we have Qidi Pro X, Monoprice III and a generic homemade one that sucks! haha. The Qidi is basically press print and it goes.

[longranger]

The ender 3 s1 seems pretty simple to put together from the videos I have watched. Ours at school suck. Lol