<TLDR> • Experience: none • Size: > 20x20x20 cm • Price Range: 800-1500€ • Print Medium: PLA </TLRD>
Hi all! I would like to join the group of 3D printer owners but I don’t have any experience. I don’t want to buy a cheap printer just to find myself buying a better one in a few months so I set my price in the middle segment (I think).
I am going to set it up in my office which has AC but direct sun light for some hours a day. Is a full case recommended?
What printer can you recommend for me and what software (windows) can I use to design and print some parts?
If you need any more info please let me know.
Kind regards in anvance
in that price range you can get a bambulabs X1 carbon, which is an extremely high performance and high reliability machine. If you want to save a bit, the P1P is also really good.
I am a hardcore custom printer guy who loves building everything themselves, but even I have to admire this machine.
Don’t listen to people recommending ender 3s or anything creality, but prusas are also a good option, if a bit outdated.
I like the X1 as a printer. But BambuLabs is not a company I’d want to support.
I’m considering getting one for my next printer. What’s wrong with them as a company? I’m out of the loop.
I’ll just list some I remember
Their slicer has a fork called orca which included some nice extra features and calibration tools which work for all machines not just the Bambu ones. In the latest update of their slicer they just copied all the code from the fork but never mentioned the person that did all the work until they were publicly called out on it. Which seems to be a recurring theme.
Also many functions of the printer are locked behind it being always connected to the cloud which has been proven to have multiple vulnerabilities. One of the most annoying is sending files over to the machine over wifi is linked to the printer having acces to the Bambu labs servers which have been experiencing some downtime lately. Meaning a lot of functions of the printer are only there as long as Bambu labs exists.
I think the main issue with them is that everything is proprietary on the machines meaning little aftermarket support or user mods. Traditionally, most printers up til now have used generic parts that anyone can buy from 100’s of different retailers.
