So I’ve decided to get “back” into 3d printing. I was getting into it in 2012 and I started assembling a kit, but then life happened and I never had enough time or room to complete it.
However, now I’m in a much better place (both literally and figuratively), so I’ve decided to dive back in. However, last time around it seemed that almost everything was some variant of Prusa, and I think I want to go in a less DYI direction this time.
- Once calibrated, doesn’t need much fidgeting or maintenance.
- More or less prefabricated. Some assembly is fine, but I don’t want to sit there an dremmel a hobbled bolt again, or build a power supply.
- I prefer one of those enclosed printers, as it will be in a location with minimal climate control.
- Must not rely on any software that does not run on linux
- I’m not too worried about printing speed. Print quality matters more to me.
- Preferably one that is fixable if it breaks.
- Single filament is fine.
- Don’t need wifi
Any suggestions?
Oh, and I still have a spool of ABS around here somewhere… Is this still a reasonable material choice? Any other materials worth considering if I prefer the prints to be durable and not brittle?
This is where I could list a budget or preferred price range, but purchasing power parity and exchange rates probably complicates this, so let’s just say “reasonably priced”
UPDATE: I ordered a Prusa Core One. I went for the kit, as I will hopefully better understand how I can fix it later after assembly. I threw in a spool of PETG as well, as I’m curious about the material.
Most people don’t want to use a 3rd party slicer or switch out the screen.
The Bambu studio slicer and screens that come with the printers both work well.
I really doubt they try to restrict filament brands. No one does that.
Their brand nozzles are the same price as 3rd party ones.
And personally I’ve used both and the Bambu brand ones are better. They are also designed to break instead of destroying the entire print head if there is some big obstruction.
Most people don’t want to tinker with their printers constantly to get them to work.
Or install 3rd party firmware.
They just want the printers to work. Bambu just works.
So many hours have I wasted trying to fix hardware problems on my ender 3 v3. Or tweak settings in the slicer that never fixed the issues.
So much time spent on reddit and YouTube, troubleshooting.
The Bambu just works. It always just works.
If I want to tinker with something, I’ll unpack my ender I’ve put away. But I don’t see that happening.
Sounds like you are someone who wants to tinker with the printer. In your case , no, a Bambu probably isn’t the right choice.
But for 90% of people looking to get into 3d printing, bambu is the right choice.
Most people lack mechanical skills or knowledge and get frustrated with sub par printers and don’t stay with the hobby.
Bambu allows more people to get into the hobby. Which means more unique filaments because there is a market for it. More creators. Because there is a market for it.
It’s a win win for everyone.
You see here, blocking third party accessories people bought with their own money and blocking third-party software that many people use (not everyone, but certainly many) is not very nice. I’m not saying Bambu should stop making their printers user-friendly, or that Bambu should stop making printers altogether. What I’m saying is that you don’t need to actively block third party software and accessories to make a 3D printer easy to use. Offering good first-party software is great, but that doesn’t mean you need to block all the third-party options altogether. The two can coexist. The first-party option for those who don’t want to tinker, and third-party options remain available for those who prefer it. Don’t think OrcaSlicer, the Panda Touch display, or OctoPrint is going to break the printer, esp. for OrcaSlicer being a fork of Bambu Studio.
I really hope they don’t restrict filament, but at the rate they’re going, they might just do that. HP did it with 2D printers and ink, and Bambu’s already halfway there with the RFID tags, so it’s a matter of a firmware update to stop the printers from working with third-party filaments.