3d printer recommendations

[Gumbies R Us]

Oh, I didn't notice they took away the coupon too. I'm just glad they brought back the bulk buy on filament, haha.

 

[Malcontent]

If you have a Microcenter near you, you may want to consider going there to get your Bambu. There's less risk of shipping damage since they're not shipped by FedEx/UPS. With the X1C there were a number that arrived with broken glass.

 

[RoanokeReef]

Oh, I didn't notice they took away the coupon too. I'm just glad they brought back the bulk buy on filament, haha.

Ah sweet I didn't even notice that :cool:

 

[Gtinnel]

I have only used cheap Creality Ender printers and while I think they’re okay for a very entry level printer they do take some work to get them printing good. You guys are making me want to get a better printer.
Microcenter still has the Bambu Labs A1 Combo for the $700 price with $100 gift card. I wonder if they would price match Bambu’s website at $550 and still give the $100 gift card?

 

[BeanAnimal]

I am not in the Bambu camp - I think they are great printers, but I think they are working overtimes to pull people into a proprietary cloud and consumables trap.

I ended up with a QIDI Q1 Pro - I would say it is 99% as easy to use as the Bambu, albeit with less community support.

Be aware that ALL of these companies are releasing printers very quickly and somewhat moving on. New features and bug fixes in new models, without really looking back at and applying the fixes or firmware tech to already released models. It is about grabbing as much quick marketshare as possible by releasing new features in new models.

Bang for the buck - likely Qidi. Community support and adoption, likely Bambu. At this point I think the other big names are a model generation behind, but I have not looked in a few months. The new Creality has some great features, but lacks active chamber heating, and some other things to keep its price down. May or may not be a deciding factor for some.

 

[Maize & Blue]

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.

ELEGOO Saturn 3 MSLA 12K 3D Printer, Desktop Resin 3D Printer with 10-Inch Monochrome LCD, Voxeldance Tango Slicer, Large Printing Size of 8.62x4.84x9.84 inches: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

ELEGOO Saturn 3 MSLA 12K 3D Printer, Desktop Resin 3D Printer with 10-Inch Monochrome LCD, Voxeldance Tango Slicer, Large Printing Size of 8.62x4.84x9.84 inches: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

a.co

 

[Maize & Blue]

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.

ELEGOO Saturn 3 MSLA 12K 3D Printer, Desktop Resin 3D Printer with 10-Inch Monochrome LCD, Voxeldance Tango Slicer, Large Printing Size of 8.62x4.84x9.84 inches: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

ELEGOO Saturn 3 MSLA 12K 3D Printer, Desktop Resin 3D Printer with 10-Inch Monochrome LCD, Voxeldance Tango Slicer, Large Printing Size of 8.62x4.84x9.84 inches: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

a.co

Put out a shout to fishofhex.com or printedreef.com. Those are two both well-known 3-D printer in the industry. They would probably have some pretty good recommendations.

 

[Nor'easter Reefer]

I paid $252 with tax for my mini on 4/10. I will say it's still worth the price at $359 but would probably jump to the A1 for $499 if it was me.

Bambu does have a $60 off coupon for either the A1 mini or A1 so that makes it a bit better :)

I am not in the Bambu camp - I think they are great printers, but I think they are working overtimes to pull people into a proprietary cloud and consumables trap.

I ended up with a QIDI Q1 Pro - I would say it is 99% as easy to use as the Bambu, albeit with less community support.

Be aware that ALL of these companies are releasing printers very quickly and somewhat moving on. New features and bug fixes in new models, without really looking back at and applying the fixes or firmware tech to already released models. It is about grabbing as much quick marketshare as possible by releasing new features in new models.

Bang for the buck - likely Qidi. Community support and adoption, likely Bambu. At this point I think the other big names are a model generation behind, but I have not looked in a few months. The new Creality has some great features, but lacks active chamber heating, and some other things to keep its price down. May or may not be a deciding factor for some.

Your printer seems to have great reviews and good specs/features. Is it capable of using multiple filaments like the Bambu a1 combo? Or is it a give and take kinda thing and that's a takeaway?

 

[BeanAnimal]

Your printer seems to have great reviews and good specs/features. Is it capable of using multiple filaments like the Bambu a1 combo? Or is it a give and take kinda thing and that's a takeaway?

Give and take. The Q1 is not really setup for multi -- and retrofitting it can be done, but not worth the hassle. The plus series is multi with Qidi Box - each system (bambu and Qidi) filament changers have their pros and cons. Creality has a new decent system too....

You really need to decide if you need filament or not. It is a HUGE HUGE HUGE consumables waster and for most functional prints, server no purpose other than easier to remove supports if you use support material. For those printing toys, trinkets, cosplay stuff.. sure, it makes a lot of sense.

That said, I would wait one more generation of filament changers. The Tip forming tech is moving quickly and the waste, (time and materials) is going to come done considerably as well as the price.

 

[Nor'easter Reefer]

Give and take. The Q1 is not really setup for multi -- and retrofitting it can be done, but not worth the hassle. The plus series is multi with Qidi Box - each system (bambu and Qidi) filament changers have their pros and cons. Creality has a new decent system too....

You really need to decide if you need filament or not. It is a HUGE HUGE HUGE consumables waster and for most functional prints, server no purpose other than easier to remove supports if you use support material. For those printing toys, trinkets, cosplay stuff.. sure, it makes a lot of sense.

That said, I would wait one more generation of filament changers. The Tip forming tech is moving quickly and the waste, (time and materials) is going to come done considerably as well as the price.

