Printer and Filament Noob Question

Shm0l

Hello, been 3D printing for about a year now, just got into 3DP2A.

I have a very basic Ender 3 and afaik this isn't good enough. I'm pretty good at manually leveling it but it just takes too long, there's basically a 30 minute "prep" phase for everything I print.

Would an Ender 3 V3 SE be good enough? It has the auto leveling and I've heard the nozzle can be replaced easily for 300°c printing. I've heard good things about Sovol as well especially given that it comes stock with a 300°c ceramic nozzle, and Bambu labs feels like the most attractive option.

Which leads me to my next point, the filament needed for gun parts is confusing me. On this forum it says, once you have the experience of using PLA+, carbon fiber nylon is ideal for most scenarios, but then on Hoffman's channel he has a video saying PLA+ is better? Better tensile, more stiff, etc? I've also heard PSR say that carbon fiber nylon is a pain because you need an enclosure, dryer, annealing, etc? Basically its a very particular filament?

I'd rather not spend more than $300 on a printer, $600 would be doable but really pushing it. I'm sorry about asking these questions as I see a bunch of them on this forum but it feels like there isn't a clear answer for either of them, one person recommends one thing, another person recommends another.

Thanks for any insight y'all can give on this!

hoffmantactical

There are tradeoffs to everything. "CF Nylon" unfortunately is a term that has stuck with us from the past, you really have to be more specific. PA6 based Nylon are too flexible for lowers, though they can work for some parts just fine. PPA-CF or other "HTPA-CF" filaments are based on PPA, which is stiffer after water exposure. I would use those, or PET-CF.