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Ask HN: What's a good 3D Printer for sub $1000?

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Re: Ask HN: What's a good 3D Printer for sub $1000?

#141

Post by wpm »

dangus wrote: post #112
chakintosh wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you don't care about business practices and general privacy concerns, Bambu. While I agree, I think it's heavily underselling Bambulab printers in terms of UX and print quality, they are the absolute best in the market and by a mile.

Also, if you aren't Internet-addicted none of the supposed business practices/privacy concerns amount to anything tangible.

The only thing I need the internet for to be disgusted by Bambulabs' practices is to learn about their practices in the first place.

Re: Ask HN: What's a good 3D Printer for sub $1000?

#142

Post by wpm »

stavros wrote: post #102
timw4mail wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of these options, I'd recommend the SV08, provided you are okay with some mods essentially being required for consistent, reliable use. These being: - Eddy sensor (for faster bed meshing, eddy-ng addon for Klipper adds auto z-offset) - Mainline Klipper/Kalico (required for eddy functionality) - Some motherboard fan replacement mod (the default is tiny, noisy, and always-on) Of the others listed: - Bambu printers and…

This is if you like tinkering with printers. I gave away my Wanhao and bought a Bambu, and I haven't thought about the printer since. Now I just print.

These are upgrades, not tinkering. None of them are necessary, just QoL. The Eddy sensor is better than anything Bambu's "AI" cameras can do as far as leveling.

You can buy upgrades for your Bambu too.

Re: Ask HN: What's a good 3D Printer for sub $1000?

#143

Post by whatevaa »

deno wrote: post #127
pests wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The 3D printing community is really two different groups: people who like to actually print things and people who like to tinker with their printer.

I hate this false dichotomy. Plenty of people like both. People that buy expensive consumer grade printers are just satisfied with mediocre results because they don’t know any better. To get great quality prints you need to actually know how the tool you are using works and what are its strengths and weaknesses.

Or the expensjve consumer grade improves to a point where you can get quality prints too, and you just become the old man yelling at clouds.

Re: Ask HN: What's a good 3D Printer for sub $1000?

#144

Post by wpm »

jasongill wrote: post #110
thot_experiment wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To all the people in the comments popping off about how "it just works". I have a Makerbot 2 running Sailfish, it's "just worked" for 12 years. I haven't replaced a single part on it. Ever since I started using the Prusa Slicer I've got dimensionally accurate parts every time I hit print. At least from my PoV "the printer just working" is a solved problem and has been for a long time now. PLA, PETG, PCTG, TPU. No iss…

Yes, but you said it yourself - you had to replace the firmware with one that lets you run faster than the original, and you're using a different slicer. With Bambu Labs printers, you just plug them in, turn them on, and feed them filament and your files. They work so well that you don't have to think about firmware or anything else. I got my first 3D printer around a dozen years ago as well, and the comparison to th…

> and you're using a different slicer.

yeah, Prusa Slicer....who do you think Bambu labs got theirs from? All of the major slicers are forks of Slic3r. Hardly a "oh wow this is such a pain in the butt" change.

> no flashing firmware

BambuLabs have firmware, and they have updates too. Or are you complaining about, what, having to take an SD card out and drop a file on it?

Re: Ask HN: What's a good 3D Printer for sub $1000?

#145

Post by stavros »

wpm wrote: post #142
stavros wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is if you like tinkering with printers. I gave away my Wanhao and bought a Bambu, and I haven't thought about the printer since. Now I just print.

These are upgrades, not tinkering. None of them are necessary, just QoL. The Eddy sensor is better than anything Bambu's "AI" cameras can do as far as leveling. You can buy upgrades for your Bambu too.

Yes, but with Bambu I don't need to. Their 5x5 leveling works perfectly, though I will admit that eddy leveling is super cool. I bought a sensor but didn't use Kipper and couldn't use the sensor with Marlin, and I got a Bambu before I switched to Klipper, so I gave the sensor away.

Re: Ask HN: What's a good 3D Printer for sub $1000?

#146

Post by mbreese »

Sohcahtoa82 wrote: post #133
skhameneh wrote: post #8

If you don't care about business practices and general privacy concerns, Bambu. If you want a large printer that's decent for tinkering, Sovol SV08. If you want relatively good support and to support a company that has a history of giving back, Prusa. If you want something cheap with a lot of features that tend to be more high end, Elegoo Centuri Carbon. If you just want something cheap that's arguably incredible val…

I wouldn't recommend a Creality to someone new to 3D printing. They can be a pain to work with. They're CHEAP, and there's plenty of aftermarket support, but that ends up turning the printer into a product for someone who sees the printer itself being a hobby, rather than the printer being merely an appliance that produces things. Buying a Creality printer is like buying a hobby-grade RC car (ie, Traxxas, Team Associ…

I agree. I have a Creality Ender 3 V2. I wanted something cheap that I wasn’t going to worry about if it became a paperweight (due to lack of use). As I worked more with it, I upgraded it a ton, putting about as much money into it as it cost (which wasn’t much). In the end, it’s a decent printer for what I want to do with it.

