3d printer recommendations

[Nor'easter Reefer]

Anyone got any recommendations or things to look for in a 3d printer? Im not looking to spend mucho bucks on my first unit, but would like to try to dabble with one. Was looking at this? I have no idea what im looking at though and was told it's pretty decent by a consumer guide site.

https://a.co/d/gM2oPxh

 

[Shnetts]

check out the bambu labs a1 mini, reputable company, easy to use and inexpensive. Only downside is print volume

 

[Iballhog]

If you just want to print stuff without becoming a 3d printer mechanic I think a Bambu a1 mini is the way to go. Unfortunately due to whats going on the price has gone way up. Bambu has sales in June

 

[Shnetts]

price has gone way up

oh crap, Its was just about $200 a few months ago when I last checked

 

[Kooma]

Bambu.

I bought a P1S. There is no tweaking, dialing in, failed prints or wasted time. Plug in, make an account, print anything you want with perfection every time.

Not cheap, but if I spend even a few days screwing around with a budget printer it would be a waste of $. But once cry once.

 

[Nor'easter Reefer]

Just realized the one I posted was a resin printer vs filament. So I assume that wasn't ideal to begin with. Seems Bambu is what a lot of people are running then

 

[RyanMC]

I have a Creality Ender 3 V3 Plus and a Creality K1 Max. Both have been reliable and put out solid prints.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Bambu A1 imo is the best beginner printer. It's essentially a plug-and-play printer right out of the box. You pull the printer out of the box, put some stuff together, plug it in, add your filaments, and you are ready to print. Many of the files you download through Maker Lab (the printing software for Bambu printers) have the prints pre-configured to the printer, so you don't have to mess with printer settings unless you want to. Personally I would get the A1 combo kit that comes with the AMS unit (allows you to print multiple colors at once) and you will be satisfied with the printer. They also make an A1 mini which is the same as the A1 just smaller and cheaper.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I have a Creality Ender 3 V3 Plus and a Creality K1 Max. Both have been reliable and put out solid prints.

How long have you had your ender? I've got a friend who has one and loves his

 

[RyanMC]

How long have you had your ender? I've got a friend who has one and loves his

I've had those two for about 6 months. Had a CR-10 before that and it was perfectly fine as well.

 

[Nor'easter Reefer]

Bambu A1 imo is the best beginner printer. It's essentially a plug-and-play printer right out of the box. You pull the printer out of the box, put some stuff together, plug it in, add your filaments, and you are ready to print. Many of the files you download through Maker Lab (the printing software for Bambu printers) have the prints pre-configured to the printer, so you don't have to mess with printer settings unless you want to. Personally I would get the A1 combo kit that comes with the AMS unit (allows you to print multiple colors at once) and you will be satisfied with the printer. They also make an A1 mini which is the same as the A1 just smaller and cheaper.

Well it's only double what I thought I was going to spend haha. Buy once cry once though I suppose! Do you know, is the AMS unit something you could add down the road?

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Well it's only double what I thought I was going to spend haha. Buy once cry once though I suppose! Do you know, is the AMS unit something you could add down the road?

Yes! You definitely don't have to start with one, however, the combo deal you do end up saving $50-60. I would wait until memorial day and see if they have a sale. Bambu sales on their printers all of the time! (Usually the a1 combo will go on sale for about $480ish)

 

[Nor'easter Reefer]

Yes! You definitely don't have to start with one, however, the combo deal you do end up saving $50-60. I would wait until memorial day and see if they have a sale. Bambu sales on their printers all of the time! (Usually the a1 combo will go on sale for about $480ish)

Oh sweet! Thats much better! I would definitely like that combo but $600-$700 is the asking price right now

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Oh sweet! Thats much better! I would definitely like that combo but $600-$700 is the asking price right now

For sure, if you don't need the printer right now I would definitely wait for the sales they do!

 

[tharbin]

I would also recommend the Bambu as the best way to start. But, there are some concerns about Bambu Labs recent networking changes that require you to use their cloud for the printers or give up much of their convenience. I would also get an idea of what kinds of things you will print as the size of the print volume is a hard and fast limit to what can be printed as a single piece.

I have an Bambu A1 Mini, a Bambu A1 with AMS Lite and a Elegoo Centauri Carbon. I started with a Creality Ender 3 S1 Pro that I donated to another maker last year.

I use the A1 Mini the most as most things fit on its build plate and it is just a really convenient printer to use. For larger PLA, PETG or TPU prints I use the A1. If I do multi-color I hook the AMS Lite up to one or the other but it is usually disconnected. I just got the Centauri Carbon yesterday so just test prints so far but I got it to use for technical filaments like PET-CF, ASA, ABS, etc.

There are many good printers on the market. I think the things to look for are: Direct Drive Extruder (it makes feeding soft, like TPU, or brittle, like Carbon Fiber-infused, filaments easier); a Hotend that can reach at least 300 degrees Celsius as some fairly common filaments need temps in that range; a Heated Bed that can reach at least 100 degrees Celsius for the same reason; and auto bed leveling and Z-Adjustment. Nice to have is also network connectivity as it just makes things easier.

