Feels like 3D Printers are making progress like mad lately.

I think it's time to get my hands on one. I will just make myself an xmas present and get a little machine to get going. Currently undecided between getting a small Printrbot for about $400 or a larger Maker Farm for about $600:

http://www.productchart.com/3d_printers/7001_vs_5881

Any suggestions for a complete beginner are welcome.

I bought the Monoprice printer: https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=107&cp_id=10724&cs_id...

after a modest amount of research and as a complete beginner, I've been very happy with the purchase. Prints PLA, ABS, HIPS (and probably nylon though I haven't cracked open the spool of nylon I bought yet).

Do yourself a favor and print one of these: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:23257

and buy one of these: http://www.harborfreight.com/1-inch-travel-machinists-dial-i...

That will help you level the bed as a beginner. (It gets a little easier with practice, but having numeric references helps.)

While at HF, buy http://www.harborfreight.com/pack-of-3-8-oz-storage-bottles-... as well. That will come in handy when getting ABS prints to stick (one will hold the acetone slurry, one will hold pure acetone and you have one left over)

Well, I own a printrbot simple maker's edition ( the plywood one, in short ) and one small lesson I've learned with it is this :

Go for a printer with a heated print bed : It will save you many headaches.

Without heated bed : Check if the masking tape still is good enough for a print, if not, remove it and add a few new layers, prep the tape with some glue ( Only way I get something to stick ) and let it dry a little. Then you can attempt a print.

With a heated bed : clean up the glass plate, add some polyvinyl hairspray and you're good to go!

I'll second this about the heated bed. I have the Printrbot Play and I like it but I wish it had a heated bed. I have overcome most adhesion issues by printing larger brims on small prints. Then I have to cut off the brim. This wastes filament and adds another step to the process.

My first question: Where are the vidyas? :D

its fascinating though how few coments this topic recives. HW_ComentDensity= Personal.usefullnessOfTopic(topic) / RangeOfSkillsNeededForDuplication* DepthOfArticle