Hey guys, I’ve got little to no knowledge on 3D printing and even less experience, so go easy on me. I will most likely be using words I don’t understand.
I live in a hot and humid country in the EU, and given my circumstances and the aforementioned lack of knowledge, I’m considering a closed enclosure model from the company everyone hates because it’s cheap, available, and famed for its ease of use.
I’m no stranger to tinkering with everything, but I do want to get started with something that’s just plug and play (or close enough to it). And even after I jailbreak it (which I assume is possible?), I really don’t want the tinkering to be part of the hobby itself.
My questions are: Size: Would I regret getting a 256x256x256 mm^3 sized one? Most prints I’ve seen fit easily, but there are a few that require more space.
Filaments: Where to buy, how to store, are all of them compatible with extruder-type printers? How do I check?
Accessories: I’ve seen nozzles and accessory packs being sold but I have no idea what they’re for. Can I print upgrades? Also what the heck does the Combo printer add-on do?
Alternatives: I’m not married to the P2S. Feel free to suggest alternatives. Thanks!
I have a Bambu Lab printer, but I would not recommend them to newbies anymore. They did a software update to block third party software (like OrcaSlicer, which I was using…), hardware accessories became paperweights, and they are trying of take down a small fork of OrcaSlicer (despite their Bambu Studio software being a fork of a fork too)
You also just have much, much better options nowadays. The Elegoo Centauri Carbon is WAY better value than the A1 I have (CoreXY, enclosed, not actively attacking tiny FOSS projects…), and the Prusa Core One is more reliable, repairable, and generally more awesome to the FOSS community than the pricier Bambu Lab machines (+ the INDX upgrade for multi-toolhead functionality!)
edit: If you want multi-toolhead specifically, the Snapmaker U1 might be a better option (cheaper than both Bambu and Prusa too, and their software is a fork of OrcaSlicer!)
You can run Orca with your Bambu printer if you want. There is an open source plugin now to allow it. They also run fine in Developer Mode for LAN only use. But I don’t care about the phone app at all.
But that is simply stupid! Most other 3D printer brands do not needlessly restrict the hardware you purchased. This is the same story as Google restricting third-party app stores because they want a stronger software monopoly on Android! And non-Bambu printers are very good nowadays, exceeding Bambu in value (see Elegoo Centauri Carbon offering an enclosure, CoreXY, etc. for about the same price as the non-enclosed, bedslinger Bambu A1 I am stuck with) and reliability (Prusa is the gold standard obviously, but even other brands have gotten very good!)
Also, Bambu attacking tiny open source devs is simply not cool. I would rather not give my money to a company that does that when there are good alternatives >:/
No one says you have to. It’s your choice and money and spend it as you see fit. But don’t think that you ideas are the only way.
what
I have an Elegoo CC2 it is plug and play even with the newly released custom firmware, it just acts like a bambu but works with slicers has ssh support out of the box (kinda) and prints really good.
Hell yeah! The Elegoo Centauri Carbon (and 2) are awesome! It’s super nice to see convenient 3D printing becoming more accessible to everyone!
It is a beast compared to my frankenstein klipperized anet a8 xD
From what I’ve heard, the INDX addon for the Core One has an extremely high failure rate compared to the Snapmaker U1. I was told by people very close to the project that it’s somewhere on the order of 80% because it uses a single actuator for everything, including retraction.
Oh, I didn’t know that! The Snapmaker U1 is looking pretty good then if you want multi toolhead