Which 3D Printer?

# Context

We've designated a decent chunk of space @home as our workshop or ["maker space"](https://www.makerspaces.com/what-is-a-makerspace/). 👩‍🔬
Our plan is to have a (_reasonably complete_) set of prototyping/fabrication tools 🔨
that _anyone_ staying in the house can (_learn to safely_) use to create anything 💡
from a basic 3D-printed replacement part to a product idea including electronics! :electron:
In the near-term we are going to _use_ the 3D printer to manufacture the cases for our [IoT devices](https://github.com/dwyl/home/issues/8). 🌐
(_this makes sense for our limited runs <20 where we expect tons of iteration ... more on that later_)

We need to _invest_ in the _best_ 3D printer to suit our needs (_not the most expensive_).

# Todo

We need help/advice on:

+ [ ] Which ***existing/available*** printer to buy?
(_we backed an "affordable" mass market 3D printer Kickstarter printer over a year ago_: https://github.com/nelsonic/nelsonic.github.io/issues/418#issuecomment-336930599 _and it has yet to materialise ..._ 🙄
_so we are not considering any suggestions for "future products" ..._)

### Our criteria is:

+ [ ] Affordable **_Total_ Cost of Ownership**. We aren't interested in something superficially "cheap" which it then turns out has _super_ expensive consumables (_filament_), low durability and poor tech support.
+ [ ] **Low _Maintenance_**. (_because we are based in PT, getting parts shipped to us will take **weeks** ... we cannot afford for our 3D printer to be "offline" for that time. Does this **rule out** ["**SLA**"](https://youtu.be/Srl96IoeWJs) printers...?_ see: https://youtu.be/6BaRpF8h-Ko)
+ [ ] **_Medium_ Format**. The typical size of the printed parts we are going to make is about **200mm**³
We aren't going to be making human prosthetics or car parts (_yet!_), this should guide our spend limit ...
+ [ ] **Affordable _Consumables_**. No Proprietary resins/filaments that have huge markup and low availability or take ages to ship and are never "in stock"!
+ [ ] **Durable Printed Parts**. While we will (_probably_) print a few toy pieces, we are mostly going to be using the printer for Product Design Prototypes which will need to be _field-tested_. The parts need to be _durable_ and withstand a beating! In my (_limited_) experience of 3D printed parts, they can be brittle compared to injection-moulded parts made with similar materials ...
+ [ ] As **_Open source_** as _possible_. Both the hardware and controller software. This is (_really_) "nice-to-have". We would _prefer_ to (A) support people doing _open_ work and (B) be able to _contribute_ improvements if we are _able_ to.
+ [ ] **Environmentally friendly** [filaments](https://all3dp.com/1/3d-printer-filament-types-3d-printing-3d-filament/). (_we know that printing "throw away" pieces using ABS/PLA isn't sustainable so we would **love** it if the 3D printer we buy **supports** eco-friendly e.g: recycle-able or biodegradable filaments see: https://www.aniwaa.com/eco-friendly-3d-filament ..._)
+ [ ] **Good online support / community** for when we have questions or need help.
+ [ ] _Reasonably_ **Beginner Friendly**. Personally, I have only printed a _couple_ of things at https://www.imakr.com so I'm still a "Noob", but I'm not a "afraid" to [RTFM](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RTFM).

The "_budget_" I have in mind is reasonably _flexible_. 💭
Having previously done a bit of [research](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqh3FM12KVg) into this, I feel that spending around **£3k** ($4k USD)
will get us something of pretty high quality. _Obviously_ if we can spend less that's _good_,
or if we can _justify_ spending more for faster/cheaper prints, better "future proofing" etc, we will.

# Help Wanted!

If you have experience with 3D printers (_i.e. you have **used** or **owned** one and printed a decent number of things_) _please_ share your insights. We are looking to order ours by the end of **February 2019** so that we can begin _using_ it to make parts!

@achingbrain I know you recently bought a 3D printer. Which one did you get? What was _your_ criteria?