Looking to get a 3D printer soon.

I have a Creality CR-10 that should fit in your budget and has been a very good printer. As far as the options you list wanting to add, I will give you my take on them based on my experience and knowledge of my printer:
1. Dual Z drive, you won't need it
2. Dual extruders, this is a nice option for printing soluble support materials. I'm not pursuing this because I generally don't print things where cosmetics are a primary requirement, so if I need to clip off support material and it leaves some blems, that's not a big problem for me.
3. Non Bowden extruder, this would probably be good if you need to print a lot of flexible filament prints. I have printed flexible filament on my Bowden extruder CR-10, you just have to play with the print speed to get it to print.
4. 110V print bed heater, havn't needed it, plan to do some printing with nylon and I think the current one will meet my needs
5. Spindle, I haven't seen a 3D printer yet that looks strong enough to do any milling in anything heavier than foam, so unless your plan is to carve foam then this is probably a waste of time
6. Laser, there are people who do this, but I would not recommend it. A laser that can do anything on a CNC machine will be non eye safe and is a danger to yourself and others without the proper enclosures and interlocks.

What I do recommend for updates is a heated enclosure (I ordered my laser cut enclosure and added a heater and thermostat) and all metal hot end (for higher temperature materials) and a hardened nozzle (for carbon and glass filled materials). I paid 385 for my CR-10 and the options have cost about 300 since then. It has a large print area and does a good job. It is a no frills printer, so no auto bed leveling, dual extruders or any of the fancy stuff. Good luck and enjoy. I've used mine to do a lot of organizing fixtures in the shop and plan on making machine parts and electrical boxes with it as well. I've also dabbled in lost PLA casting, but the burnout was not complete and the casting failed. I am going to retry it with ABS and dissolve it out with acetone before burnout and pouring. They really are a great addition to a metalworking shop.
 
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Woooooo Hoooooo!!!!!
Its here. It is still in the box untill I finish getting the bench set up where it will live. I have to finish running the electrical, for outlets and lighting. Then I can start building.
 
/me tosses some carrots in the general direction of Cudahy, Wisconsin. :grin:
 
Some the biggest problems you will have 3D printing are the Filament absorbs water from the air ruining the filament, so it needs to be stored in a box full of desiccant. The angle that the filament feeds into the extruder needs to be as straight as possible or you will have feed issues. Don't buy cheap Filament its already full of water and needs to be dried in the oven at about 180 degrees for 8 hours..... I had a Tevo Tornado and sold it to a friend....
 
It will be living in my basement with all of my other shop tools, I keep it pretty dry down there. My basement is only 600 sq ft. I have a 100 pint rated dehumidifier for moisture control.
 
The more I follow this thread the more I am coming to the conclusion that the FlashForge that is in my possession isn't worth the time or effort. . .
 
Personally I wouldn't make multiple extruders a priority. I have dual extruders on the Qidi Tech printer I have and I rarely use both. Maybe that's just me and others will chime in, but most of the things I print only need one color etc. Then again I don't print much that isn't a piece or fixture that's more of a part than toy or just something to look at or amuse, so color etc is rarely even a consideration. I thought of building one of the kits when I was looking, but it was nice to just order one that was pretty much plug and play so I could quickly get up and running. There's enough of a learning curve and tweaking required already to please those who enjoy the building side of hobbies to keep them happy.
 
The moisture issue depends a lot on the type of fillament, and the brand. My PETG has been sitting unprotected for 4 months now and still works fine for example. It's made by Hatchbox and they claim it's not affected by humidity. This is supposed to be the opposite for PETG, but I have to say it's been fine.

+1 on no multi-extruders. That's a whole 'nuther can of worms and you want to get some skills acquired before you tackle that.
 
It will be a while before I delve into the multi head. As I learn to use what I have I might just decide there is no need for it. But it is nice to know that there is a feasible upgrade path if I do need it. I have no plan for multi color, but would like to do multi material. Such as the water soluable support material, Or the effect of a softer over molded compound for things to held in the hand.

I am hopping to assemble and get it running this weekend.
 
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