this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2024
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Cheap IDEX 3D printer questions (lemy.lol)
submitted 8 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
17 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

So, I have always wanted to do multi filament printing. The thought of doing multicolor or washable supports has been such a cool idea and I tried to make that a reality all the way back when I bought my Geeetech A10M... And oh boy did I hate it. (Don't do single extruder multi filament kids, it ain't worth the headache.)

So, with only my trusty prusa mk2 at my side I'm thinking of finally getting an IDEX machine and trying again right this time. Then I looked at the price of the Prusa XL and died a little.

So, this is where I am gonna ask for some help.
I saw that Flashgorge is selling their Creator Pro 2 for only $400 and with a cheap upgrade for a magnetic plate seems like it would be an awesome deal even if it's a bit small of a build size.

Or I could go 3rd party and get the JGMaker Artist D Pro IDEX 3D Printer (which I have never heard of) for the same price but with a heck of a lot more build space.

Or I could swallow my pride and a shit ton of credit card payments and do just the 2 head semi-built prusa XL for 3x the cost.

So essentially has anyone tried the Flashforge Creator Pro 2 and thinks it would be worth it for basically half off?
Have 3rd party Chinese brands gotten more trustworthy and actually able to print decent at these insanely low prices?
Or is it still one of those you pay for what you get and if you want good multi filament printing you have to pay for it?

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

There is another option you haven't explored. 3dChameleon

This allows you to turn any machine into a 4 material capable printer. It is not plug-and-play, but if you already have a printer it's cheaper than getting a whole dedicated machine ($180).

It can do flexibles too, which I didnt expect it to be able to do. Working on making phone cases with TPU inside and PLA outside.

There is an update coming in April that will make it way easier to configure, with sensor-less detection of filament position.

If you want something that works perfectly out of the box I'd go with A1 combo from Bambu Labs though. The Chameleon takes a little tinkering to get working

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Wow. You are correct I have not ever heard of that.

Wild that it seems to be working with flexible too.

You know the cheapest option would be to get a $100 ender 3 and that but I doubt it would be nearly as reliable and still I have reservations about single hotels after having issues with clogging on temp changes between filament.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

If you are comfortable editing GCode then the Chameleon is a good choice, if not the A1 combo looks really compelling. I was torn between the two, but already have 3 printers.

I think the Prusa XL is the best option right now, but the price is crazy high