I'm thinking about getting my twin boys a 3D printer for their 10th birthday. Any recommendations or experience? We need something simple out of the box but something they could grow with if they get into it.

I liked the simplicity of Toybox. Any experience or recommendations? Thanks!

Definitely not anything by Creality. They're good printers, but they require way too much tinkering to be reliable, so probably not good for kids that young unless you want to spend lots of time troubleshooting with them.

Good to know, thanks! Anything you would recommend?

Also probably not any resin printers. They require baths and safety equipment. Im sure there some smaller self contained units that are plug and print but may be expensive. I'll search and see. What is your budget?

FlashForge Adventurer 3 is pretty much plug and play and has been simple to use and maintain.

Thanks all for your help! I'm looking to spend less than $300 if possible. Again, this is for twin 10 year olds that will be learning for the first time.

The ones I've started looking at are:

Toybox: Looks really simple and out of the box functionality. I like they have a library of things you can just print. My boys don't really know how to do 3D modeling or slicing, so I think this may be a great option. It does look limited though and may not really grow with them.

Anycubic Kobra: Right price point and probably more functional than the Toybox. Is there a library of things to print? Is it possible to use without having to model objects on a computer?

Flashforge Adventurer - Thanks Meek, I'm going to look more into this one. Do you know if they have plug-and-play print? Trying to keep it really simple for 10 year olds (and me).

Related question--do any of these connect with the Thingiverse? I don't have any experience with it, but I could see having a library of things to print from being exciting for my boys to get started on.

Thanks!

We have a Toybox. It's a nice printer for its size and is super easy to use.

There area ton of things to print from their library. You can also use 3d files from other sites.

I've even used https://www.tinkercad.com/ to create mounting parts for my dirt bike.

My wife takes it to work occasionally for her Science students to print molecular models.

I highly recommended the Toybox.

Oh, and the Toybox app is super easy for kids to use.

BackwardsInBoots said:

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Definitely not anything by Creality. They're good printers, but they require way too much tinkering to be reliable, so probably not good for kids that young unless you want to spend lots of time troubleshooting with them.

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Well crap, just got my 10yo an Ender 3 pro for his BD.

It will build character. And I don't care they all are fiddly. I have a bunch and have used may brands and the only thing that may be better is if the one you choose has better end to end integration and support. And also avoid proprietary things like fulfillment cartridges and having to use specific software stacks. Yes creality will be fiddly, just like my flash forge, maker bot ultamaker prusa and even the stratasys. But there will be 100 youtube videos on how to cure issues with your ender3 for every one on the other brands.
Basically I am not convinced that 3d printers are a 10Yr olds tool. They are a kids hand it hand with adult tool. I would not let my kids use unsupervised at that age. Mine bought one on thingaverse at 14 and talk about fiddly but the figured it out. They were building robots at 10, and cooking their own breakfast at 7.

So, thingiverse is basically a repository of files that can be 3D printed. You can download those files and load them into a computer program like Cura which will take those files and translate them into a set of isntructions for the 3D printer to follow. Then, depending on the model of printer you will use a USB connection, SD card, etc. to transfer the file to the printer.

In addition, if your kids want to design things themselves, there is a website called TinkerCad that is completely free and specifically designed to introduce kids to the principles of CAD design. We use it at the elementary school I work at and the kids have tons of fun making their own designs. It is compatable with desktop computers and with tablets.

Maybe you'll have better luck with yours, but we have an Ender 3v2 at the school where I work and the frame isn't completely square and the z-rod isn't completely straight, so I have had to disassemble and reassemble the thing a couple of times, as well as print a custom mounting bracket for the z stepper motor in order to get everything aligned properly so that prints come out without strange banding issues.

The one good thing is that there is a huge community on both YouTube and Reddit that have tons of advice for fixing print issues and upgrading creality printers. Now that I have the thing square and level, it prints beautifully. It was just kind of a pain in the ass to get there, and probably beyond the level of a 10 year old on their own. If you're happy to watch youtube videos/read internet advice threads and tinker with them together then it could definitely be a good bonding experience and a good way to learn about troubleshooting.

Got the Ender 3 Pro, which has been tough to het in shape. Friends who got the Toybox seems to work much better with young kids.

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=21711

I have a Monoprice MP I can give you for free if you want it. It's pretty straightforward but the bed is smaller. I'm in the DFW area.

wessimo said:

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BackwardsInBoots said:

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Definitely not anything by Creality. They're good printers, but they require way too much tinkering to be reliable, so probably not good for kids that young unless you want to spend lots of time troubleshooting with them.

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Well crap, just got my 10yo an Ender 3 pro for his BD.

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The Ender 3 can be really solid with a couple upgrades. I added a BLTouch auto leveling sensor, switched to a direct drive extruder, added linear rails on the X & Y axis, customized my firmware, and added a Raspberry Pi to run octoprint. I haven't had a failed print in nearly 100 hours of use. Of those the direct drive and BL Touch made the greatest difference in performance while the octoprint contributed the most to ease of use.

I'm not sure whether the linear rails did anything at all But all in, my 99$ Ender 3 now has over $300 in upgrades.

lb3 said:

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wessimo said:

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BackwardsInBoots said:

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Definitely not anything by Creality. They're good printers, but they require way too much tinkering to be reliable, so probably not good for kids that young unless you want to spend lots of time troubleshooting with them.

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Well crap, just got my 10yo an Ender 3 pro for his BD.

