Which 3D Printer to begin ?

[thephil]

Stumbled upon this thread and got interested. I still have my very old Ultimaker 2 and recently felt quite an itch to get something more modern. I read the news about Bambu trying to lock their users into their cloud and was put off instantly. What would you guys consider a viable alternative? I found e.g. Qidi and that looked interesting but seemed to have less of a community. What are your recommendations/opinions?

[Gyro]

Don't give up on Bambu just yet, the hardware is good, particularly the more recent stuff, do your own research on the s/w first. You don't have to register the printer, upgrade the f/w or log into the Bambu cloud. As long as you don't want to use it from your phone ( ) you can just use the printer's IP address on your local network. OrcaSicer still works fine if you don't log into Bambu and don't care about 'their' models (I can't remember if the Bambu Studio insists on you logging in).

That said, other 3D printers are available but after I got my A1 mini I stopped researching.

[abeyer]

There are plenty of viable contenders to bambu, they've just hit a nice price/performance spot. I 100% would encourage looking at the others first. Even if you can get by today with the workarounds bambu hasn't blocked, you know the direction they are going. If that's not where you want to go, why invest in a closed ecosystem now at all?

[mawyatt]

About 3 years ago we had a project that required considerable 3D printed components. Our older 3D printers just weren't up to task, and we had struggled with them to get reasonable prints, but had fun playing with them tho. Since the project was on a tight schedule and required extensive electrical design effort, not to mention extremely difficult design parameters, we didn't want to divert any effort towards coaching the 3D printer.

After some quick research and reviews we selected the Bambu X1C. Best decision we could have made as the X1C just worked perfectly right out of the box, no fiddling, tweaking, nor adjusting. Later we had some trouble with older filaments, left over and tried the drying process, but eventually just gave up and used Bambu filaments which also just work without hassle. We were so impressed we got our oldest daughter a Bambu A1 for X-mas a couple years ago, she went crazy with it printing all sorts of things, so last year we got her a P2S.

Understand some folks are concerned about the possible "Bambu closed ecosystem", but we aren't too worried as Bambu seems to be addressing some things wrt such, and so far we haven't had any issues. Everything from the printer, slicer and filaments just seem to work well together. Apparently Bambu has acquired their own filament source, and dropped the price on PETG and PLA to ~$9/Kg for refills on a special last month, we loaded up on some filaments/colors we often use.

Anyway, 3D printers are evolving so fast if Bambu becomes a "police state" the latest printers from others will likely be equal or better than the 2~3 yr old Bambu and you can just upgrade to another open source brand, which becomes a good excuse to the boss  

Best

[Smokey]

There was just a topic discussing new printers (not sure this is the one):
   ELEGOO Centauri Carbon *Released Feb 2025* Core XY 3D printer USD$299.99
...

I've been super happy with the Centauri Carbon (I got original v1, but V2 is out now).  Way better than a $300 printer should be.  No real problems at all yet.  I don't care about multi-color so the lack of AMS with the V1 isn't a problem.  V2 adds that capability.
https://us.elegoo.com/products/centauri-carbon

[Psi]

If you have a Bambu, don't do the firmware updates unless you absolutely have to, if any additional lockdowns happen you want to find out about it before you have updated your printer to that version.
That is of course assuming new lockdown code is not already present and just waiting for an order 66 command from Bambu app. (That's why never updating the FW is good idea, you never know what else you are adding)

But I think Bambu would have to be out of their mind to lock down further. It's far more likely they will just start selling new model printers already locked down from day 1. 

They will only lock down more if they feel it will generate more money despite all the users who would move to other brands because of it. Bambu isn't going to want to push their customers over to other brands and strengthen their competition. So im not too worried about this atm.  (I have a H2S)

[mawyatt]

@ Psi

How do you like your H2S?

Do you use/have optical calibration plate?

Best

[Psi]

@ Psi

How do you like your H2S?

Do you use/have optical calibration plate?

Best

No, I just have the stock textured plate it comes with.

It's a good printer, very reliably so far.  Probably should have waited a few years and got something that has a 4,6 or 8 tool head changer for doing multicolor stuff.
My want for multi-color stuff is really just for hobby/side-use stuff and the coolness factor.
The reason I bought it (on the business) was for printing test jigs and stuff which don't care about color.  And I can still do 4 color if I want, it just poops a lot.

The H2C is cool but too expensive for me. Need to wait for tool changer versions to drop in price. Or for RGB/CMYK filament mixing to become a thing, that would be the holy grail of color 3D printing.

[Cyclotron]

I love my Prusa Core +. I had debated about the bambu systems last year but I'm very happy I missed that "consumer friendly show".

The new Gen 2 is now out. I think I'm going to get an INDX.

[Psi]

I love my Prusa Core +. I had debated about the bambu systems last year but I'm very happy I missed that "consumer friendly show".

