Printer finder

Three questions, no sign-up. You get the type of printer that suits you and a model to start your research with.

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Frequently asked questions

Bed slinger or CoreXY: does it matter for a beginner?

On a bed slinger the bed moves back and forth under the nozzle. The A1, the A1 mini and the Ender-3 V3 SE work this way. On a CoreXY printer the print head moves in both directions and the bed only moves down, as on the P1S, the P2S, the Prusa Core One+ and the Elegoo Centauri Carbon 2. The moving bed limits speed and can shake tall, thin prints, and CoreXY printers are easier to enclose.

Forum advice is that a bed slinger is fine if you mostly print small or flat parts, and it is usually cheaper. If you want to print tall parts at high speed, or need an enclosure for ABS, a CoreXY printer is worth the extra money. The printer finder asks about this.

Should my first printer be resin or FDM?

If you mainly want painted display miniatures, resin is the usual recommendation, because it prints much finer detail. For household parts and gaming terrain, FDM is cheaper to run and the parts are tougher.

Resin also takes more work after each print. The parts have to be washed in isopropyl alcohol and cured under UV light, and the liquid resin needs gloves and a ventilated room. That extra handling is why most beginner threads suggest FDM unless miniatures are the goal. See FDM vs resin and the resin printer guide.