I’ve been wanting to get a 3d printer for a while and now I’m starting to finally look at getting one. It seems like in general though finding clear reviews and knowledge on printers is much harder than other things but maybe that’s because I’m not in the hobby yet. Bambu is a no from me but I’m open to other options. I was kinda looking at he centauri carbon but I’ve heard it’s pretty loud and I live in a small apartment. The Prusa Core One seems like a decent option but it’s all quite expensive so I don’t wanna save up for that unless it really is the best option and there’s nothing reasonable cheaper. What’s everyone’s thoughts? Absolute max budget is $1k but I would strongly prefer to spend something ~$500 or less
I’ve got the Centauri Carbon and really like it. It is fairly noisy, but we’re in a small studio apartment and it’s been pretty easy to tune out during the day (Overnight prints are annoying though)
Have you tried any mods like a different fan or 3d prints to reduce noise? Curious if those affect the sound
I’ve considered it but it hasn’t bugged me enough. Probably going to try them out here pretty soon
I’ve got an Anycubic S1
It’s half open. It doesn’t run Klipper but you can install it if you want. It has cloud features but you don’t have to use them. It comes with a proprietary Orca fork but you can run regular Orca or whatever slicer you want.
If you can wait, I’d get a Snapmaker U1.
I’ve heard snapmaker as a brand has been unreliable is that something I could solve with klipper? Otherwise the Anycubic is also a cheaper option between the two it seems
Given the speed and complete change in designs from year to year I don’t think there is any correlation between brands and reliability.
There are many complaints about the expensive Bambu H2D whereas everyone says the P1s is perfect.
I expect the Snapmaker to have problems given its complexity. But 4 print heads for $800 is worth some hassle.
I ended up going with the Flashforge Adventurer 5M for ~$175 https://slickdeals.net/f/18590524-flashforge-adventurer-5m-wi-fi-3d-printer-w-auto-leveling-167-20-free-shipping (You can get 20-60% back from certain cashback websites like TopCashback or Capital One Shopping if you are comfortable with using them.)
You can 3D print an enclosure for the 5M after purchasing an enclosure kit for ~$40 online.
There’s also the 5M Pro model for ~$100 more that comes pre-built with an enclosure for sound dampening and printing with materials like ABS. It also comes with a camera and an extra nozzle. I didn’t go for it cause of the higher upfront cost, plus I don’t expect to print outside of PLA and PETG.
I bought my printer used, it only cost me 50€. Although I had to replace a bearing in the extruder.
Depending on the offers in your area that might be an option. Or I just got very lucky who knows…
Where’d you find it?
Germany’s Craigslist equivalent.
Sometimes you have to be patient for the good deals to show up. And usually there is no shipping. So some hidden cost in transportation and time may exist.
Avoid Elegoo like the plague. Horrible customer service. Literal months of fighting, explaining the problem over and over, and four escalations before the ticket was just closed.
We got an Anycubic Kobra S1 to replace the Elehoo junk and its been fantastic so far. They also have a 4.0 vs. Elegoo’s 2.3 on Trustpilot.
So I had a creality K1 and it was rock solid. I saved up after and just bought a Prusa Core One which I love. Now the K1 was great I got it when it came out on sale at microcenter for 300$ so if you can find it around that price or lower in my experience you can’t go wrong. I only printed PLA on it so I can’t say how other filaments print on it but pla it just worked.
