r/3Dprinting • • 14d ago

Purchase Advice Purchase Advice Megathread - October 2026

9 Upvotes

Welcome back to another purchase megathread!

This thread is meant to conglomerate purchase advice for both newcomers and people looking for additional machines. Keeping this discussion to one thread means less searching should anyone have questions that may already have been answered here, as well as more visibility to inquiries in general, as comments made here will be visible for the entire month stuck to the top of the sub, and then added to the Purchase Advice Collection (Reddit Collections are still broken on mobile view, enable "view in desktop mode").

Please be sure to skim through this thread for posts with similar requirements to your own first, as recommendations relevant to your situation may have already been posted, and may even include answers to follow up questions you might have wished to ask.

If you are new to 3D printing, and are unsure of what to ask, try to include the following in your posts as a minimum:

  • Your budget, set at a numeric amount. Saying "cheap," or "money is not a problem" is not an answer people can do much with. 3D printers can cost $100, they can cost $10,000,000, and anywhere in between. A rough idea of what you're looking for is essential to figuring out anything else.
  • Your country of residence.
  • If you are willing to build the printer from a kit, and what your level of experience is with electronic maintenance and construction if so.
  • What you wish to do with the printer.
  • Any extenuating circumstances that would restrict you from using machines that would otherwise fit your needs (limited space for the printer, enclosure requirement, must be purchased through educational intermediary, etc).

While this is by no means an exhaustive list of what can be included in your posts, these questions should help paint enough of a picture to get started. Don't be afraid to ask more questions, and never worry about asking too many. The people posting in this thread are here because they want to give advice, and any questions you have answered may be useful to others later on, when they read through this thread looking for answers of their own. Everyone here was new once, so chances are whoever is replying to you has a good idea of how you feel currently.

Reddit User and Regular u/richie225 is also constantly maintaining his extensive personal recommendations list which is worth a read: Generic FDM Printer recommendations.

Additionally, a quick word on print quality: Most FDM/FFF (that is, filament based) printers are capable of approximately the same tolerances and print appearance, as the biggest limiting factor is in the nature of extruded plastic. Asking if a machine has "good prints," or saying "I don't expect the best quality for $xxx" isn't actually relevant for the most part with regards to these machines. Should you need additional detail and higher tolerances, you may want to explore SLA, DLP, and other photoresin options, as those do offer an increase in overall quality. If you are interested in resin machines, make sure you are aware of how to use them safely. For these safety reasons we don't usually recommend a resin printer as someone's first printer.

As always, if you're a newcomer to this community, welcome. If you're a regular, welcome back.


r/3Dprinting • • 4h ago

Troubleshooting What happened here?

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272 Upvotes

It was all fine last night and I came this morning to…. That?

X2D PETG default profile


r/3Dprinting • • 20h ago

Discussion Sir this is a cereal box

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3.5k Upvotes

I saw that hobby lobby was selling tpu now and I need some for a project and found this instead.

This exact thing is currently full of fruit loops in my cabinet and cost me 3 bucks at Walmart as opposed to 8 here. Edit: The cashier entered the box under the wrong category and I didn't notice until I'd gotten home and made the post. But the joke about adding "for 3d printers" adding 5 bucks to the cost is still valid.


r/3Dprinting • • 12h ago

Question Absolutely tired of sanding

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255 Upvotes

Any tips on how i can hide these these seam lines , ive sanded prime and bando atleast 4 to 5 times , and recommendations? I will be using rub and buff , anyway I can hide them ? Maybe a black wash ?


r/3Dprinting • • 14h ago

Project I’m a sophomore in high school and this is my first robotic arm I have designed and 3D printed from scratch! (SpotmicroARM01)

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353 Upvotes

I’ve been working on a robotic arm for the back of my SpotMicro over the past few months that was inspired by Boston Dynamics Spot Arm.

The arm weighs around 1.1 lbs and uses MG996R servos. I designed and 3D printed the entire arm myself, making this my first robotic arm built from scratch!