The new Gen 2 is now out. I think I'm going to get an INDX.

The INDX concept looks really good, hopefully its super reliable.

[mawyatt]

No, I just have the stock textured plate it comes with.

It's a good printer, very reliably so far.  Probably should have waited a few years and got something that has a 4,6 or 8 tool head changer for doing multicolor stuff.
My want for multi-color stuff is really just for hobby/side-use stuff and the coolness factor.
The reason I bought it (on the business) was for printing test jigs and stuff which don't care about color.  And I can still do 4 color if I want, it just poops a lot.

We have the AMS for the 4 colors with the X1C. If only 2 colors we can usually manage to keep the "waste" reasonable, but also looking forward to a "Tool Changer" which seems to be the latest in 3D printers. The H2C Vortek Tool Changer is a little high end for our use/need and hopefully Bambu will introduce a mid-range Tool Changer soon.

We don't print trinkets, toys and such, mostly fixtures/adapters/mounts we've designed, so just having 4 colors from a proper Tool Changer in the smaller X1 form factor (256mm cube volume) would satisfy our needs.

Our latest use is to print a box to house old Soviet Mica caps (and others) that can directly attach to the 4 BNCs on a bench LCR Meter. This box hosts the 4 male BNCs (also the 3D printed BNC lever arms), the Mica Cap, thermistor and the heating resistor for TC measurements. The box uses a sparse grid to keep the weight down and achieve a lower thermal conductivity to ambient, on smaller DUT caps we lined the interior with copper foil for a Faraday type cage. The 2 colors helped with the fixture identification with only one filament swap (minimum poop).

Anyway, our X1C has given little reason to complain.

Best

[GregDunn]

I looked at all the printer options before making a choice.  With respect to support, open ecosystem, and reliability, the answer kept coming up Prusa.  No doubt you can get a cheaper printer that works fine for hobbyist use, but I like the idea of being able to print my own replacement parts, upgrade the printer without voiding my warranty, and get answers from the factory quickly.  Yes, it's more expensive initially, but I plan to keep it running for a while and long term cost of ownership is important to me.

I chose to build a CORE ONE+ kit and it "just worked" the first time I powered it up.  As a bonus, I now know what every piece does and if I ever need to troubleshoot it, I have that knowledge.  YMMV but I have zero regrets.

Wait a bit on the INDX if you have any plan to use abrasive filaments such as carbon fiber and glow-in-the-dark - the initial print heads from BondTech are NOT hardened.  Prusa is working on a solution for their official release.

[Kilrah]

Had an X1C with AMS for 2 years, about 1100 print hours and "it just works" which is what mattered to me when I (company purchase too) bought it.
I mostly do functional stuff so the AMS is mostly for just having a common selection of materials ready to go without having to go load a spool manually. Done some stuff with color changes too but not that many, and usually when I do it'll be stuff that's well designed to look good without needing many.

The "closed ecosystem" thing is a bit overblown IMO, youtubers make sensational videos about how "new security blocks your ability to do what you want!!1!one!1!" but they don't make any saying you can just toggle a setting to ignore it entirely (developer mode) because that's not gonna get the drama clicks.

I currently run mine in LAN mode, managed by bambuddy.
https://github.com/maziggy/bambuddy

I don't expect actual restrictions to be added, they're not gonna cut the branch they're sitting on. Note you've always been able to flash firmware offline and downgrade to whatever version you'd prefer all the way.

Getting the right balance to both make a plug and play system your grandma could use while allowing power users to go deeper is difficult in any field, considering everything I think the current state of bambu printers is doing a pretty decent job of it.

[mzzj]

I looked at all the printer options before making a choice.  With respect to support, open ecosystem, and reliability, the answer kept coming up Prusa.  No doubt you can get a cheaper printer that works fine for hobbyist use, but I like the idea of being able to print my own replacement parts, upgrade the printer without voiding my warranty, and get answers from the factory quickly.  Yes, it's more expensive initially, but I plan to keep it running for a while and long term cost of ownership is important to me.

How many replacement parts you expect you are going to need/able to print in the course of the printer lifetime?
ALL of the parts I have bought for bambu are impossible to print even if it was Prusa. (Nozzles, heaters, temperature sensors, fans, cables..)

[mzzj]

The "closed ecosystem" thing is a bit overblown IMO, youtubers make sensational videos about how "new security blocks your ability to do what you want!!1!one!1!" but they don't make any saying you can just toggle a setting to ignore it entirely (developer mode) because that's not gonna get the drama clicks.

I currently run mine in LAN mode, managed by bambuddy.
https://github.com/maziggy/bambuddy

I don't expect actual restrictions to be added, they're not gonna cut the branch they're sitting on. Note you've always been able to flash firmware offline and downgrade to whatever version you'd prefer all the way.

