One thing I am almost sure of, and that is that the H2C can do everything you need for your projects.
If you don’t need TPU 75A and filament change times are not a super critical factor, the H2C can still be a good alternative.
For me the most important decision point would be the price of the H3C combo in relation to the H2C configuration you had in mind.
It is almost sure it won’t have laser capabilities, but we might be surprised what Bambu still has up its sleeve.
Definitely before the launch, you will know most of the specs.
I don’t think it was minutes before they were sold out, but you don’t have hours of time usually. But then again, Bambu might have already a huge amount in stock.
Regarding FDM miniature figures at 0.08 layers and 0.2 nozzle.
Theoretically that resolution is usable with a lot of work, but the problem is the artifacts left by the nozzle especially on retraction, and its inability to make fine points.
The old SLA resin printers (for example the Elegoo Jupiter) were defaulted to 50 micron (0.05mm) layers and their resolution gave them 50 micron pixels. Layer lines were clearly visible. I rotated models to get rid of them; I even did mathematics to calculate the layer step slope of armor panels on tanks, and then rotated the model to exactly the angle to counter it. Or we sliced models into parts, so they could print at better angles, or to make sure supports were not in a critically visible area such as the face. With hacks such as that, we kind of managed and got rid of layers and support blemishes because the details were clear (unless you used anto-aliasing). (People have it easy now, people buy professionally supported/angled figures and just push the button on a Saturn 4 Ultra)
Anyway I’m not saying not to print minis, but that the quality is not the same as a moulded or cast model, and people will know they’re printed. If you’re happy with that, it’ll be fine.
Price is probably the most important decision point for me as well. But since most of my designs use multi-color, and many go beyond 4-5 colors, adding to it the fact that I absolutely am going to print them both using 0.4 and 0.2 so people can compare and choose whether waiting much longer for that quality would be something they want, the amount of tool changes on H2C at 0.2 vs what I understand of H3C would be just too significant, and easily adds up over the long prints
Oh yeah I remember those times
Considering also the quality of FDM prints back then there was just no way to choose it over resin printing. But comparing what FDM printers can do nowadays to what was back in i.e. 2020, it’s crazy how far the technology has come. Just wish I realized how much better FDM printing got a bit earlier and not 6 years later
And I do agree about the miniatures. Definitely not going to be the same 32-35mm scale with FDM, should be a minimum of 1:24 and even 1:12. Still figuring out how to properly deal with overhangs and top layers though
But at this point I’m just sick of issues with resin printing, the toxicity and health effects it brings, and after dealing with cleaning up the vat after failures over and over and over, printing with P1S was like a breath of fresh air
Not to mention the actual ability to print fully colored models.
Just a quick off-topic suggestion: if you haven’t seen this sub before, I think you might find it useful:
3D Printing miniatures with resin is too easy! For those who have taken on the challenge, welcome to r/FDMminiatures; A subreddit community for discussion of 3D printing miniatures using FDM. Please share your successes, failures, frustrations and tips!
My issues were coming from the printer itself, unfortunately. First from one manufacturer, then from the other. Eventually you lose any desire to deal with the things that even the manufacturers themselves or professionals have no idea what causes them. It’s like a gamble whether you get a good resin printer or not. When you do printing constantly for years, 20+ failures in a row all caused by the printer are just not fun… considering after every one of them I had to do the full cleaning and even re-leveling
So just very thankful for FDM printers in general (that solve many of the issues you get with resin printing), for Bambu for making it extremely easy to get into FDM printing (I’d rather work with something that can function out-of-the-box so I can spend the rest of my time actually making models) and for the FDM community that is so helpful when any issues actually do happen
Nah, a day or several later. I refuse to be rushed like that, usually doesn’t end well for me… LOL. Not that I’m very patient once I’ve fully decided, either For a while it was tricky to get extra induction nozzles and there were no aftermarket build plates (and BLs choices were limited), but at least that won’t be an issue now.
-Max
PS. Softer TPU (< 85A) on H2C is no problem, just that BL doesn’t sell any yet (in 1.75mm). But other brands do. There’s also 2.2mm which apparently can work with existing 1.75mm extruders (just requires custom nozzle).
Bambu has a track record of butchering prices on their old flagships when they release a new one (I mean, all companies do, its just that bambu likes doing it around black friday for some reason).
The H2D combo used to be 2,250 USD on release, which is the exact same as the H2C combo on release that butchered H2D combo’s price to 2,000 USD. Then sometime between the A2L and the R1 they butchered the H2D combo’s price again down to 1,750 USD. Now it’s 1,600 USD since the H3C is coming out to dethrone the H2C, and before anyone says “well that’s just a black Friday sale!” its not. The last time they did a black Friday sale was around the release of the H2C, where the H2D’s price was butchered, and just like this time, seemingly for black Friday, but instead it became permanent due to it not being the flagship anymore. H2C’s price will also be most likely not go up after black Friday and will continue being discounted over time.
