r/3DPrinterComparison

Hi all, first time posting here. I am considering buying a 3d printer. I have no experience at all around 3d printing and I need some help. The 3d printer I’m considering is Bambu Lab P2S. I read around that it’s a solid choice especially compared to Creality ones. Is this true? I have a car workshop and I am a car electrician, that’s where I’m planning on using the 3d printer. More specifically sometimes I need to “make” some discontinued parts for cars, such as air vents, window switch holders, hinges, latches, elastic plastic connectors, some custom brackets and wall mounts for various things etc.. Will a 3D printer be useful for me in general? Is Bambu Lab P2S a good choice for my occasion? I want a 3D printer that’s reliable and a user friendly program to start my journey. Thanks in advance!

Hi guys.

Two months ago I bought a printer from a reseller (I am restricted to buying from an Italian reseller) that hasn't arrived; I had chosen a BL P2S, later converted to an X2D, but even that one doesn't seem to be arriving. So I am facing a decision: whether to wait longer for the X2D or consider something else.

I was looking at the Prusa Core One+. I really like the open system concept, but:

• compared to the X2D, I would have to pay an additional balance and would need to buy a separate dryer, an extraction fan for technical materials, and even a webcam (all things that the X2D has by default);
• as much as the idea of assembling it fascinates me, I also fear that it might require a lot of subsequent tuning (I've read some not-so-positive reviews about the kit version);
• it is single-color and the INDX system costs as much as the printer itself;

I had also seen the Snapmaker U1. The tool changer idea is very cool; in the case of multi-color prints, waste is zero, but in some reviews, someone defined it more as a printer to pass the time with than for doing something serious.

What do you think?

Hi guys!

I'm having a hard time choosing what I want.

I love open source, I like tinkering with the machine, but sometimes I need a part to be printed. I like when something is future proof.

Right now I have 12pc Prusa Miniis and 3pc Mk3s printers, and 3pc Bambu Lab A1 Mini printers (I already sold 14 of them). I bought all them used. I repaired them, each of them is working properly.

I'm not a shop nor a printfarm, I'm a uni student (my major is electrical engineering).

Recently I realized I don't use out the potencial of them. But they are my passion...

The problem is it's a hassle when I want to print Abs, Asa or Nylon I need to put them to a tent. It makes it, but sometimes the only thing that is missing is the heated chamber. Even if I use glue it bends the plate. Sometimes (very rarely) I need to cut the parts in the slicer (when it's not designed by myself), because they are too big.

I was thinking on a few routes. I have 1200 euros for a new printer.

I have the money to buy a Prusa Core One + kit right from the Prusa shop. I could control almost all of them via Prusa Connect. At this point I would keep all the Prusas and sell all the Bambu Labs. Like this, it would be a small printfarm, and maybe in the future it could function as one also. But my concerns are, even if I pay the prusa "tax" for future proofing, the upgrades are also pricey in the future. And one more thing, Prusa locked the usable framerate for monitoring under paid subscriptions, what?! The once fully open source now put features under paid walls. What will be the next? (This is also a question from other brands... becauseif they can make why others can't?)

The second option would be to sell all the Prusas and buy a Bambu Lab machine. It works out of the box, makes great prints. I didn't used any Bambu Labs other than the A1 Minis. They are user repairable but not serviceable. They are the machines what you use and if it doesn't work you throw them away. They are not future proof. But for the price, I don't know... In this case I would sell all my Prusas and keep the Bambus.

Right now for my projects somehow I better love the Prusas but it's very rare when I use all at the same time. They just pull me back in. Somehow I have a more flawless experience with them. The A1 minis work well with pla but I sometimes need more. Right now the X2D is on a very good price. But In Aurora tech channel, she mentioned that the side panels bended a bit when the chamber heater was on. Bambu Lab is on the market for years now. But you can find still this day that the A1 (not the mini) melts it's own case... what if it makes a fire?!. I don't know, I can't trust them for a 100%.

Third; a guy recently put up a voron 2.4 350 on Facebook marketplace for a bit less then 700 euros. This machine checks almost everything what I need. A big, open source printer, user serviceable, but it's not plug&play. Back in the days when I had an Anet A8 like Zonestar printer this was my dream. When the ender clones came I couldn't justify the cost besides my anycubic mega 2.0... I tuned them, fixed them, but they never been trusted.

