Cheap 3D Printer

[trainman]

Hi All,
After some advice from a complete novice in this field.
Aldi have a Balco 3D Printer on sale at £299.99 as part of their 'Specialbuy' promotions.
See www.aldi.co.uk/balco-3d-printer-/p/086887240233900
It comes with Cura software, and the printer filament is £12.99 for a 1Kg spool.
Is it worth a punt for a beginner? One year warranty.
Thoughts welcome.

[weary]

Don't know if you are aware of this thread over on model-engineer.co.uk.
But, if not, it may give you some useful information and/or 'food for thought'.

Regards,
Phil

[trainman]

That's a great link Phil, many thanks.
Paul

[coniston]

Hi Trainman, that one from Aldi is a copy of the Malyan M150 (I've got one of those) ahich is a copy of a Wanhao i3, which I think was also a copy. the Malyan is pretty ok and with a number of upgrades I have been achieving some pretty good prints. At the moment the Creality CR10 (now upgraded to CR10S) seems to be a very good buy, lots of really good reviews from independent users. Also I think £299 is not that cheap compared with what else is on the market from people like Bangood and Gearfest, although of course you have to wait for delivery from China! Technology Outlet in UK seem to offer reasonable prices and at least UK based should be able to offer some aftersales service/advice. you can search Wanhao i3 and Malyan M150 for lots of information about upgrades for the Aldi one. Cura is a free to download slicing software from Ultimaker, they have really made some comprehensive updates which brings it close to the paid for software like Simplify3D. I would advise doing lots of searching on the web and talking to users if you can before making a purchase, there are lots to choose from and you'll see many are clones of others. I use filament from HobbyKing for around £10/kg seems to be as good as others I've tried, I tend to only buy from UK or European stores as delivery is much quicker. Hope this helps.


Chris D