What is the best sub-200$ vanilla klipper printer?

General Discussion
1

Hi,

Over a year ago I got some KP3S printers and flashed vanilla klipper on them with dw-0/kiauh

For 130$ I’m very happy.

Now friends are asking me, what open source capable printer can I recommend.

I looked into it and, it seems most printer run a old pirated copy of klipper that cannot be updated.

I purchased a anycubic kobra 2 max, which I printed one benchy with, and has been gathering dust since, as I figured that installing klipper on it would require ripping the board out.

With that experience I am very hesitant to recommend anything. I worry that it will just become a surprise of “how did they screw it up this time” ?

2

Where did you find that?

The best that I can find is:

Which is more than a $100 than you’re quoting (assuming you mean USD).

What do you mean by “open source”? Along with Klipper there is also:

  • Marlin
  • Repetier
  • Others…

You can get the main controller board in a Kobra 2 running Klipper - it takes work but it can be done.

I’m not sure what you’re asking here.

Are you asking what is a good sub $200 printer for somebody to learn about 3D printing that can be updated/customize as they gain skills and knowledge?

Or, are you asking, what is a good sub $200 Klipper based printer for somebody who is familiar with 3D printing?

If the answer is the first, then got to AliExpress, Amazon or Matter Hackers (athough I just checked Matter Hackers and they don’t have anything less than $300) and find something that is reviewed and look for online support (ideally from other users as I doubt the manufacturers will provide any). You won’t be buying a printer with Klipper (bastardized or not) in it, it will probably be Marlin, but you may find one that has a main controller board that can communicate with a host by either USB or serial - otherwise you’ll have to replace the main controller board if they want to go to Klipper later.

If you’re going to convert a cheap printer to Klipper, don’t forget that you’ll have to buy a “host” for it - something like a Raspberry Pi 4B would be best and will run you at least $75 USD for the board, power supply, SD Card, USB Cable and shipping.

If you’re asking for a sub $200 Klipper based printer for somebody who’s familiar with 3D printing then the answer is simple, there ain’t any. The best option would be to take their existing printer (like your Kobra 2), change the main controller board (while I did say that you can get the Trigorilla board running Klipper, it is work which many would call more than they bargained for) and get a host Raspberry Pi - In total your cost will be between $120-$150 USD but you’ll have a better printer than you started with.

3

Hi,

I didn’t know it got so bad

Here is a screenshot from my order summary, from

Thu, Nov 9, 2023, 11:07 PM

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This “Pro V2” version, looks like they replaced the V-skates on extrusion with linear rails and that doubles the price.

But the old one was just fine.

And the board can be easily flashed to run vanilla klipper, easy peasy !

That’s what I want ? There isn’t anything like that anymore ?
Don’t want auto bed level or accelerometers, just that same thing for that same price on a board I won’t have to replace.

I checked aliexpress there is nothing or I can’t search right, aliexpress is very hostile to search, when you sort by price, 3/4 of results disappear

As for the Kobra 2, this is what I DON’T want to recommend, something that doesn’t work without a ton of work and fights you the entire time. The KP3S just worked for me, it was magical.

As for the host, I just use free laptops with broken screen raspberry pis are huge 75$ ripoffs with no storage, no power supply, no battery.

When I search with google shopping I see

sovol sv06 plus for 199$ (does it really run vanilla klipper ?)
anycubic kobra 2 neo for 143$ (huge pain)
Sunydog 3D for 160$ (this is complete garbage)
EasyThreed 3D for 142$ (pure garbage)

What I mean it that, it’s hard to recommend anything sub 200$
I’m tempted to say, just try again in a couple years, right now it’s a mess and there’s nothing reasonnable.

I figured if anyone know what is the good, no BS, sub 200$ printer out there, it’s going to be on this forum.

But maybe it just doesn’t exist anymore.

4

This question is hard to answer. An attempt:

  • Define what you want: Size, kinematics, etc. Sub-$200 already limits this quite a bit, so probably a bed slinger. Be aware that 99.999763% of the print quality is tied to the quality of the design and the quality of the linear components. This means you can easily spend $100+ for a single mid-quality linear rail.
  • Stay clear of the “native” Klipper printers. Most of them have some sort of modified Klipper running and often violate GPL. See this link.
  • If choosing one with pre-installed Klipper, make sure to verify that vanilla Klipper can indeed be used.
  • Marlin printers are often quite easy to turn into Klipper printers, with two exceptions:
    • Original touch displays are mostly not well-supported by Klipper (depending on your preference, this can be considered minor. Personally, I do not need a display on a Klipper printer most of the time).
    • Some “special” bed leveling mechanisms. Unfortunately, information on the exact workings of the bed leveling is often scarce in the marketing blurb.
  • The newer the printers are, the higher the chance that they use some sort of proprietary technology and either have a GPL-violating Marlin or Klipper version. So, it might be better to look into printers from late 2023 or early 2024.
1 Like
5

