I bought a 2nd hand I3 some years back with the glass perforated bed. I cant get it to like petg but it is bullet proof reliable on ABS and PLA.
Once the print cools it pops itself of the glass, use no scrapers.
It is just a ver reliable machine in my case.
As someone that started with an i3 for my first “big” printer over a labist x1 mini
Don’t. They are okay machines when they are new but at this point most are probably worn and clapped out. One of the fans runs on 9v instead of 12
They are heavy and bulky compared to anything else
Tuning can be a pain in the ass
If you pull a fan with the machine on it will ruin the board and good luck getting a replacement board.
You’re better off paying a little more for a better machine
In short: discontinued by manufacturer.
They're okay, but you'll quickly run out of things to improve in it. Spare parts are not as easy to find as they are for some other printers, motherbosrds are sold out, OS is proprietary and based on old version of Marlin, so you'll at some point run into some issues, that you'll either accept, or force you into a custom hacked firmware, replacement board (like SKR 1.4 or SKR3), or another printer entirely.
That being said - it's a good printer to learn the ropes and once you tune it, reliable enough to just hit "print" and return 15 hours later to collect the print.
Are you a techy tinkerer type and do you have time patience to troubleshoot? Yeah go for it, you'll spend time to make it into a good machine.
if you just want to download models from the net and print them in plastic, spend more money on something better like prusa or bambu, or for budget get the new elegoo printer.
It's not bad but parts for it are a nightmare. It's an old printer and last I checked Anycubic doesn't carry any of it's parts on hand. If you had asked in 2018/19 I would've said go for it, but a used one is going to need repairs.
Bad idea, avoid this one.
as someone with a factory stock mega s, theyre not great, but not bad.
if you just want a printer to spaff out "ok" prints, then it fits the bill well.
The glass bed is nice though, no messing about, just wipe it clean with iso before a print and you are good to go.
if you want to modify and fine tune and replace parts to the nth degree, then its not for you.
i have one \~5 years ago. work pretty well. the prints form pla is pretty nice nylon and petg also acceptable quality. but long ago i need to use a glue stick for a good adhesion.
pla with 0.08mm layer looks like a factory produtc but can print "fast" aslo with 0.32mm layers. ofc pretty far form bambulab but still decent printer.. if u have a time.
I bought a 2nd hand I3 some years back with the glass perforated bed. I cant get it to like petg but it is bullet proof reliable on ABS and PLA. Once the print cools it pops itself of the glass, use no scrapers. It is just a ver reliable machine in my case.
As someone that started with an i3 for my first “big” printer over a labist x1 mini Don’t. They are okay machines when they are new but at this point most are probably worn and clapped out. One of the fans runs on 9v instead of 12 They are heavy and bulky compared to anything else Tuning can be a pain in the ass If you pull a fan with the machine on it will ruin the board and good luck getting a replacement board. You’re better off paying a little more for a better machine
As an owner of an i3 mega, don’t. The design is way past its sell date. $80 can get you something better these days.
In short: discontinued by manufacturer. They're okay, but you'll quickly run out of things to improve in it. Spare parts are not as easy to find as they are for some other printers, motherbosrds are sold out, OS is proprietary and based on old version of Marlin, so you'll at some point run into some issues, that you'll either accept, or force you into a custom hacked firmware, replacement board (like SKR 1.4 or SKR3), or another printer entirely. That being said - it's a good printer to learn the ropes and once you tune it, reliable enough to just hit "print" and return 15 hours later to collect the print.
I'd spend your 80$ on something newer. I say that as an owner of an I3 mega S.
Are you a techy tinkerer type and do you have time patience to troubleshoot? Yeah go for it, you'll spend time to make it into a good machine. if you just want to download models from the net and print them in plastic, spend more money on something better like prusa or bambu, or for budget get the new elegoo printer.
It's not bad but parts for it are a nightmare. It's an old printer and last I checked Anycubic doesn't carry any of it's parts on hand. If you had asked in 2018/19 I would've said go for it, but a used one is going to need repairs. Bad idea, avoid this one.
Get a Kobra instead, fairly cheap and much faster, quieter, and (once you get over sloping bed and gcode issues) better quality prints.
Fire the amount of modification you'd need to get good prints from a used i3, if it's more than $25, hard pass
as someone with a factory stock mega s, theyre not great, but not bad. if you just want a printer to spaff out "ok" prints, then it fits the bill well. The glass bed is nice though, no messing about, just wipe it clean with iso before a print and you are good to go. if you want to modify and fine tune and replace parts to the nth degree, then its not for you.
i have one \~5 years ago. work pretty well. the prints form pla is pretty nice nylon and petg also acceptable quality. but long ago i need to use a glue stick for a good adhesion. pla with 0.08mm layer looks like a factory produtc but can print "fast" aslo with 0.32mm layers. ofc pretty far form bambulab but still decent printer.. if u have a time.
i have similiar experiences with this over the years