I was one of the unfortunate ones to buy an H2D in August. No leaks or news or teasers of any new printer coming, it was long after the hype for the H2D’s release in May wore off, and the H2D was still full-price as it was on release haha. Timing is everything. Don’t be quick to decisions because of stock shortages, they usually resolve themselves pretty quickly
I already know I’m getting it unless they charge some crazy ridiculous price. I want to get it with all the options except for laser. Still waiting on my R1 to come. And the laser on my H2 D’s been used like maybe five times
I would have absolutely waited until it got discounted if I didn’t need a capable printer like NOW
Even waiting a month at this stage would be detrimental for me since I need to be able to release my own FDM models, and everything is done and ready apart from the fact that I cannot actually print them… yet So among all their models, only H2C was fitting every parameter I was looking for, and I did plan on getting it fully discounted… before all the information about H3C started to appear.
So now, between the Vortek Ultimate Bundle for H2C (with all the extras I would need for it on top of the actual bundle, especially the full set of 0.2 hotends) and upcoming H3C, the main factor would probably be the price difference between the two. If it’s not insanely higher than what I would have had to pay for the full H2C setup, then I would even be ok with getting a less complete H3C setup, as it offers other improvements over H2C and I would have had to upgrade to H3C eventually anyway if I bought it. But buying H3C, even not fully upgraded would mean, for me personally, no need to upgrade to any other printer for a very long while.
So it’s basically down to the question of what setup the H3C will come with and how much it would cost compared to the Vortek Bundle and all the other upgrades that I would have otherwise bought at once together with the said H2C. But I’m buying a printer regardless, the only question is which one of the two ><
Same here, looking for the full printing setup. The laser is something you would rather need separately.
What do you think the complete bundle (w/o laser) could be in price? I’m expecting something like $3249-$3499 (2999-3249 € for Europe). Highly unlikely for it to be below $2999 / 2699€ (again, the complete so premium bundle, not the basic configuration which could very well be something like 2499-2699 € (if it still has the AMS 3H tho, without it would probably be even less)).
You can already change layer height/width mid-print, just set up a height modifier or variable layer height but unable to change nozzles mid-print.
Being able to print using different nozzles is more complicated for the slicer as all the variables with that nozzle size need to be adjusted and taken into account in the gcode. Slicing, I’m assuming, will take much longer as using multiple nozzles in one print and more complex slice calculations.
Different nozzles in one print would make it much better for printing flat text using a very fine 0.2 nozzle height for the text only then switch back to say a 0.4 nozzle for the rest of the print or possibly using a 0.2 nozzle for very small width supports.
We will find out on release day, but here is my take: The H3C is clearly aimed at professional users and small businesses. For a prosumer or hobbyist like me, the H3C and H2C are hard to justify financially. I do print a lot of multi-color decor, gifts and functional parts—including custom designs and small production runs of about 10 pieces for local businesses—but it is still a hobby setup.
That being said, the P3C looks like the perfect upgrade from my two-year-old P1S. A heated chamber for reliable ABS/ASA printing, the ability to print TPU, and mixing different materials or nozzle sizes would solve several limitations I’ve hit in past projects. If Bambu Lab prices the P3C between €1,000 and €1,200, I’m in. If it’s more expensive, I’ll stick to the P1S, because you can print a lot of ‘poop’ before bridging that price gap."
P3C is definitely interesting, but even if disregarding any other differences between the two, the build plate is just way too small. Which is perfect if printing only small items and miniatures, but I’m already planning modular systems for the desk and storage, and other larger-sized items, so the build plate would just be too small for those
It’s also good to have the machine that those looking for the commercial rights of my models would get so I can both experience the way they would be printing my models as well as make some options that would benefit from the use of H3C specifically. But for the regular consumer I do realize that P1S/P2S/P3C would be the better choice.
And we also don’t know exactly when they plan to announce it. Considering November already has 2 new releases (H3C and the scanner), the earliest would probably be December.
Plus, they would definitely want to leave some time in between the two so enough people purchase the flagship. As, and I’m ofc speculating here, if both were to become available within a short time of each other, there would be a lot of people choosing P3C over H3C as the budget version. Still the same innovative tool changer system, but a more affordable version of it. If H2C had a counterpart like that there would probably also be many people choosing it over it.
So it kinda makes sense Bambu went with the H3C first and not P3C or both of them at once. They make us crave it, then wait until the majority of those willing to buy at the premium price get the H3C, and when the orders start decreasing announce P3C for those who also wanted the H3C but needed more budget for it than what they were willing to spend. And by that time even those who were specifically waiting for the P3C reveal would be so on edge that they would rush to buy it right away
For a while it was tricky to get extra induction nozzles and there were no aftermarket build plates (and BLs choices were limited), but at least that won’t be an issue now.
So among all their models, only H2C was fitting every parameter I was looking for, and I did plan on getting it fully discounted… before all the information about H3C started to appear.