Getting the right balance to both make a plug and play system your grandma could use while allowing power users to go deeper is difficult in any field, considering everything I think the current state of bambu printers is doing a pretty decent job of it.

This whole bambu thing is way overblown with 90% people not having a clue what they are tottering.

Foil-hat types can still buy the printer, NEVER even touch the firmware and use cura slicer in LAN mode and you get better user experience & more stable product than 90% of 3D printer brands are ever able to offer you.

[themadhippy]

Another bambu owner,got a p1s with an ams.Yep it worked straight out the box and for the most it produces good results.However all is not great,the magnets holding the cover over the hotend aint upto the job and the covers fell off at least twice now ruining the jobs.a cable tie now holds it in place

[mzzj]

Another bambu owner,got a p1s with an ams.Yep it worked straight out the box and for the most it produces good results.However all is not great,the magnets holding the cover over the hotend aint upto the job and the covers fell off at least twice now ruining the jobs.a cable tie now holds it in place

I had this happen also, hotend cover is easy to install somehow crooked and it wont stay as a result. Now that I have paid more attention that it sits correctly there havent been any further problems.
Hotend wires/connectors are also something I'd like to complain, the plugs fit not only in correct position but also in odd "stepped over" fashion. Again something you need to know and pay attention but nothing broken.

[thm_w]

There are plenty of viable contenders to bambu, they've just hit a nice price/performance spot. I 100% would encourage looking at the others first. Even if you can get by today with the workarounds bambu hasn't blocked, you know the direction they are going. If that's not where you want to go, why invest in a closed ecosystem now at all?

Depends on use case, if its hobby yes, if its engineering, I am not aware of any viable alternative to the X2D at $950. eg Prusa doesn't have a proper chamber heater so its not an option, unless you want to mod the machine.

[abeyer]

eg Prusa doesn't have a proper chamber heater so its not an option, unless you want to mod the machine.

I think several of the newer Core One models do have active chamber heat & cooling.

[thm_w]

I think several of the newer Core One models do have active chamber heat & cooling.

They use a 24V bed to heat the chamber, which is very slow. Them calling it active is technically true.
Not a huge difference but core one + will go up to 60C and X2D will do 65C. If enclosures were well insulated it might be OK but they lose a ton of heat through the walls.

https://www.printables.com/article/prusa-core-one-active-chamber-heating-XZz7XmN

[CaptainKat]

I do a lot of 3d printing. My machine is a Creality K1c and it's a real workhorse, it has been constantly printing for at least 4hours a day for the last 2years, no problems. The c in K1c stands for carbon, which means it is capable of printing with carbon fibre based filament.
But whichever printer you choose, always make sure that your filament is dry otherwise you will have problems with adhesion.

[Psi]

Currently printing a model of the S39 Starship on my H2S. Around 40cm tall or so.  The first two parts printed look really nice. Used a Polylite chrome for the stainless bits which has a really nice metal look. Can't post picture now as I'm sitting on the couch but might post one later.

[michael2]

I'm a Bambu H2D (with two AMS) owner for about 9 months. Had different printers before. The H2D is the best printer I bought so far. It is really a fire&forget machine:

The printer lives in a different room on another floor, not near my desk. I even don't check the camera anymore when I start a new print. My workflow is something like this: Have an idea, start the CAD, design, export&import to BambuLab slicer, send it to the printer, and close the software. Then, an hour or some time later, my mobile phone pings and tells me the print has finished. I go to the printer and harvest the part. Rinse and repeat.

I think, the competitors don't understand, how valuable this fire&forget experience is. With the two AMS, I have 8 materials at hand, no annoying mounting of filament necessary. It's just a click in the slicer to select the material.

And on top of that: Superb print quality and a real working AI to detect print problems, when you push the limits for printable parts to far. If you ever encounter a part that dislodged from the printing surface and the printer reports it to you before it will cook up the print head with melted plastic, you thank god (or whomever) that this chinese software saved your day.

[Psi]

I wouldn't mind a second AMS. 4 channels a bit tight when you print in both PLA and ASA, however the AMS units have like doubled in price which makes it a bit too expensive to buy for a 'nice to have'.

Agree about the fire and forget being really nice on the H2 Bambus
I've had some prints fail but for the most part it was my fault or something trivial.
If you have it on the cloud you get the notifications to your phone but if the printer is set LAN only you don't.
I need to investigate if there is a way to link home assistant to it in lan only mode and grab status info.

[thm_w]

I wouldn't mind a second AMS. 4 channels a bit tight when you print in both PLA and ASA, however the AMS units have like doubled in price which makes it a bit too expensive to buy for a 'nice to have'.

Yes price is very inflated if just buying the AMS on its own $450 CAD. When it comes with a unit its ~$250 CAD which is reasonable.