Reasons to DIY build a 3D printer

Personally I would only opt for ballscews on the Z axis on a bed slinger.
But in all honesty before knocking the Ender 3 use the machine, spend some time setting it up, stiffer bed springs or as the current trend solid silicon spacers. The printer itself is only part of the equation, the secret to a good print, we're talking functional prints, is designing the CAD model with thought as to how it will be printed. Dealing with shrinkage on holes, understanding that 0.1mm accuracy is the best you can expect. What works for my Ender 3 may not work for yours for nailing hole dimensions, then throw the type of filament into the equation and things change again.
There's a reason the Ender 3 was a popular choice as an entry level printer, it Just Worked out of the box.
Teaching tech is a good channel on YouTube, Michael won't piss in your pocket and tell you the sun is shining. I've found him to be honest in his opinions and quite a knowledgeable chap,and no I'm not being biased because he's a fellow Aussie. As we say he knows his shit, plus he keeps goats.

unknown wrote:

Personally I would only opt for ballscews on the Z axis on a bed slinger.
But in all honesty before knocking the Ender 3 use the machine, spend some time setting it up, stiffer bed springs or as the current trend solid silicon spacers. The printer itself is only part of the equation, the secret to a good print, we're talking functional prints, is designing the CAD model with thought as to how it will be printed. Dealing with shrinkage on holes, understanding that 0.1mm accuracy is the best you can expect. What works for my Ender 3 may not work for yours for nailing hole dimensions, then throw the type of filament into the equation and things change again.
There's a reason the Ender 3 was a popular choice as an entry level printer, it Just Worked out of the box.
Teaching tech is a good channel on YouTube, Michael won't piss in your pocket and tell you the sun is shining. I've found him to be honest in his opinions and quite a knowledgeable chap,and no I'm not being biased because he's a fellow Aussie. As we say he knows his shit, plus he keeps goats.


 

 Thanks very much Unknown,

ha ha, yeah I am TRYING to use it. I can't even get my first layer to stick yet.
Using a glass plate, temperature up to 70, cleaned the glass with acetone, put some hair spray on it, leveled the bed with feeler gauges, and all to no avail.
I might try the standard black print sheet next.
I don't have any personal experience with the Ender but from what I've heard from the guy who gave it to me, and from various other guys on the net, I'm surprised to hear you say the Ender just works out of the box. I kind of hear that more with Bambu printers.
I found a playlist on the Ender, from the Youtube channel Teaching Tech that you recommended. I'll see if I can have some success after viewing some of his videos.

Like everything else you will only hear people bitching and moaning, the happy ones are usually pretty quiet.

The standard magnetic sheet works to begin with but over time it degrades. Creality make a textured glass sheet which works really well.

Recently I bought a 3D printer. An Anycubic Kobra S1

 

It's been a bit of a learning curve but Anycubic support were great because they kept sending me parts for free (3 times) to replace the bits I broke from my own stupidity. I thought about making one with Linuxcnc and ethercat hardware because there are native interfaces for all of the required sensors.... Then I looked hard at the Vorons. But decided to go with buying one for a change. With the benefit of hindsight, the multi-material AMS was a waste of money for what I've been doing. I've only used it once just to say I could!

When I can print a M6 x 1 bolt that works, I think its fair to say it (and many other printers) are up with the Bambu's today but when things go wrong are probably not quite as easy to service (Flashforge AD5X excluded). But hey a hot end is only $10 and an extruder is $26 so just keep a few parts on hand (you might need to email support to buy them).