Thanks

Well looking at my current printer, I can answer all of these as to what I think this printer “should” look like, as in, how to make the cheapest possible but still decent printer

a 180mm cubed print volume
24 volt power supply
3 axis belt drive, nema 14 10$CAD each
single low cost rail for X and Y, skate for z axis
that is HSR12 by 2x 200mm, reference price for HSR15 1500mm was 92$CADBTW so should be around 24$CAD
z-mast 2040 t-slot extrusion on cast iron base and L shaped sheet metal cantilever arm
titan style direct drive extruder (single drive, 3:1 gear ratio) (17$CAD)
aluminium heated bed with manual adjustment on corners
mainboard is a MKS Robin nano clone (these used to be 20-30$USD)
mcu stm32f103 clone ( gd32f303 )
drivers unsocketed TMC2225
display not needed

Most of these are late 2023 prices, maybe impossible to get again
Also, this is based on the cost optimised design I had
It might not be the cheapest way to make a printer, but I don’t know of any optimisation beyond that which doesn’t compromise the printer in excess of the price savings, such as the bearings of the EasyThreed 3D which make it unusable

It seems to me the same printers are now just double the price for the same thing and there is less choice.

Like you said, it also appears a lot of printers simply cannot run vanilla klipper without first ripping out the mainboard, which does not make a good recommendation for first time 3d printer users.

6

I think you need to expand your knowledge base beyond just looking at your current printer as well as work at your understanding of the bits and pieces that go into a printer. I have a certain amount of experience of designing my own printers as well as helping others (who have mechanical/electrical skills) design ones for themselves so I feel I can comment fairly authoritatively.

First off, you need to establish the printer kinematics. @Sineos suggested that a bed slinger would probably be most appropriate and I would agree with that as well as go further and recommend that you base the printer on the Ender 3. I’m suggesting this because there are a lot of vendors that provide Ender 3 compatible sheet metal stampings at good prices. This means that nobody has to fabricate them.

Another advantage of going with the Ender 3 parts is that they define the movement systems for the printer. This means V-Slot aluminum cross sections with Delrin V-Slot wheels for the X/Y axes and Optical rods for the Y axis. When buying the aluminum cross sections, I would have highly recommend going with OpenBuilds, but when I just went to their site to provide some links, I see they’re closing down (but have great sale prices on their remaining stock, which I just took advantage of).

Since OpenBuilds is no longer an option, then I highly recommend that you make sure that when you purchase V-Slot aluminum cross sections that you make sure it matches the OpenBuilds as closely as possible as their V-Slot as this is what the wheels are all designed for:

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The reasons why I’m suggesting that you go with V-Slot cross sections and optical rods are a) they are cheaper, b) their quality is consistent and c) it is expensive to get good quality rails - I’ve bought Hiwin rails from a number of sources only to get rusted rails and sliders with missing ball bearings (athough they’re all stamped as being Hiwin). You cannot guarantee you’ll get good quaily rails from Amazon, Ebay, AliExpress, there are too many vendors there with crap product they’re trying to unload.

You don’t mention the hot end, again I would recommend going with an Ender 3 - it will work with the other parts and there are lots of inexpensive sources for them. A big part of the hot end is the Z-Axis endstop sensor. Depending on your print surface you’re going to go with a touch sensor (ie BLTouch for borosilicate) or an inductive sensor (for a metal print surface).

Finally, if you want a “decent” printer for somebody else, drop the idea of using an old broken screen laptop. You can get a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W for $25 CAD and a power supply and USB Cables at Dollarama for $15 - $40 total and you won’t have something that looks like it came out of a “Mad Max” movie.

Since you’re using Canadian references, I will as well (ie the rPi Zero 2W is $25.45 at PiShop.ca and I’m sure there’s a Dollarama spitting distance from you).

Just going through your list what I think your prices should be (in CAD):

  • 1m V-Slot aluminum cross section: $20
  • 24V power supply: $40 (Mean Well LRS-35-24 at Digi-Key - $31 + $8 shipping)
  • Fused Power Element Module and IEC320 Power Cord: $10
  • 4x Stepper Motors. I don’t think $10 CAD is realistic, I just bought some Lerdge NEMA 17 42mm motors for $16 CAD each. Total: $64
  • Ender 3 Sheet Metal Kit (Including Delrin Wheels, Pulleys, GT2 belts and hardware): $40
  • Ender 3 Extruder Nozzle and Thermistor: $7
  • Miscellaneous Nuts and Bolts (including T-Nuts): $25
  • 180mm x 180mm Heated bed with Thermistor: $25
  • 180mm x 180mm Magnetic PEI print surface: $15
  • I have no idea what you mean by “unsocketed TMC2225” and I think you’re being overly ambitious thinking you can get a complete main controller board for $20-$30. I recommend a BTT Mini E3 V3 for $44
  • rPi Zero 2W with power supply and USB cables: $40

Total: $330 CAD

To make it nice and reasonably self contained, I’d recommend getting a piece of plywood for the base and to mount the power supply, main controller board and rPi.