I’m still working on reducing the wobble, and I haven’t tested its payload capacity yet. The video shows it moving at full speed, and slowing it down through the controller helps reduce the wobble somewhat. I also haven’t mounted it to anything yet and would rather not screw it down into a table

For the electronics, I’m using a Raspberry Pi 3B+ and a PCA9685 servo driver. (I also am still working on a GitHub for it)

I’d love to hear your suggestions for improving the stability, reducing wobble, or making the design better. What would you change?

(The arm is printed in petg which allows it to be lightweight and pretty strong I have not seen any bending yet)

Thanks for any feedback!


r/3Dprinting • • 18h ago

Project I designed and 3D printed an articulated and interactive action figure for my nephew

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697 Upvotes

Hi everyone!

Meet KIDDO (Kinematic and Innovative Device for Dynamic Operation), an articulated, modular and interactive action figure that plays custom voice lines and LED effects, all controlled by a remote. I made it as a personal gift for my nephew, and the baby it carries has his 3D scanned face.

Here’s the workflow:

  • Blender for the exploration and character design
  • SolidWorks to remodel every part with proper CAD features and design all the joints, snap-fits and internal housings for the electronics (no add-ons)
  • KiCad for all the electronics and PCB design

Then everything was 3D printed.

I gave a 20 minute talk about the whole process at the Blender Conference 2026, you can watch it there: https://youtu.be/7NndTBpol5c

The original concept was inspired by the work of Molding Mule (@sohei_hey on Instagram)


r/3Dprinting • • 1h ago

Discussion Consumer grade SLM printer at TCT Shenzhen

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• Upvotes

First time seeing a consumer SLM printer! Company is called SnowX. Honestly pretty blow by it. The build side is tiny though with a maximum build volume of 80x80x100mm.

They say their target audience is mostly jewelry makers, which I can definitely see the appeal. But at a 50k+ yuan (7.5k usd) for the base plus if I remember correctly 500 yuan (75 usd) for 2.5kg of powder, it is definitely not something you would buy just to play with (unless you just got that bag).

They will go live on kickstarter mid next year, what do yall think about it? Would you buy it? What would you need it for? (I am not endorsing or affiliated with them)


r/3Dprinting • • 9h ago

Print (model not provided) I think I was wrong about colour change fillament

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118 Upvotes

My mum got some colour changing fillament because she wanted some stuff printed and it's actually quite cool. A very good way to introduce more colours to a print.


r/3Dprinting • • 16h ago

Project Twist-to-Tighten Bag Sealer

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418 Upvotes

I designed a semi-automatic bag sealer that uses a clever twist-to-tighten mechanism. By simply rotating two concentric rings, an internal cord tightens around the bag neck to create a secure seal. Perfect for keeping food fresh or organizing components.

The model is designed to be printed in place and ready to use.

Link to model: https://makerworld.com/it/models/3436336-twist-to-tighten-bag-sealer#profileId-3918333


r/3Dprinting • • 12h ago

Project Bucket drawers

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183 Upvotes

Pla


r/3Dprinting • • 14h ago

Project I'm Overengineering again

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263 Upvotes

Designed this little two way locking mechanism today for an upcoming project. I know there are many proven ways to do this but for me it's always fun to think of solutions and design them by myself i. I'm quite satisfied with how this works, even though it's probably complete overkill for the project.


r/3Dprinting • • 6h ago

Project Latest project

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40 Upvotes

This one took around a week of printing all the parts. Paint job took around 6 days. Really proud of the way it all came out. The Wolverine model is not my design, but the custom sentinel base is. Found the Wolverine model on makerworld that was clearly set up to have a base, but no base available in the file. Had to improvise a bit.


r/3Dprinting • • 2h ago

Discussion Printing is making me realize I need to learn a little CAD

20 Upvotes

There are so many models for holders and brackets that I figured finding one would be the easy part. Then you get into the dimensions.