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The Ender 3 can be really solid with a couple upgrades. I added a BLTouch auto leveling sensor, switched to a direct drive extruder, added linear rails on the X & Y axis, customized my firmware, and added a Raspberry Pi to run octoprint. I haven't had a failed print in nearly 100 hours of use. Of those the direct drive and BL Touch made the greatest difference in performance while the octoprint contributed the most to ease of use.

I'm not sure whether the linear rails did anything at all But all in, my 99$ Ender 3 now has over $300 in upgrades.

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Same. Heavily upgraded the thing can make amazing prints. My most recommended upgrades would be direct drive, driver board replacement, and octoprint. BLtouch was also a pretty good one.

The only 3dprinter I've used that worked out of the box more or less is my dremel digilab. But they spun that off and aren't really supporting it so do not recommend.

It's a tinkerers hobby I think. Might be too much for a ten y/o unless you're prepared to personally invest the time to tinker for them. And be prepared for them to not understand why it doesn't work at that specific moment they want a plastic frog or whatever.

JTA1029 said:

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lb3 said:

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wessimo said:

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BackwardsInBoots said:

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Definitely not anything by Creality. They're good printers, but they require way too much tinkering to be reliable, so probably not good for kids that young unless you want to spend lots of time troubleshooting with them.

---

Well crap, just got my 10yo an Ender 3 pro for his BD.

---

The Ender 3 can be really solid with a couple upgrades. I added a BLTouch auto leveling sensor, switched to a direct drive extruder, added linear rails on the X & Y axis, customized my firmware, and added a Raspberry Pi to run octoprint. I haven't had a failed print in nearly 100 hours of use. Of those the direct drive and BL Touch made the greatest difference in performance while the octoprint contributed the most to ease of use.

I'm not sure whether the linear rails did anything at all But all in, my 99$ Ender 3 now has over $300 in upgrades.

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Same. Heavily upgraded the thing can make amazing prints. My most recommended upgrades would be direct drive, driver board replacement, and octoprint. BLtouch was also a pretty good one.

The only 3dprinter I've used that worked out of the box more or less is my dremel digilab. But they spun that off and aren't really supporting it so do not recommend.

It's a tinkerers hobby I think. Might be too much for a ten y/o unless you're prepared to personally invest the time to tinker for them. And be prepared for them to not understand why it doesn't work at that specific moment they want a plastic frog or whatever.

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So far on the school's Ender 3v2 I've added a CR touch and filament runout sensor, upgraded to a Capricorn bowden tube and the higher quality bed leveling springs, switched to an all metal extruder, done a belt replacement because one was defective, printed a better mounting bracket for the z stepper motor, and upgraded to the mriscoc professional firmware. I also had the school get an enclosure for it because the cold winter air was causing bed adhesion issues. Before the rainy season comes we plan to get a filament dryer because the humidity is going to be insane.

It prints really well now, especially after having played around to optimize profiles for different filament types on cura, but it took a lot of work to get it there.

I've seen really good reviews of Bambu Labs printers, but they are really spendy.

These are great notes, thank you!

I'm going to try the Toybox with my kids. I'm aiming for low learning curve for now.

I think the Toybox is the right choice for younger kids. There really just anything else out there geared toward children.

The Prusa Mini is the easiest-to-use printer i've ever used, and Prusa has probably the best support in the 3D printing world, and even that's not foolproof to use. It's also harder to suggest the Mini after Prusa went up on prices last year. At $349 it was a slam dunk.

My 10 year old has had a Toybox for almost a couple of years now. She loves it and is able to print stuff on her own including stuff she creates. Its easy to download stl files that others have created as well.

Teslag said:

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https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=21711

I have a Monoprice MP I can give you for free if you want it. It's pretty straightforward but the bed is smaller. I'm in the DFW area.

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I have a 9 and 6 year old that would love something like this. If your offer still stands, I'd take the Monoprice MP off your hands. We are in the Far North Dallas area.

Raptor said:

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Teslag said:

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https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=21711

I have a Monoprice MP I can give you for free if you want it. It's pretty straightforward but the bed is smaller. I'm in the DFW area.

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I have a 9 and 6 year old that would love something like this. If your offer still stands, I'd take the Monoprice MP off your hands. We are in the Far North Dallas area.

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Sounds good. I'll be in the Dallas area for military service soon and can give it to you then

Good bull! My email is RaptorTexags @ gmail.com and I can meet you pretty much anywhere in the DFW area.

I was a bit apprehensive after the responses but first print with the Ender 3 pro seems to be going ok. YouTube videos definitely helped with the assembly.

Ender 3 is still doing well for us for the most part. What upgrade do we need to fix gaps in the print (see photo)?

I'd check your e-steps to make sure you aren't under-extruding, and also use the thin wire included to make sure you don't have a partial nozzle clog.

Raptor said:

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Good bull! My email is RaptorTexags @ gmail.com and I can meet you pretty much anywhere in the DFW area.

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Haven't forgot, just been having trouble getting over to that area!

I'd say Creality is more for teenagers, 13 and up. I have the Ender-2 Pro I got for Christmas for under $100. It's marketed to kids, but is a little bit of a learning curve. No auto-leveling and you have to load the microSD with sliced prints. You have to be a parent that's knowledgeable of 3D printers to help.

My oldest expressed interest in 3D printing. She's been really into STEM so I'm doing everything I can to stoke that fire. At 8, I'm thinking the Toybox might be the best option.