I'm not sure if really need the multiple color option. My only thought was some of those frag racks you see that are black and have a accent color that's florescent seems cool. Probably could do that by simply swapping out filament i think? Maybe?

 

[William Chiavetta]

I would not recommend anything creality. They seem to always be breaking

 

[BeanAnimal]

You can swap filament during a print - some models easier than others. The Qidi Q1 pro - I have not tried (don't care to) and I don't know a lot about Bambu's manual swap capability.

It comes down to two things.
1) the slicer generating a pause at the right spot
2) the ability to load the new filament and have it pick up printing where it left off,
Not overly complicated - but different printers just handle it differently.

I purchased purely for functional prints. I don't really give a hoot about color changing -- at least in its current state. I will look back into it once the tech gets better. My interest would be more in support material and incorporating things like TPU into ASA or other functional prints.

Not knocking anybody who prints star wars action figures, multi-color articulating lizards or cosplay swords and body armor. Just not my thing at all. Those folks need to have the multi color.

 

[ElZesto]

+1 for bambu.

Been screwing around with 3d printers for almost a decade now, bambu is the only one that just seems to work. I have a p1p and highly reccomend.

Also have a k1 max and its awesome as well, but a bit more $ last I looked, and it has given me some weird bugs. Most 3d printers are a hobby by themselves, the bambu is a tool.

 

[Nor'easter Reefer]

You can swap filament during a print - some models easier than others. The Qidi Q1 pro - I have not tried (don't care to) and I don't know a lot about Bambu's manual swap capability.

It comes down to two things.
1) the slicer generating a pause at the right spot
2) the ability to load the new filament and have it pick up printing where it left off,
Not overly complicated - but different printers just handle it differently.

I purchased purely for functional prints. I don't really give a hoot about color changing -- at least in its current state. I will look back into it once the tech gets better. My interest would be more in support material and incorporating things like TPU into ASA or other functional prints.

Not knocking anybody who prints star wars action figures, multi-color articulating lizards or cosplay swords and body armor. Just not my thing at all. Those folks need to have the multi color.

I really like the heated chamber on this printer vs the Bambu.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I prototype in PLA sometimes - but most final prints are in ASA. So the heated chamber works well for me.

 

[RoanokeReef]

The Bambu AMS is great not only for multi color but you can fill it with all the same color if you want and it will switch to the next roll automatically. Also with the ams2 you can dry your filament. They also are one of the only companies adding new features to their older printers, like adding the ams2 to the A1. What sets them apart is if it detects an error or something breaks it displays a QR code to the article and parts to fix.

 

[tharbin]

You can swap filament during a print - some models easier than others. The Qidi Q1 pro - I have not tried (don't care to) and I don't know a lot about Bambu's manual swap capability.

It comes down to two things.
1) the slicer generating a pause at the right spot
2) the ability to load the new filament and have it pick up printing where it left off,
Not overly complicated - but different printers just handle it differently.

I purchased purely for functional prints. I don't really give a hoot about color changing -- at least in its current state. I will look back into it once the tech gets better. My interest would be more in support material and incorporating things like TPU into ASA or other functional prints.

Not knocking anybody who prints star wars action figures, multi-color articulating lizards or cosplay swords and body armor. Just not my thing at all. Those folks need to have the multi color.

This +1

Muti-color can be accomplished on a standard printer it just takes a lot more work. Multi-color is nice but with a single head printer it is very wasteful and significantly lengthens the print time. I have multi-color available and use it maybe 1 or 2 percent of the time.

I know people are downplaying the Bambu walled garden but it is worth considering. I did not buy another Bambu after they made the communications changes. I bought an Elegoo Centauri Carbon, mainly because the price was insanely good. If the Elegoo had not been so inexpensive I probably would have gone with the Qidi Q1 Pro as it is an even more capable printer with good reviews.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I did not buy another Bambu after they made the communications changes.

I honestly see them progressing this into full proprietary control. The turn in that direction is undeniable and as long as they have decent market share, it will not deter them from doing so. They are very close to forcing QR coded filament spools.

That’s mealy-mouthed legal deflection.
Sure, I may still “own” my IP, but that doesn’t mean they won’t view, analyze, replicate, or even monetize it. Ownership does not imply exclusive control and they are a Chinese company operating under a different set of rules. Chinese IP law is not U.S. IP law — not even close, and even it was, it is not adhered to or even observed.

Yes, I may retain ownership here in the States, but that does nothing to stop them from doing whatever they want with it over there.

The bottom line is this: if you upload your designs or pass them through their cloud, you’re placing your trust in their ethics... I don't think you have to look past your Amazon cart to see how that works.

This may or may not matter to some folks. I don't monetize my designs, but the principle of the situation bothers me.

I bought an Elegoo Centauri Carbon, mainly because the price was insanely good. If the Elegoo had not been so inexpensive I probably would have gone with the Qidi Q1 Pro as it is an even more capable printer with good reviews.

Don't get me wrong - the Q1 has a lot of room for improvement. I purchased (not had time to install) an eddy current probe, as the Q1 uses fairly poor piezo sensors. The eddy probes will likely be on most next gen printers.,

 

[Shanel]

Anybody have any issues with an ANYCUBIC Kobra S1 Combo?

 

[cba191]

Kind of an old thread, but is anyone thinking about going this route?

Snapmaker U1 | Multi-Color 3D Printer with SnapSwap™

Make multi-color 3D prints easy with U1. SnapSwap™ swaps in 5 seconds for 5X speed and 5X less waste, with Snapmaker Orca & app control. Buy on Snapmaker Store.

www.snapmaker.com