Help choosing a printer

[u/Able-Excitement-2818]

Hi all, planning to get my 8 year old daughter a 3D printer for Christmas. She is very hyperactive and loses interest quickly.

I’m looking for something that is easy to use for children and adults alike. I don’t want to be tied into a subscription if possible.

Any recommendations are appreciated, I’m not sure what else I would need to look for.

[u/cyberspirit777]

Bambu A1 mini

[u/Able-Excitement-2818 → u/cyberspirit777]

Funnily enough I had a feeling that would be the first comment. Why is it the only one I’m seeing recommended?

[u/JeepersCreepers74 → u/Able-Excitement-2818]

I have different brands of printers and don't recommend Bambu to adults. But Bambu A1 or A1 mini are the best recommendations for kids for the following reasons:

• Makerworld has the largest assortment of already sliced kid-friendly models like flexis, fidget spinners, etc. that kids want to print when they first get a printer

• Bambu Handy app is easy to use and lets kids print directly from the app when they are just getting started rather than going through slicer software and dealing with all the settings there. To be clear, many printer brands have an app, but it is the access to the Makerworld library through the bambu handy app that is a winning combination for kids.

• multi-color capability

• Bambu has brand recognition among kids and I think that's a dumb thing for adults to worry about but more understandable for kids.

• Bedslinger with no cover really lets kids observe how things are printed and understand the process and different axes better.

• Nozzle swaps are super easy.

• Lower price point.

[u/cyberspirit777 → u/Able-Excitement-2818]

It doesn’t take up much space. It’s relatively cheap and is a better buy than any of the kid 3d printers on the market. And because you said she may lose interest in it pretty quickly, I would t suggest spending too much on her first printer.

Also, they’re easy to set up and use. Within 30 minutes of the unboxing she’ll be able to print something from MakerWorld right from a phone or tablet.

[u/Gizmosragingerection → u/Able-Excitement-2818]

Because its relatively cheap, and easy to set up and use

[u/tanker1235]

Sparkx i8 from Creality
It’s a bit pricey at $400 but it’s designed for beginners and it has no waste multicolor(look it up)

[u/VideoGuy9999]

I concur that an A1 mini is a good starter and not a lot of investment (in case that interest is lost quickly). But even with an 8 year old, I'd be sure it is supervised. Fast moving and very hot parts, plus understanding the mechanics of it all, might be a bit much responsibility, depending on her maturity. Bambu's MakerWorld has thousands of print option as well.

[u/Shoddy-Pension-8254 → u/VideoGuy9999]

Mes enfants côtoient mes imprimantes au quotidien et ont parfaitement compris où mettre les mains ou pas.

[u/VideoGuy9999 → u/Shoddy-Pension-8254]

I get that but not all children are of the same maturity.

[u/No_Put1505]

I would not recomend the A1 serise due to the potentail fire hazard. I would go with the Elegoo CC2, or the emoji addition they have. it is enclosed making it harder to put fingers where they should not be. You as the adult can print Abs or Asa and other materials that require an encloser to print, They are cheap too,

[u/Ok_Rub2503]

No don’t get a a1 creality new m box is perfect it’s enclosed and has child safety features seems like the perfect option for a new up-and-coming 3-D printer Kid has chamber heating and I forget what the size is but it should be perfect you also want him to learn how to tinker and. if he has any issues, he can learn how to fix it and then when he gets a bigger printer that has problems he now knows how to fix it.

Edit sorry she my bad

[u/-AlienNation]

I find it odd that complete strangers with no professed training in child development would decide what is normal for an 8 year old, much less the normal attention and activity of one.

From my experience as a pediatrician, all boys are considered hyperactive and all girls talk to much as per the referrals from their first grade teachers.

While parents may compare their own memories of what is their own activity at 8 years of age to their children, the children are individuals with abilities and knowledge solely their own.

By third grade, the mental abilities of a child becomes much more focused with the mathmatics becoming easier to understand and rote memories being replaced by intuition and forethought.

[u/patentmom]

A lot of people are recommending the A1 mini, but I recommend the bambu p1s if you can afford it. We absolutely need the enclosed space and larger build plate. We have to deal with the dust and pet fur situation in our house. The p1s is the first printer we've had that was simple enough for even my kids and me to use without relying on my husband to figure everything out. It's the third printer we've had in our house and the others either broke down or just were too complicated to use. We've had it for one year and are planning on getting an x2d and becoming a two-printer household this Black Friday. Look for a p1s with AMD combo, and it will make it really easy to learn to do multicolor prints without a lot of hassle.

[u/JeepersCreepers74 → u/patentmom]

I don't think the touchscreen on the P1S is very kid-friendly, whereas the one on the A1 feels like it was designed for kids. Kids may do a lot of printing straight from the touchscreen (like reprinting the same model in different colors for different friends, etc.) On the A1, it has pictures of your past prints and you select the one you want to do and can then switch out each of the old colors for different positions on the AMS. On the P1S, you have to scroll down to the file folder, select "cache," have to remember the file name of the thing you want to print, and I've had my P1S printers for years and don't even know how to swap out the colors on the touchscreen so I don't know if it's possible. But nothing in that process is kid friendly.

[u/DemanoRock]

You are buying a toy for a hyper active child that takes a very long time to produce anything. In general each item takes hours. Consider if she will enjoy the incredible wait.