I added:

* Bed leveler

* Flexible build surface

* direct drive extruder

* second z axis screw drive

* octopi

Everything except for the octopi was a Creality kit. So it’s not like they don’t know their market is looking to tinker and do upgrades themselves.

If you want to make things because the end product is the goal, get something fancier. If you want to know how and why it works, spending a bit more time on the journey part (which might be frustrating), the Creality might be a good fit. It’s not going to have the same user-experience as a Bamboo or Prusa, but for me, that’s okay.

Re: Ask HN: What's a good 3D Printer for sub $1000?

#147

Post by whatevaa »

amelius wrote: post #90
jhawk28 wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are most tired of investing in R&D in the open and then having some company do a patent in their country. The company then sues them for infringement.

That's sad. But how does that affect me as a potential customer?

You no longer get OSS offering.

Re: Ask HN: What's a good 3D Printer for sub $1000?

#148

Post by bb88 »

malfist wrote: post #132
antirez wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What bambulab printers that have the "A1" series nozzle, replacing one is a matter of 3 seconds, just by naked hands. 10x times faster than in the Prusa world (Nextruder included). Being this the single most important thing a printer need from the POV of servicing, this is a huge difference.

How often are you changing nozzles? I can't think I've ever done it except for swapping out the manufacturer supplied brass with a hardened steel after or arrives

I'm not changing out nozzles daily, but I do sometimes make small parts that need the .2mm nozzle. Not for gaming or miniatures, but typically mechanical interfaces where the .2mm nozzle gives a better result.

But then for most stuff I use a .6mm high flow nozzle.

Re: Ask HN: What's a good 3D Printer for sub $1000?

#149

Post by jasongill »

wpm wrote: post #144
jasongill wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, but you said it yourself - you had to replace the firmware with one that lets you run faster than the original, and you're using a different slicer. With Bambu Labs printers, you just plug them in, turn them on, and feed them filament and your files. They work so well that you don't have to think about firmware or anything else. I got my first 3D printer around a dozen years ago as well, and the comparison to th…

> and you're using a different slicer. yeah, Prusa Slicer....who do you think Bambu labs got theirs from? All of the major slicers are forks of Slic3r. Hardly a "oh wow this is such a pain in the butt" change. > no flashing firmware BambuLabs have firmware, and they have updates too. Or are you complaining about, what, having to take an SD card out and drop a file on it?

I wasn't complaining, I was noting that the commenter was not comparing apples to oranges. They are using a 3rd party slicer (not the one that came with their printer, which is the old Makerbot Desktop) and an alternative firmware, but claiming that their printer was just as easy to use as a Bambu Labs product.

It's like trying to compare installing Gentoo on an old Lenovo and a Macbook Pro - yes, they both work fine, but the amount of work that one might have to do to get one of them to work reliably is much different than the other. Once you get them working, sure, they are reliable, but obviously most people would rather not have to flash an alternative firmware, etc.

Re: Ask HN: What's a good 3D Printer for sub $1000?

#150

Post by jasongill »

thot_experiment wrote: post #119
jasongill wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, but you said it yourself - you had to replace the firmware with one that lets you run faster than the original, and you're using a different slicer. With Bambu Labs printers, you just plug them in, turn them on, and feed them filament and your files. They work so well that you don't have to think about firmware or anything else. I got my first 3D printer around a dozen years ago as well, and the comparison to th…

Sure but the last tweaking I did on this printer was years and years ago, and it's been "just working" ever since. I haven't fiddled with anything, I haven't even leveled the bed, I don't use hairspray. I don't think you can even find the firmware I flashed onto it in 2014 anymore because of link rot. It's just a solid printer that makes the part I want every time I hit print. I use it all the time for mechanical par…

> I don't think you can even find the firmware I flashed onto it in 2014 anymore because of link rot

This is exactly what I am talking about - you claim to have a reliable and easy to use solution, but it's not a solution that someone who wanted to print dragons for their grandkids could use. Bambu Labs is (and Prusa's current offerings, to some extent, are as well, although that is up for debate as you can imagine).

It sounds like your issue is not with Bambu Lab's products, but with their business practices, and I share your concerns there - but it still doesn't mean that "my old printer I've spent a lot of time getting to work the way I want it do" is a viable alternative to "I can buy it at BestBuy, plug it in, and hit print"

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