I have a basic ender 3 as a first printer. I thought about the pro version but none of the differences seamed important to me. I didn't look too hard at the clones. There is such a large number of Ender 3's out there that no matter what you are trying to do or problem you have, somebody has been there before (kind of like buying a 1377). I use the Cura slicer. Easy to use and the default profiles for the ender 3 and different filaments work well without having to tune them. PLA gives nice prints but is the first to soften/deform at higher temperature (hot car, black part in the sun, etc). PETG is the next step up in temperature capability. Stefan on the CNC Kitchen Youtube channel has done some basic strength/stiffnes testing https://www.youtube.com/c/CNCKitchen/videos.When you are planning your setup, plan for some ventilation. Depending on which filament you use there are some fumes. May not want to put it where you'll be sitting next to it while it prints (for hours). I am still surprised how long some designs take to print.For CAD, you'll get a broad range of suggestions. To get started, you can do quite a bit of model manipulation in 3D Builder that comes free with windows 10.Once you get your printer, there are some great videos that cover assembly and alignment that go beyond the instructions that come with the Ender.
Yes, Cura accepts files saved in 3D builder.
Quote from: WhatUPSbox? on January 02, 2021, 02:12:44 AMYes, Cura accepts files saved in 3D builder.Guess I really need a tutorial in 3D builder. Was dorking around in there and have a cylinder created so far LOL.
Don't know if you are looking at alternatives. I got a sovol sv-01 and it is excellent. The user base is smaller so if that's important then maybe not a good choice but when I looked into it this printer seemed to be a significant upgrade for about the same amount of money.
Quote from: Randy00 on January 02, 2021, 02:39:11 AMQuote from: WhatUPSbox? on January 02, 2021, 02:12:44 AMYes, Cura accepts files saved in 3D builder.Guess I really need a tutorial in 3D builder. Was dorking around in there and have a cylinder created so far LOL. tinkercad might be easier and its free .. Thingiverse has a million free files you can print , so you can learn to draw while printing existing designs.
yes you can do almost everything in tinkercad.. you can bring files from thingoverse, look them over, add some mods to them , etc .
3Dbuilder provides a less formal way to create and modify simple designs. A couple of hints. The position and rotation are the center of the selected part(s). Clicking on the numbers below the XYZ lets you type in an exact value, same for the resize. Under edit, the subtract command removes the selected shape from whatever it touches. Simple way to add holes or make a baffle cone. The split command trims a part and is also an easy way to see the internals of say an LDC. The select/unselect buttons on the far right help keep track of what you are working on.Thingiverse files are one part as a mesh of points, no features to select to edit. You can scale them and trim them easily but you can't move a hole easily for example. You can plug a hole and subtract a new one as described above.
McMaster Carr has 3d models of bolts https://www.mcmaster.com/91251A016/. If you pick the STEP file format you need to open it in something like freecad and save it as STL. Then you can open it in 3D builder and subtract it from your part to get an internal thread. I don't know if tinkercad imports STEP or solidworks files directly. One thing to keep track of is what orientation you will print it so you minimize overhangs.
like Stan mentioned, tinker is limited.. What you really need is a printer, some PLA , cura, and thingiverse.. Get the hang of printing random garbage and cura settings.. Then as time passes , you can get more into designing items.. The hardest part of 3d printing is learning cad.. But many folks printt items off the internet and never learn to draw.. As an aside , anything imported to tinker can be exported to fusion 360 where the possibilities are endless. The more programs you know the better, but for now , cura is the only one you need asap to print stuff off the internet.
Quote from: Rob M on January 02, 2021, 01:18:32 PMlike Stan mentioned, tinker is limited.. What you really need is a printer, some PLA , cura, and thingiverse.. Get the hang of printing random garbage and cura settings.. Then as time passes , you can get more into designing items.. The hardest part of 3d printing is learning cad.. But many folks printt items off the internet and never learn to draw.. As an aside , anything imported to tinker can be exported to fusion 360 where the possibilities are endless. The more programs you know the better, but for now , cura is the only one you need asap to print stuff off the internet.So basically what you are saying is, go print stuff for a while and then design...As an aside.. I have found nothing out there that works in the air rifle that I'm trying to mod.