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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?

#71

Post by Mogzol »

drnick1 wrote: post #44
skhameneh wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also given what you've said about privacy, that probably eliminates Bambu and possibly the Centuri Carbon (not sure). The SV08 can be ran offline, but it does try to phone home (3rd party) whenever it's online. Prusa might be your best bet of these when it comes to privacy. Prusa is by far the most "open" probably with the SV08 second because it uses so much from the open source community (it's Voron inspired). If yo…

It's incredibly frustrating that the majority of devices today report usage to the mothership without the user's consent. Does firewalling the device cause any issues? A printer (of any kind) should not reach the open Internet, period.

All of these printers can be run completely offline, although then you obviously lose any network-related features such as sending prints over the network. I know that at least the Bambu printers (and I assume most others) can also be run in LAN-only mode, where they only work with devices on the same network. In this mode you could definitely firewall them without causing issues. The main features you lose by being in LAN-only mode are the phone app and being able to access the printer from off your network.

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

#72

Post by OJFord »

multjoy wrote: post #68
OJFord wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I do not need to print multi material models. I would prefer something that doesn't phone home and can work offline. Opensource firmware/software and repairability are important. And your suggestion is Bambu with AMS?

Does OP want to print, or do they want to tinker? Bambu make excellent machines. There is nothing comparable out of the box, especially at their price points.

OP stated the requirements I quoted above, AMS definitely doesn't make sense, and I don't think Bambu makes sense either.

Before Bambu, Prusa was the 'no tinker just print' brand, though I haven't used one I agree Bambu's taken the lead now, but I think given OP's desire for more openness and repairability etc. Prusa makes more sense.

Fwiw: I have a Prusa Mini, and I'd buy Bambu today, I'm continually tempted by an enclosed model with AMS. But I'm not OP, and I don't think that's right for them with their description.

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

#73

Post by rootusrootus »

I've had a number of different printers, and the one I like the most [by far] is the Bambu P1S. It doesn't hit your desire to avoid the cloud, but as a machine it is top notch quality, and very reliable. It requires far less babysitting and tweaking than something like a Creality. If you just want to print things and know that most of the time it Just Works, they are a great tool for that.

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

#74

Post by luqtas »

Mogzol wrote: post #71
drnick1 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's incredibly frustrating that the majority of devices today report usage to the mothership without the user's consent. Does firewalling the device cause any issues? A printer (of any kind) should not reach the open Internet, period.

All of these printers can be run completely offline, although then you obviously lose any network-related features such as sending prints over the network. I know that at least the Bambu printers (and I assume most others) can also be run in LAN-only mode, where they only work with devices on the same network. In this mode you could definitely firewall them without causing issues. The main features you lose by being…

can't you use something like this? https://octoprint.org/

i have no idea if it works with modern ones but my "old" Ender 3 plays nice with it

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

#75

Post by jamestimmins »

shocks wrote: post #55
jamestimmins wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is their bait and switch behavior? I'm not familiar with anything shady they've done but am very curious as I've had my eye on a Bambu.

They pushed a firmware update which blocked direct use of your printer without using their proprietary “Bambu Connect” application - because ‘security’.

Mind clarifying how that's bad? It sounds just like a driver or something similar.

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

#76

Post by chakintosh »

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…

> 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.

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

#77

Post by cosmic_cheese »

horsawlarway wrote: post #67
thot_experiment wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except this person cares about privacy and openness, and Bambu is an awful VC funded push everyone out by undercutting prices and then enshittify company.

I guess. Having just bought a Prusa Core One because of concerns about the direction Bambu is headed... I regret it. Hands down. It is absolutely worse from a practical standpoint than the much older X1C I have, and the absolutely maddening part is that the "worse" bits are mostly software related. You can hate on Bambu all you want (and frankly - a good chunk of it is well earned, but some is exaggerated or false) -…

The reality is that “just works” is going to outsell just about everything, including high ground on morals and privacy. If competitors want to keep up they’re going to have to offer models that don’t require any tinkering/tweaking even if doing so is possible, supported, and encouraged.

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

#78

Post by horsawlarway »

Two real paths:

---

Option #1:

Just buy the X1C. It's the best printer at your size range and price category (I own this, a Prusa Core One, and several creality machines).

Frankly - spend the extra 100 dollars and get the Combo with the AMS 2. Even if you don't want to do multi-color prints, it saves more than enough time switching filaments quickly to make it worth it if you're printing with any regularity.

This will let you use a 3d printer like it's a tool, and as someone who is printing CAD designed structural parts - it excels at just popping out decent parts, in all of the materials you want for structural parts.

Lock it into LAN mode. Despite claims to the contrary it's quite repairable (ex - I just replaced the hotbed on mine because a lightning strike damaged the torque sensors [side note - it fucking finished the print on resume when my power came back up - even without working torque sensors on the z axis]). Parts are available, they aren't outrageously priced, and the instructions are plenty clear.

Personally - I would strongly recommend this path. Understand what "good" looks like in the space before branching out into other requirements.

---

Option #2:

Build a Voron Kit. It's going to take you several days of full time assembly, It'll cost more for the same quality, it's going to have some maddening "dial it in" moments.

But you get a machine that you fully understand.

You'll need to be very comfortable with both hardware and software for the assembly. If you want anything like the remote control & monitoring of corporate printers, you'll need to be comfortable hosting your own services and exposing things on the public internet (ex: tailscale/wireguard or just plain public).

Personally - DO THIS! but don't do it first. First get an X1C and understand what good printing looks like.

---

Everything not a Voron probably isn't really "open" in the sense that you want. (Sure - you can flash a lot of machines. You still own that machine - it doesn't magically become higher quality, and most things run a Marlin/Klipper variant anyways)

Everything not a Bambu is a step backwards in print quality and ecosystem experience.

The middle sucks on all most fronts except price, but 1k is enough to get the better machines.

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

#80

Post by lucideng »

bluGill wrote: post #41
lucideng wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do repair and modernizing of cars/motorcycles/dirtbike/ATVs, that kind of stuff. Fuel injection conversions are something I specialize in. That is why I would like durable/resistant materials as an option. I won't be trying to earn with it intentionally, unless I stumble upon a niche. There are already more than a couple 3d printing services around here, no need to compete there. I can do what I need to do in CAD,…

How many parts are we talking? I sounds to me like you are the perfect candidate for send-cut-send or one of the many many other services that take your CAD and build parts. You get to choose from materials your printer couldn't do (not matter what you have something cannot be done)

Low volume stuff, single digits of parts, unless I find that niche, and i might outsource then. I'll keep the send-cut-send type stuff in mind. There are variations to certain parts that I'd like to iterate on, for example, intake runner lengths, diameters and shapes, various adapters/converters, panels/covers, etc. Plus, it's fun to do things yourself and learn along the way. It's not just about the end result.

Using a service would be better for a final part in a better material for the sake of longevity, not just 3d printed either, but cnc'd aluminum for example. Plastics can only go so far, but for short durations in some stressful situations, like intake manifolds, they can give you information. Having a printer in house will let me prototype to verify functionality of some engine parts, and being able to print in resistant materials will let me make final parts of less stressed parts in areas exposed to fuels, oils, etc.

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