Hi all, I want to buy my son a 3D printer for his 20th birthday. He is a third year computer science major, so has no issues with the software side. I have no idea where to start, or even what questions to ask. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Prusa is the obvious recommendation and have really god quality printers. Another option would be Qidi, they have some great value options (I heard the Q1 Pro is decent?) or recently Elegoo with their Centauri Carbon.
However, I would advise that you don’t get a Bambu Lab printer, as someone who owns the Bambu A1. They print fine, but Bambu is locking down on their ecosystem by blocking third party software and hardware (e.g. PandaTouch display), and it won’t be long until they go full Apple/HP-like (they already have RFID tags on their filament, what’s stopping them from dropping an update that blocks non-Bambu filament like HP did with ink?)
For filaments, PLA is the simple choice that works for most things as long as they aren’t in the sun for too long (e.g. decorative models, phone stand) but aren’t the best for outdoor stuff (think garden signs and such). Some people also like PETG, which is another good general purpose filament.
ABS/ASA are tough and strong, good for mechanical parts and things that require strength, but remember to have good ventilation since they can produce nasty fumes that are not very nice to breathe in. You’ve also got TPU, which is flexible (so phone cases and stuff), but you need to make sure it stays dry.
I have personally only used PLA since I don’t print too many things that need the strength of ABS/ASA or the flexibility of TPU.
Thanks for this, I’m impressed by Bambus’ quality but I’ve always been highly suspect of the true cost of their “turnkey” operation and appliance-like nature.
It was making me sad seeing people just recommending them left and right even though it seemed like a huge step backward from all the hackerspace community-spirit innovation we’ve been seeing with 3D printing.
I’m really glad to see people pushing against that and advising people to consider the ramifications. <3
deleted by creator
Thank you. Bambu has been the number one recommendation from people I know. Cursory research looked great, but there were some reservations from people whose opinions I value.
This is the clearest, most succinct evaluation. Much appreciated, and they are off the list.
Bambu has great marketing: they have given printers to a lot of well known makers who in turn now feature them on their YouTube and the like. If you just want a printer that prints standard stuff with standard work flows they are probably good. However they are in the long run likely to be expensive since they require their supplies (which are reportedly good, but expensive). If you want to print something and not think about the printer they are good enough. However if you want to hack a printer, save money, or experiment they are going to limit you.
Everyone recommends Prusa for a reason: most of the things that make printing good and easy were developed by Prusa and then the others used the open source license to put their own name on it. Some of the others have done some innovation, but the major hard work was done by Prusa and he should be supported for that.
They’re literally not expensive at all. You can get good quality PLA for as little as $13/KG if you buy in bulk (4 rolls or more) and all their replacement parts are dirt cheap. Bambu didnt take over because of great marketing, they took over because they build a great product at a great price as well as thinking about every little creature comfort one might want and including those too. I do think they’re going down the same road as Apple, but so will every other successful company, so you might as well enjoy it while it lasts.
If you want something to tinker and expirament with, you should build something like a Voron and not a premade commercial product.
+1 for the Q1 pro