@rwilson The only scanners I have ever seen produce good, workable results cost tens of thousands of dollars. Low-cost scanners come with a lot of promises, but after spending hours meticulously fixing your scans in Meshmixer in order to create your desired 3D model it begins to feel like more of a hassle than a convenient leap forward. Considering your resource constraints, I would first ask: Is the 3D scanner in any way crucial to your curricular and/or administrative goals, or is it more of a “nice to have” sort of device for your classroom/school? If the scanner isn’t a key part of your educational goals, then I would use those resources for filament or spare parts (for easy swapping of print surfaces and hot ends, for example).
My experience with the MakerGear M2 can be summarized as follows: All-in-one package, hands down. If you want your printer that just works and allows you to focus on your students and their learning experiences, choose the M2… Top reliability and performance, bed is easy to level and stays level for months, and endless customizability (dual extrusion, choose any software, interchangeable hot ends with a 0.25 - 0.75 mm nozzle range, etc)… the US-based phone/email support is friendly, prompt, and effective, and the high quality components give you that out-of-the-box performance even years later, all for $700 - 1700 less than comparable “premium” or high-performance desktop 3D printers. Although I cannot comment on the latest version of the Prusa i3 (the mk2), my experience with the original i3 can be summed up in one sentence: It works well for the price, but the reasons behind its affordability eventually make themselves apparent. They do offer auto-leveling, which is nice in the classroom environment, but why spend 30 seconds to level your bed automatically before every print when you can get a printer that stays level? My M2s print day-in and day-out, and I level them about once every 3 months. So auto-leveling is nice, but is really only necessary in the context of a weak frame. When considering what “auto leveling” actually means, it’s really more of a marketing tactic inteded to entice new users who are scared of calibrating their machine (auto-leveling = your bed remains un-level and software-driven overrides alter your extruder’s tool path, all of this unfolds in order to compensate for a non level/uniform surface yet in most cases results in an inferior print. In my opinion, anybody who takes 3D printer performance seriously will choose print on a leveled, physically uniform surface rather than opt to have software running in the background in order to compensate for non-uniformity. For this reason, I print on a solid aluminum plate with my M2, which sits atop the heated build platform in place of their standard coated-glass, which has a slight tendency to bow after prolonged use).
There are many important things to consider that I have not mentioned, so I am happy to elaborate on any of your other questions or concerns regarding your specific needs/goals. At the end of the day, they are both top-rated machines in their respective categories, so your final answer to the question “Which machine is best for me?” may relate more to your goals and aspirations than to your budget.
Best of luck in your search!