Lastly there is also Qidi. Chamber heater, good for technical filaments, open source software, but not hardware. What if it breaks down in five years? They don't have as much support. The problem that i have with them (also Creality, Anycubic etc...) they abandon their machines in a few years. If now I buy a machine I want it to be serviceable after 5 years also...

​I’m trying to be rational, but I’m stuck. Given my background in EE and my current collection, what would you do?

​(Btw, this is my first Reddit post, so be gentle! 😉)

Thank you for your advice!

Watching reviews online can be frustrating. I've seen reviews for both, both more or less positive, although I've seen people saying that you'll need to make sure the filament is dry as it's exposed on the side of the CC2. Also seem bamboo is more "plug in and print" compared to the CC2.

I'm a complete beginner looking to make wargaming terrain, nice statues and the occasional toy or trinket for daughter, so id probably say 1/20 prints will be colour prints. I'm looking for ease of use a d the best quality £500 can get me. The CC2 is slightly less expensive than the bamboo, but I can manage the extra.

So for users of both machines, where do I go? Or is there another machine to consider?

Thanks in advance.

I’m going to get the P1s. Didn’t have good luck with the P2s when it first came out.
So I’m 3.5 hours one way from Micro center.
Their 2 year warranty is $79
Amazon has Asurion 4 year warranty for $63.99

Pros and cons? Anyone used asurion with Amazon? Reviews say they’ll “fix it” or for you Amazon gift card credit… I’ve used and had experience with micro centers warranty I love the bring it back before the warranty is up get store credit and upgrade!

I have a few questions...

1)been looking into getting my first 3d printer. The printers I'm most interested in due to a few different factors are the elegoo centauri carbon, Creality k1c, the elegoo Neptune 4 plus, and the Creality ender 3v3 plus... What ik wanting to know is would you choose the enclosed centauri carbon or the Creality k1c or the large print size of the Neptune 4 plus or 3v3 plus as a first printer? Is it more worth it to be able to print high temp filiments like nylon cf, pla+cf, and asa, or is the larger print size worth investing in instead? Id like to be able to have both options in one for around this price range but obviously that isn't going to happen, so which should I choose? I'm looking to print my own 2a parts and flat bending jigs and other random things from wire holders for soldering, steering knobs, phone stands, containers, etc. and am leaning towards the elegoo centauri carbon just because the price, and capability of printing cf and asa but I'd like to hear as many opinions on what other would choose as there first printer if they had to choose out of these four so I can make a decision.

2. I'm a 2a advocate. All(or at least nearly all) files to print anything 2a related are all made to print with PLA filament. How hard would it be to change the file from PLA parameters and specs to being able to use cf or asa and the prints still come out to the same specs as the original file that was made to use PLA?

3. if I do wind up buying one of the enclosed printers instead of a large print size printer. Would I need to set any prints made from the high temp materials (nylon cf, PLA+CF, asa)into a oven or kiln or something to anneal them to give them more strength?

4. can any of these 4 printers still operate if the wifi chip is damaged? I'm looking at one someone has for sale and they were saying something about them removing the wifi chip in the printer they had so I'm wondering if they would still operate without the wifi chip or not. Plus call me paranoid but anything that has a wi-fi camera can be easily viewed by any Tom, Dick, or Harry, and I like my personal privacy, whether the camera is only able to view what's being printed or not, so Id like to make it so that whichever printer I get doesn't have the ability to hook up to wifi anymore, so I'd appreciate if someone could tell me if I could remove the wifi chip in any of these and for it to still be useable to print with.

5. I know it's way outdated but... I have an HP Elitebook 8570p with an i7 3740qm processor, 8gb ram and a 256gb SSD. If I'm able to upgrade the ram to 16gb would this be sufficient enough to create my own models to print or to modify models that are already created, Or would I need a better processor and a larger hard drive as well?

6)Anyone use a Microsoft surface pro 4 to create models and use with there printer, and is it a worthy tablet to do such things or what would be recommended that isnt to expensive. I hate apple so please no apple product recommendations.

7. when will they have a printer with a touch screen display that you can create your own designs with that's attached to the printer? That seems like it would be a must to have the ability to create the model and print it all in one device.

Please let me know if you have any answers to any or all my questions. Thank you