Something can be almost exactly right, except the opening needs to be a little wider. Scaling it makes the rest wrong.

I’m starting to see why people end up learning CAD for a “quick little print.” I don’t really want to become good at modeling. I’d just like to be able to move one wall without ruining the thing.


r/3Dprinting • • 13h ago

Project I built the Wakemaker Subnautica 2!

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123 Upvotes

Any Subnautica fans out there?

Had a blast working on these. Subnautica is one of my favorite game franchises of all time, the feeling of bringing props to life from our favorite forms of media never gets old!

The print files can be found at 3d-mon.com.

These were resin 3D printed entirely in Sunlu ABS- Like resin, on the Phrozen Sonic Mega 8KS & ELEGOO Saturn 4 Ultra.

Painted using custom mixed Createx Opaque colors. Via an airbrush & .8mm HVLP gun.

To anyone interested, I just released a YouTube video which documents the entire build process start to finish!

https://youtu.be/HCVr_YRDAqg?is=tC4-YFkRtW-go5vO


r/3Dprinting • • 4h ago

Project WIP Red Hood Cowl

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20 Upvotes

I have been working on this Red Hood cowl for a few days now and am so genuinely thrilled with where it’s at so far! Still missing a few pieces and some more paint, but couldn’t help posting the progress!

-3D printed in ABS

-post processed using bondo spot putty and filler primer

-sanding blocks are a must for smooth surfaces it’s crazy how helpful they are

-paint is Krylon Gold, and metal cast anodized red, currently no clearcoat top coat

-side vents are finished with a mirror chrome paint pen that gives a great final color (also allows holes in side vents to stay black adding depth)

In need of great magnets and more than up for recommendations for high quality magnet sources…


r/3Dprinting • • 1d ago

Troubleshooting What do I do?

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2.5k Upvotes

Bought a Qidi Q2 with the Qidi Box for a great price from an auction site. These are typically Amazon returns and etc. it was listed as new, but I assume some use.

I got it open today and am beholden to this insane clog.

Printer Boots! Screen works, but how do I solve this?


r/3Dprinting • • 15h ago

Free Model Take a moment to remember all the fallen nozzles. 🫡

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104 Upvotes

r/3Dprinting • • 17h ago

Project Storm trooper hueforge

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98 Upvotes

I just finished printing a hueforge this morning. I have printed some in the past, but this one turned out super well and I felt like it was worth posting.

I use Petg to make this, the colors were: black, white, light grey, and blue. Printed on BAMBU lab x1c.

I found this picture randomly online and decided to make a hueforge of it because I was looking for good images to use to make one for my wall.


r/3Dprinting • • 18h ago

Project I build a phone stand and cup holder that clamps to the edge of a desk

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108 Upvotes

My first 3D printing project!!!


r/3Dprinting • • 18h ago

Project I printed a hand exoskeleton in PETG and PLA, and its digital twin follows my fingers in AR

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105 Upvotes

The links slide in telescopic rails printed with 0.15 mm clearance per side. The sliding faces are printed in the smoothest orientation, because a tilted face gets a staircase texture and jams. Mixed PETG and PLA. All STL, STEP and Fusion 360 files are free: github.com/molanocortes/takto-one

It’s my master’s thesis project and I built it alone, so if you like it, a star on the repo helps other people find it. Happy to answer print questions.


r/3Dprinting • • 2h ago

Project SliceMe – a free, open-source browser slicer running the real OrcaSlicer engine (no install, no account)

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5 Upvotes

Hi all!

