A lot of 3d printers print only 8 x 8 x 8 inch. I have 12 x 12 x 12 inch Creality Ender 3 max but for horn or wave guide you need 16 x 16. X 16 or even 20 inch 3d printer. So go big and go Ender, because of cheap parts and lots of modification possibilities at low prices.
Last edited:
+1 for Enders. They are cheap, have a huge community, and upgrades/tweaks/fixes are plenty.
Hoewever, within this budget, you probably won't be able to get something that can print large pieces. Maybe, if you are lucky, you can find a Ender-3 V3 Plus (300mm x 300mm x 300mm) for just a little bit over 300 usd. Not that big, but larger than the standard size.
I have a Ender-3 v2 that I turned into a mini CNC that I use to mill PCBs and a Ender-3 V3 KE. The KE model is amazing, very easy to use. Unbox it, plug it in and start printing. However, max print size is 220mm x 220mm x 250mm.
Hoewever, within this budget, you probably won't be able to get something that can print large pieces. Maybe, if you are lucky, you can find a Ender-3 V3 Plus (300mm x 300mm x 300mm) for just a little bit over 300 usd. Not that big, but larger than the standard size.
I have a Ender-3 v2 that I turned into a mini CNC that I use to mill PCBs and a Ender-3 V3 KE. The KE model is amazing, very easy to use. Unbox it, plug it in and start printing. However, max print size is 220mm x 220mm x 250mm.
Bambu lab a1 prints pretty well without pretty much wondering about the printer ! And you could spend more time designing very good brand , not speaker related but I made this with 0 experience on the printer
I got into 3d printing with SLA / resin this past June for a variety of hobbies but followed FDM and SLA for quite some time before. For FDM, everything points at all other vendors needing to justify their existence against the Bambu Labs product line. That Sauron above is a solid example. That's easily 80% of the crispness (accuracy / consistency) an SLA printer will spit out, and other sub $1k FDM printers aren't going to reach 50% without hundreds in mods and/or hours of tweaking between re-attempts.
For a reference on what other FDM printers are going to do as far as acoustic parts, check some of STV's BR port construction methods as well as Hexibase on YouTube. It's going to be sandpaper and filler primer to get a smooth surface. Hexibase is a good reference of different printer models from the past few years if looking for used at the budget you're talking. He's also got a good example larger tweeter horn in one of his projects (that makes me throw up in my mouth by needing just a bit of filler and sanding love).
For a bit of reference of what comes out of an SLA printer, but MUCH more volume constrained, this is a 4 1/4" flange / 6" long port I printed on my Saturn 4 Ultra. The only finishing after wash and post-cure is the bit of 400 grit sanding you can see at the face of the flange and underside of the far end where I removed the support marks. (This is from the same STV thread - his Excel spreadsheet and Augerpro's FreeCAD version of the NFR=0.5 port with some modifications for my Seas/Loki kit bookshelf). Keep in mind SLA printing is quite a bit more involved with post-processing wash/cure/handling, and I would not advise people try to get into SLA for less than a $600 startup budget with all the ancillaries and consumables needed.
For a reference on what other FDM printers are going to do as far as acoustic parts, check some of STV's BR port construction methods as well as Hexibase on YouTube. It's going to be sandpaper and filler primer to get a smooth surface. Hexibase is a good reference of different printer models from the past few years if looking for used at the budget you're talking. He's also got a good example larger tweeter horn in one of his projects (that makes me throw up in my mouth by needing just a bit of filler and sanding love).
For a bit of reference of what comes out of an SLA printer, but MUCH more volume constrained, this is a 4 1/4" flange / 6" long port I printed on my Saturn 4 Ultra. The only finishing after wash and post-cure is the bit of 400 grit sanding you can see at the face of the flange and underside of the far end where I removed the support marks. (This is from the same STV thread - his Excel spreadsheet and Augerpro's FreeCAD version of the NFR=0.5 port with some modifications for my Seas/Loki kit bookshelf). Keep in mind SLA printing is quite a bit more involved with post-processing wash/cure/handling, and I would not advise people try to get into SLA for less than a $600 startup budget with all the ancillaries and consumables needed.
Bambu a1 mini is a solid choice. It is an unbelievable value. The quality of the printer is hard to comprehend for its price. The a1 and a1 mini feel like high end lab/medical equipment. The mini has a small bed but big enough to print the parts for a 520mm ath horn.
I've been running my new A1 for 2 days. I'm very pleased.
I'll try a 4 inch waveguide soon. Standard 0.4 nozzle with standard layer settings takes about 1h15m
I got the 0.2 nozzle and slicing previews with it. 5h20m minimum, but if results are good the extra time is a acceptable.
