I’m thinking of entering this world for the first time, and I was wondering if there are any models that you feel you would particularly recommend, thanks to anyone who would like to share their experience!
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A1 bambu
I originally had a enderr 3 v3
I will say I learned how to replace virtually every part and how to make custom parts to fix design flaws
But no. I would not recommend it.
I got the A1 bambu. It just works.
You can also use it with AMS. Which is a 4 color multicolor system (optional).
Has wifi. No need to deal with getting cards and card readers and all that. There is also an app that you can monitor your print from. With video.
If you are printing a bunch of parts and one messes up, you can cancel that specific part and the rest of the print will continue.
This kind of thing is really awesome actually.
The slicer software is user friendly. (The software you use to prepare the print file,).
It has this whole thing where you can create projects with multiple plates. Didn’t know how awesome this was until I started using it. It’s so convenient.
The replacement parts are cheap. So far I haven’t needed any but I bought a few nozzles and a fan when I ordered mine just in case. Since I figured all printers were like my ender and needed things replaced regularly.
Honestly can’t say enough good things.
If you broke. The A1 mini is about $200.
It’s just as good as the A1. Same features just smaller print bed.
I bought one for my nephew and niece. They are kids and have learned how to use it.
No way could they use the ender without my help on every print.
Cause it seems to always have some problem.
Here is how you can verify what I have said. Go to reddit r/ender3v3 and r/bambulab
See which one has constant posts about big problems.
The slicer software is the same as Prusa/Orca Slicer. (It’s a fork of Prusa and Orca is a fork of Bambu slicer) You can use either and get all the same slicer features for any 3D printer. In short, don’t choose a 3D printer for it’s bundled slicer since almost any slicer can be used for almost any 3D printer.
Bambulab slicer is based on prusa but has more features like the plate one I mentioned. I also think it’s more user friendly.
I do agree. Printer should be choose based on other factors but the slicer is just the cherry.
Bambu printers are excellent.
They are especially great for newbies. They just work. No tinkering. No replacing parts every few months.
They also print faster and at a higher quality.
Can you share more about how much you are willing to spend, what you want to do with the printer (print parts for outdoor use or fidget toys or minifigures etc.) and where you are located? That way it is possible to make a recommendation more specific to your needs and situation
I don’t have any particular needs at the moment, other than that it be a printer that I can keep in my room and that it not be noisy; I would certainly prefer to avoid closed apple-style hardware systems. I live in Europe.
If you are willing to spend the money, I would recommend getting a Prusa. They are pretty good with keeping their system open (although not everything is open source, you can read about it here), their printers print well and their support is very good, which is nice, especially as a beginner. I would recommend buying a kit and building the printer yourself if possible, it’s a lot of fun imo and also helps if you need to troubleshoot something later because you already know how the printer works.
The Core One is their newest model, it’s a bit faster than the MK4S and fully enclosed, so its easier to print more technical materials on it. It has a bit of a wait time on the order tho and still needs some firmware patches to be as reliable as the MK4S and it has no support for multi material printing yet. I think it will probably be quieter than the MK4S if/when it gets a phase stepping update and you can easily put a filter on it if you want to print some of the more nasty materials.
The MK4S is also still a good option imo if you plan to mostly stick to using PLA and PETG.
I don’t think the Mini is worth it at the moment unless you can get one used, and the XL is massive overkill if you are just starting.
If you don’t want to spend as much, Sovol is one of the better Chinese manufacturers when it comes to respecting open source and not having shitty apps full of ads afaik, but I don’t have any personal experience with them.
Bambu printers work great, but if you want to avoid a closed system I would not recommend them.
Aurora Tech is a good source for detailed printer reviews on Youtube, in addition to the channels mentioned by Derek.
Edit: Formatting and typos
