Soon-to-buy. From the UK. General startup advice.

[jsc]

Welcome! I think many of us have gone through the same evaluation experience as you. I got mine a year and a half ago, and in that time there have been several decent cheap printers that have come out, but still haven't seen anything competitive at the M2 price point.

I think your shopping list makes sense, with the possible exception of the dual extrusion upgrade. I have a beta dual extrusion, and find I don't do much dual extrudin' except for test prints. It is significantly a bigger hassle to get set up and dialed in, and you can do a hell of a lot with a single extruder, especially with Simplify3D's support generation. I would recommend you get Simplify3D, by the way; although it's entirely optional, and has its own share of bugs and exasperating flaws, the support generation alone is worth it. Dual extrusion is mostly useful for dissolvable support on otherwise "impossible" prints, but those are edge cases and pretty rare. Also useful, I guess, for two-color parts, but I've become a big fan of paint myself.

The v4 extruder, on the other hand, is a solid upgrade.

But, you know, don't let me dissuade you or anything. After all, I have a dual v4 M2 myself

[Jules]

Let me echo what Jin said, if you are brand spanking new to 3D printing, you will want to concentrate on learning to use a single extruder to print before stepping off into the dual extruder realm. As a new user, you really will be better off spending the money on having the machine pre-assembled and tested for you, and purchasing the Simplify 3D slicing software. (As the guys told me.......build your second printer, buy the first one assembled.)

A few months ago, I was also a first time 3D printer user. Making the decision to go with the M2 was the best decision I made. But there is one heck of a learning curve, and getting the pre-built machine gives you time to focus on learning the other aspects that you'll need to know.

In any case, you're going to have a lot of fun, so welcome to the group!

[Dale Reed]

If you're comfortable with mechanical assembly, I think the kit is the way to go. No soldering skills needed, it's kind of like the mechanical assembly part of the Heathkits of old. (My old -- I built a 5-tube radio when I was 10 years old). You will learn what everything is, what its purpose is, whether it is supposed to move or not, how solid it is -- hence, you'll be much more able to readily recognize when you break it!

When you get your M2 and have some printing under your belt, load some ABS or PET and make spares for the printed parts on your machine. They are strong, but so are the forces involved in printing, overtightening screws, etc., etc.

And (in advance): Welcome to the fun!
Dale

[jsc]

Just to add a data point: I assembled the kit, mostly because I love false economies. Took a weekend to put together. I consider myself mechanically inept (getting better!), but I can follow instructions. If you can put together a Lego kit, you can put together the M2.

[insta]

Just to add a data point: I assembled the kit, mostly because I love false economies.

No lie, made me lol

[insta]

PLA hand-sands very easily. Machine sanding will gum it up quickly.

The different nozzles are just the width of the opening in millimeters. A smaller nozzle has higher resolution at the expense of printing slower and clogging more. Most hobbyist nozzles are 0.40, MakerGear uses 0.35 as a default. It's a good middle-ground, not immensely beginner friendly (bed level is more important than with a 0.8 firehose, for instance), and not super-cheap-plastic friendly. Make sure you run a filament wiper of some sort ... I use a small binder clip holding a folded-over piece of paper towel soaked in corn oil around the filament. Oils the plastic slightly and wipes dust in the same go.

And, yes, you're still a noob so you get moderated posts. Not many more.

[insta]

You're in the UK, so Faberdashery! I ordered a sample pack years ago, it was great stuff.