What sets Bambu apart is their ease of use. On many printers loading filament involves heating the hotend first and then pushing the filament in and manually extruding some to get it into the hotend ready for use. With a Bambu you push the filament up to the extruder and tell it to load, it heats the hotend depending on what type of filament you are loading and loads the filament. It is only a small thing but it is those little touches that make the experience less error-prone.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I would also recommend the Bambu as the best way to start. But, there are some concerns about Bambu Labs recent networking changes that require you to use their cloud for the printers or give up much of their convenience. I would also get an idea of what kinds of things you will print as the size of the print volume is a hard and fast limit to what can be printed as a single piece.

I have an Bambu A1 Mini, a Bambu A1 with AMS Lite and a Elegoo Centauri Carbon. I started with an Ender 3 S1 Pro that I donated to another maker last year.

I use the A1 Mini the most as most things fit on its build plate and it is just a really convenient printer to use. For larger PLA, PETG or TPU prints I use the A1. If I do multi-color I hook the AMS Lite up to one or the other but it is usually disconnected. I just got the Centauri Carbon yesterday so just test prints so far but I got it to use for technical filaments like PET-CF, ASA, ABS, etc.

There are many good printers on the market. I think the things to look for are: Direct Drive Extruder (it makes feeding soft, like TPU, or brittle, like Carbo Fiber infused, filaments easier); a Hotend that can reach at least 300 degrees Celsius as some fairly common filaments need temps in that range; a Heated Bed that can reach at least 100 degrees Celsius for the same reason; and auto bed leveling and Z-Adjustment. Nice to have is also network connectivity as it just makes things easier.

What sets Bambu apart is their ease of use. On many printers loading filament involves heating the hotend first and then pushing the filament in and manually extruding some to get it into the hotend ready for use. With a Bambu you push the filament up to the extruder and hit tell it to load, it heats the hotend depending on what type of filament you are loading and loads the filament. It is only a small thing but it is those little touches that make the experience less error-prone.

That was my reason for chosing an A1. I had little knowledge about 3d printers before buying one, and I felt like I would have been lost getting something other than a Bambu printer. Now I feel comfortable enough with 3d printer where I could step outside of the Bambu ecosystem, but I chose love the ease of use those printers provide.

 

[DeeBee]

I went from an Ender 3 to a Bambu A1 and there just isn't any comparison in my opinion. So much less tweaking and failed prints with Bambu. I would go with A1 mini if trying to save a little money

 

[AmateurAlchemist]

Another vote for Bambu here. I picked one up during Black Friday sales with little prior knowledge of 3D Printers and have been winging it with great success ever since.

 

[Nor'easter Reefer]

I would also recommend the Bambu as the best way to start. But, there are some concerns about Bambu Labs recent networking changes that require you to use their cloud for the printers or give up much of their convenience. I would also get an idea of what kinds of things you will print as the size of the print volume is a hard and fast limit to what can be printed as a single piece.

I have an Bambu A1 Mini, a Bambu A1 with AMS Lite and a Elegoo Centauri Carbon. I started with a Creality Ender 3 S1 Pro that I donated to another maker last year.

I use the A1 Mini the most as most things fit on its build plate and it is just a really convenient printer to use. For larger PLA, PETG or TPU prints I use the A1. If I do multi-color I hook the AMS Lite up to one or the other but it is usually disconnected. I just got the Centauri Carbon yesterday so just test prints so far but I got it to use for technical filaments like PET-CF, ASA, ABS, etc.

There are many good printers on the market. I think the things to look for are: Direct Drive Extruder (it makes feeding soft, like TPU, or brittle, like Carbon Fiber-infused, filaments easier); a Hotend that can reach at least 300 degrees Celsius as some fairly common filaments need temps in that range; a Heated Bed that can reach at least 100 degrees Celsius for the same reason; and auto bed leveling and Z-Adjustment. Nice to have is also network connectivity as it just makes things easier.

What sets Bambu apart is their ease of use. On many printers loading filament involves heating the hotend first and then pushing the filament in and manually extruding some to get it into the hotend ready for use. With a Bambu you push the filament up to the extruder and tell it to load, it heats the hotend depending on what type of filament you are loading and loads the filament. It is only a small thing but it is those little touches that make the experience less error-prone.

Is the cloud a pay to play kinda thing? Short of that it sounds like im in the market for a Bambu printer

 

[tharbin]

Is the cloud a pay to play kinda thing? Short of that it sounds like im in the market for a Bambu printer

No. It is free to use their cloud and it is very convenient.

The issue/controversy/concern is three fold, since you have to print through their cloud they can, at least in theory, capture your designs for whatever reason; you can no longer, easily, use third-party slicers like ORCA Slicer; and for people running print farms some concern that they will be required to use farm software from Bambu that MAY (totally rumor at this point) be subscription based. There is also the general concern of Bambu moving to a subscription for their cloud. The 3d printing community is a bit on the conspiracy-theory side of things so anything a company does that puts up artificial walls is viewed with anxiety. Time will tell...

I just brought it up because it has caused many Bambu-faithful to jump ship or at least pause further purchases.

Personally, I have not upgraded to include Bambu's latest updates and am taking a wait and see attitude toward their business model. I would have probably waited on the Elegoo and bought a X1C or H2D later this year if Bambu had not made their changes to networking.