I'll try a 4 inch waveguide soon. Standard 0.4 nozzle with standard layer settings takes about 1h15m
I got the 0.2 nozzle and slicing previews with it. 5h20m minimum, but if results are good the extra time is a acceptable.
the 0,4 nozzle is fine joel, i got my printer for 2 months and the 0.2 is overkill and usable if you printing high detail miniatures
What about usability/ease of use?
I'm considering buying a printer and looking for something that works straight out of the box and is easy to use. I'm really not looking to get in to modding and getting all kinds of upgrades.
Opinions?
I'm considering buying a printer and looking for something that works straight out of the box and is easy to use. I'm really not looking to get in to modding and getting all kinds of upgrades.
Opinions?
FYI: This video was posted today. I didn't watch all of it. I don't think it will affect me all as I'll likely only print locally. It could be overblown but can't say for sure..
Its a false alarm , you can still use other slicers in advanced or another mode I don’t remember I have a Bambu myself
The Ender3 is a solid choice. I bought one to play with early in the pandemic. Assembly was fairly simple but the quick start guide was a little too simple and reversed a couple of the steps which had to be repeated in the correct order.
No matter.
I found out later the thing is pretty bullet proof. In my haste and ignorant tampering I somehow managed to direct the print head over one of the binder clips that holds the bed plate to the bed. It caught on the spring steel handle, pulled it loose which flung into one of the steppers. There was a bright spark, a loud bang, the machine and fans stopped and the control panel went dead.
I was stunned. I had somehow managed to break my new toy within mere weeks of buying with it. Numb with grief, a few days later I turned it on to assess the damage. Incredibly, it started up as if nothing had happened.
I still don't know where the clip handle disappeared to, but apparently it did no damage, just a spectular (and heart stopping) fireworks display.
5 years later the contol panel sometimes doesn't display the fonts correctly when browsing gcode files on the sd card. I have to turn the knob slowly, sometimes up and down to refresh the list. Could be just too many files on it, idk. Minor problem, so far.
Long story short, I'd buy another one. The Ender3 line has been updated and expanded several times since but I'm still satisfied with this early one, it serves my purposes, and I'm still having a great time playing with it. As a kid 50 years ago I would've killed for something like this.
Since this is a thread about waveguides, here's one I designed and printed over the holidays in Tinkercad for an omni speaker I've been building. Something like this would've been very difficult to do any other way. As a bonus, it's improved the treble dispersion greatly over the hemisphere I was using before.
Whatever printer you buy, Happy Printing!
No matter.
I found out later the thing is pretty bullet proof. In my haste and ignorant tampering I somehow managed to direct the print head over one of the binder clips that holds the bed plate to the bed. It caught on the spring steel handle, pulled it loose which flung into one of the steppers. There was a bright spark, a loud bang, the machine and fans stopped and the control panel went dead.
I was stunned. I had somehow managed to break my new toy within mere weeks of buying with it. Numb with grief, a few days later I turned it on to assess the damage. Incredibly, it started up as if nothing had happened.
I still don't know where the clip handle disappeared to, but apparently it did no damage, just a spectular (and heart stopping) fireworks display.
5 years later the contol panel sometimes doesn't display the fonts correctly when browsing gcode files on the sd card. I have to turn the knob slowly, sometimes up and down to refresh the list. Could be just too many files on it, idk. Minor problem, so far.
Long story short, I'd buy another one. The Ender3 line has been updated and expanded several times since but I'm still satisfied with this early one, it serves my purposes, and I'm still having a great time playing with it. As a kid 50 years ago I would've killed for something like this.
Since this is a thread about waveguides, here's one I designed and printed over the holidays in Tinkercad for an omni speaker I've been building. Something like this would've been very difficult to do any other way. As a bonus, it's improved the treble dispersion greatly over the hemisphere I was using before.
Whatever printer you buy, Happy Printing!
ripblade, you can't post a picture like that...what ever it is.. without more info. What is that?
Wow. This is highly detailed. I never thought 3D printing could be this detailed. Is this PETG printing?
I know its way above the asked price range but.. What if you wait and save up a little more?
I`m a early adopter of Qidi plus 4 and it had a rough start for 120v users with its chamber heater control board but for me in eu it`s been fantastic. Its like a little bigger bambu. My only issue with it so far is firmware issues when they did a rush job trying to mitigate the issue for 120v users.
I`m a early adopter of Qidi plus 4 and it had a rough start for 120v users with its chamber heater control board but for me in eu it`s been fantastic. Its like a little bigger bambu. My only issue with it so far is firmware issues when they did a rush job trying to mitigate the issue for 120v users.