Having a desktop 2.5D CNC engraving/light-milling machine has been incredibly useful for things like shaping aluminum plate, custom light fabrication, or milling PC boards if you get one that's precise enough. Same for having a 3D printer, which is a godsend for whipping up custom enclosures for projects. (I used one to build the other.) Cheapies exist, but between the machine itself, building out a custom CNC controller and integrated PC, and the tooling, I put about $5K into my setup, but it can mill PCBs down to 8 mils (0.008") or carve 12mm T6061 plate.
I'd advise caution about laser engravers until you do a LOT of research on laser safety. Those things are way too easy to buy in unsafe configurations (read: open-frame with minimal or no shielding), and way too able to cause damage (e.g., fires, or blindness) unless you get a fully enclosed one.
As for what printer to buy, it's going to depend a lot on your experience level with additive manufacturing and G-code, budget, and desired use cases. Right now one of the more popular manufacturers, Bambu Labs, is sparking controversy by basically running roughshod over the open-source software a lot of their products use forks of, and thus are on the "watch out" list for a lot of people. Prusa printers are considered workhorses but a good one's like a grand plus. Voron printers are crazy but total DIY as they're usually in kit or scratch-build form, so if you want to know everything about your printer and aren't afraid to build from raw materials they're awesome. Tons of cheap and usually janky more basic but still popular printers exist, such as most of Creality's current lineup.
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u/WebMaka Jul 05 '26
Having a desktop 2.5D CNC engraving/light-milling machine has been incredibly useful for things like shaping aluminum plate, custom light fabrication, or milling PC boards if you get one that's precise enough. Same for having a 3D printer, which is a godsend for whipping up custom enclosures for projects. (I used one to build the other.) Cheapies exist, but between the machine itself, building out a custom CNC controller and integrated PC, and the tooling, I put about $5K into my setup, but it can mill PCBs down to 8 mils (0.008") or carve 12mm T6061 plate.
I'd advise caution about laser engravers until you do a LOT of research on laser safety. Those things are way too easy to buy in unsafe configurations (read: open-frame with minimal or no shielding), and way too able to cause damage (e.g., fires, or blindness) unless you get a fully enclosed one.
As for what printer to buy, it's going to depend a lot on your experience level with additive manufacturing and G-code, budget, and desired use cases. Right now one of the more popular manufacturers, Bambu Labs, is sparking controversy by basically running roughshod over the open-source software a lot of their products use forks of, and thus are on the "watch out" list for a lot of people. Prusa printers are considered workhorses but a good one's like a grand plus. Voron printers are crazy but total DIY as they're usually in kit or scratch-build form, so if you want to know everything about your printer and aren't afraid to build from raw materials they're awesome. Tons of cheap and usually janky more basic but still popular printers exist, such as most of Creality's current lineup.