I've been working on `SliceMe`, a browser-based, open-source 3d-printing slicer that runs a modified OrcaSlicer as the engine. No download, no sign-up. Host yourself or try here: 

https://sliceme.up.railway.app/

Source (AGPL-3.0): https://github.com/itymarcel/sliceme

What works right now:

- Printer profiles from the bundled Orca runtime + Draft/Standard/Fine/Strong/Vase presets

- Global, per-object and height-range settings, modifiers, transforms

- AI-assisted settings pre-fill

- Orca-compatible 3MF import/export

- G-code preview by layer, move type and volumetric flow

- Pre-slice model checks and post-slice toolpath checks (they show evidence, never silently change settings)

- Send G-code straight to OctoPrint or Moonraker on your LAN

- Works on phones too

Privacy: models and settings stay in your browser. Files go to the slicer only for the slice and are deleted right after. The hosted beta collects limited anonymous usage stats (exact fields in PRIVACY.md). You can also self-host it with Docker, and it runs on a Raspberry Pi.

It's an early beta and doesn't match desktop Orca 1:1 yet (no painted seams/supports or variable layer height), so please check the G-code before printing. If something slices differently from your usual slicer, or there's an issue with your printer/profile, please feedback.

Not affiliated with the OrcaSlicer team, just building on their great work.


r/3Dprinting • • 52m ago

Question Question from a noob.

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• Upvotes

Hey guys, relatively new to 3d printing and as fun as its been so far, I have a hiccup I keep running into.

The first picture is the bottom side of my print, the second the top. The bottom side is pretty much a standard outcome whenever I use supports or even just a raft layer.

Ive done some digging and have made some changes I've seen others recommend and it hasn't resolved my issue.

This is PLA, I also run into the issue with ASA and ABS.

Printer is a Bambu H2C.

Thanks in advance for your time.


r/3Dprinting • • 19h ago

News Form Studio 1 - what's the catch

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91 Upvotes

I have been using FDM, SLS and SLA printing as an engineer/creator for a while, and have thoughts I'd like to share and ask what you guys think:

- FDM, kinda always been a hobby machine thing, you couldn't really ever get a super pro one that outperform the rest, and since the "bambulab" style printers, they're very good and reliable enough to objectively be very decent machines

- SLS machines are just out of virtually any individual's budget at best, and prolly will remain a "manufacturing hub" thing for a while, though I'd love to be wrong and have one in my shop ahah

- SLA has been complicated. My experience has been for any non industrial machines, they'll print very intricate objects, but with a fairly bad relative accuracy due to warping, so much so the few machines I had I just gave up on using those parts for engineering purposes entirely, but somehow Formlabs machines could always nail them. But while not SLS machine range, they're still expensive for most individuals, not just the machine but the resin too.

And now here's the thing that just dropped, they just released a new printer, the Form Studio 1 which seems very similar to their Form 4, and I can't really tell the catch from the demo. The printer is 1/4 the price and the resin has both cheaper offerings and also lets you use 3rd party resins from the get go - which Formlabs have always been dragging their feets on.

And so my Q is: what's the catch? My view on the industry is that they would have had to drop their price way closer to competition sooner or later, I just didn't expect it to happen so sharply. Curious to hear what you think!


r/3Dprinting • • 7h ago

Project MLB Spooky Coasters 🎃⚾

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10 Upvotes

Had so much fun with the NFL Halloween coasters that I figured I’d give baseball a shot.

30 teams, 30 different spooky designs, only printed a few at the moment, but printing the rest now. Had a blast coming up with these, and I’m excited to share them!

Which one’s your favorite? Happy Halloween! 🎃⚾

MakerWorld Link: https://makerworld.com/models/3422051?appSharePlatform=copy


r/3Dprinting • • 17h ago

Project Alien Bone Throne - Biomech Phone Stand / Holder Giger Style

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60 Upvotes

Just finished printing this!
In the depth of cold space, facing whatever horror lurks in the dark, your communication device will remain safe within the skeletal grip of this alien throne.
Inspired by the dark, biomechanical art of H.R. Giger and classic sci-fi lore, this phone stand is crafted from intricate weaves of bone, vertebrae, and organic conduits.
It serves not only as a fully functional desk accessory but also as a striking display piece for sci-fi fans and collectors.

Printed it using a 0.4mm nozzle on 0.20mm layer, on Biqu Orange Frostbite plate with Bambulab Carbon Black matte PLA on X2D.

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