this post was submitted on 11 Sep 2025
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3DPrinting

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Need some printer recommendations (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 3 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by neidu3@sh.itjust.works to c/3dprinting@lemmy.world
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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.

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[–] daannii@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Really like my Bambu A1. I started with an ender. Unlike the Ender, Bambu just works. Some people don't like that you can't use other slicers with it, but the Bambu studio slicer is pretty great imo. Their makerworld.com website is a great place to get models. They have high incentives for creators so there is always new high quality stuff being posted.

Also their replacement parts are inexpensive from them directly. And they literally sell every single part. So you can replace any thing you need to. But you likely wont need to replace anything for a while.

They also have sensors on the printers for tons of features. Oh and their printers are designed to be ran through wifi. So no more packing cards back and forth between printer and computer.

Watch some YouTube reviews videos. You will be impressed.

Also when you print at 0.2 layer hight on a Bambu. The print quality looks better than 0.16 on other printers.

No lie.

I recommend Bambu to anyone.

[–] sbeak@sopuli.xyz 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I have a Bambu A1 too, and it prints great. However, in hindsight, I would not recommend Bambu's printers. I don't like that they're locking down on their software ecosystem. It's not just third-party slicers, but they also broke third-party accessories like the Panda Touch display which isn't very nice at all. I use OrcaSlicer, so I have to set my printer in LAN only mode with the firmware still on v4.0.0.0. If you have the newer firmware, you have to toggle the "developer mode" which for some reason is different to the LAN only mode. I use Tailscale to access my LAN only A1 remotely. LAN only mode also means I can't use their mobile app, which I think is a silly restriction for the sake of it.

Third-party slicers and accessories are only the beginning. I'm almost certain that in the future they will make it required that you use Bambu's own filament, they already have the RFID tags in there so all it takes is a firmware update. Who knows, maybe they'll implement more restrictions similar to Apple like pairing parts to the printer and blocking things like third-party nozzles. I really hope they don't do that, but it looks increasingly more likely...hopefully Bambu doesn't become the HP/Apple of 3D printers.

For now, I would stay away from Bambu and go with other options (see Elegoo's Centauri Carbon/non-Carbon, the Creality K2 Plus, Qidi's Q2 and 4 Plus, Sovol's SV06 ACE, and of course Prusa...)

[–] daannii@lemmy.world 0 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

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.

[–] sbeak@sopuli.xyz 1 points 6 hours ago

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.