Hello! I have been on the fence about getting a printer for years. Now my wife is getting interested too, and I feel that now it’s the time.
What are the recommendations nowadays? I am trying to steer clear of Bambi Labs due to their controversies (I’m also a supporter of open source software).
I’ve seen a few mentions of Prusa in this community. Would that be a good start? I don’t want to get in at an extremely basic level and then need to upgrade in half a year.
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Hi and welcome! Do you have a budget and a rough idea of the kinds of things you’d be looking to print?
Naively, I’d second the core one recommendation, assuming that the price tag isn’t a problem and that you aren’t looking to print multi-color (it’s still possible on that machine, just not something that comes stock).
I think that multi colour isn’t a huge deal.
Initially I’d be printing things like organisers.
My wife wants to build interesting art. Like eye ball phone holders or other fun stuff.
Prusa is a good choice if you are willing to spend the money. My Mk3s has been and will always be a tank to print with. These days the Core 1 is what you want from them. But multicolor printing is going to cost a noticeable amount more. If you set on multicolor prints, this is a hang up for many.
If you decide you can’t/won’t spend Prusa money, then maybe look a Qidi. A bit rougher around the edges, but seems to have decent hardware. They really lean into being able to print high temperature engineering filaments. My next printer will be the Q2 as soon as management, (Grandma), OKs the funds. I probably won’t get their AMS because I already have a Bambu A1 mini with AMS lite. But Qidi has their own version of AMS that won’t set you back as much as Prusa will.
Not that it matters too much, but Prusa runs on Marlin firmware and Qidi runs on klipper. Marlin is more beginner-friendly, but klipper is a lot more adaptable and changeable in the hands of someone that knows what they want. While still being very approachable to beginners.
Qidi is a new name for me, I’ll put that on the list too. Lots of people are recommending the Core 1. 🤔
I have a Qidi XMax 3 and that machine has been extremely dependable. It’s the first one I’ve ever had where I start a print and walk away.
X-Max 3 gang! I have one of those too. I’m only mildly annoyed that they didn’t extend support for their filament changer to it, but that didn’t exist at the time I bought mine so it’s not like I was expecting in-machine multimaterial support anyhow.
Repairs so far: I had to replace the heat bed in mine when the thermistor in it failed, and that is not a separately removable part. I also had to replace the larger of the two fans in the print head, the latter of which was like $2 from China. The heat bed was a little more expensive, a hair over $100 as I recall. I’m not too broken up about it — I do a lot of printing with my machine, even moreso now that I’m using it for my dinkum hobby business. (I still have the old heat bed, and it still heats. Some day I may come up with some silly project to use it for, perhaps with an outboard temperature monitor stuck to the bottom of it.)
I had an OG X-Plus before that which was also quite dependable and needed nothing during my ownership other than replacing worn out nozzles. I gave it to a friend of mine and it’s still running strong.
Unless you have lots of technical skills and patience i wouldn’t recommend it especially not for a first printer… but something worth considering down the road for the open source aspect would be a voron.
The Voron team has designed a few different printer variations and released the bill of materials and software documentation for you to source all the parts needed to build a printer from the ground up. Companies on Ali express sell kits to make it a little easier and cheaper but again, you are building it from the ground up.
If that sounds interesting I would still highly recommend starting with something a little cheaper like the elegoo CC (1 or 2) to get used to printing and see how much you like it.
Whatever you decide is right for you though I hope you and your wife really enjoy the hobby!
I can recommend the Flashforge AD5X. I use it in “offline” mode with Orca Slicer, instead of using Orca-Flashforge and going through their cloud.
Anyway, easy to use, can print with 4 colors loaded, automatic bed levelling. Can do all sorts of filament types. Pretty satisfied with it. Was not an expensive device, which is greating for dipping your toes.
I have an Elegoo Centauri Carbon (1) and it’s an absolute delight. They’re coming out with an add-on for multicolour and it’s bananas cheap.
Stay away from Creality 😡
