Somebody told educators that 3D printing is “The Future”, so now every kid who graduates knows how to use one. Eventually, everyone will own at least one because it’s an affordable general purpose tool, like a computer.
You’re definitely not alone… 3 X1Cs, 1 P1S (upgraded P1P), 1 A1 Mini, 3 Vorons and… well let’s just say A LOT of Elegoos. The only rooms with no printers are the bathrooms, too much humidity 
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What will likely be your next printer purchase, and why?
Definitely not the only one. The M5 are a kind of AMS system for material storage and also for postponing maintenance until the point in time and also a 100% backup that if something is necessary in 30-60 minutes, it is also there even if a printer starts acting up and knowing me, there will be No° 6 in 4-5 months. With the handles and the 10 mm Z-spindles they got me…please please don’t give any bad news about the printer X-Plus4.
There are 2 Printers at home and 3 at the company as well as 1 CAD license at home and 2 CAD licenses in the company - depending on where I am, those will work. Although I don’t necessarily use it in the company just myself. The 3 printers in the company are next to the entrance door, word gets around and more and more come with something they need quickly.
At the beginning there was a lot of things asked where you had to say, minimum CAD designs are 150 euros if it can by done in 30 to 45 min. (an action figure at least 500 euros without template, so that no one asks anymore) - now there are a lot of broken parts on the house, e.g. if a plastic part on an awning is broken and the supplier no longer replaces it - the new awning would be 5000 euros, I can make the plastic part for 200 euros as long as you draw it quickly, and then let a few out if one does break. Winter gardens are also an issue - homeowners will quickly no longer be able to find the right spare parts. Or introductions or transitions of pipes, roof drains where someone would have to make something in 4-5 hours. Seals and clutch dampers - e.g. the old clutch dampers were no longer available and 50 low speed clutches had to be replaced. A new clutch would have been 250 euros and the time required to replace it would have been 2-3 hours. per clutch etc. The new dampers were drawn in 10 minutes and a set was printed in 15 minutes. They can be exchanged in 10 minutes. Extra large pipe connectors with extra outlets for electricians, covers, shock absorbers for doors where each hit with the forklift costs 500 euros for the carpenter (who had to come 4 times) but also stuff that only has to last 2-3 days until the original spare parts arrive and the system absolutely has to run and and and.
One part was for an electrical fuse where the control system replacement won’t come in one years and they no longer have a replacement for - If i would ask them, they would properly charged for it like 2-3 brand new X1E`s, but I gave it to them for 300 euros. Well, you know each other and forever gratitude is assured!
Or a company has to exchange 30 wardrobe locks, the original wardrobe lock was 70 euros per piece (2100 euros at all) - the lock used then cost 9 euros with a 3D printing adapter that fit. 30 adapters in 30 minutes printed and drawn in 30 minutes = 250 Euros and 150 Euro Tip and the next orders without a 3D printer are also guaranteed 
Well right now I’m stuck… my condo is a little under 1,000 square foot and I’m literally out of space. I know it sounds like I’m exaggerating but I didn’t list the exact amount of Elegoos because I didn’t want to sound like a total nut. I’ve thought about selling some of the Elegoos but I’m at the point I’ve put so much in upgrades I doubt anyone would pay close to what they are worth. But if we create a scenario where I had unlimited space and only consider printers that are available as of today… this is a really hard question lol… probably a Prusa MK4S. I never had a Prusa and I really want to test it out and kick the tires. I think it’s good to be well rounded when it comes to printer knowledge.
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and the kitchen as well… 
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Oh you’re right! But if I had one there I could print my own utensils 
I know. I would have been using it as well, if i could somehow keep the humidity level under control.
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The biggest problem - many companies and homeowners have not even begun to realize what problems they can solve with a 3D printer.
When this is recognized, things happen quickly.
Of course they don’t start printing themselves - but then they quickly start working with those they know. In one company it was actually great, I really had to tell them they had 2 workers who have a printer as well… Then they say, we want the professional and I - they have a P1S, I can’t print it better than they do… Many companies only have action figures in mind when it comes to 3D printing - 3D printing simply still has a very bad reputation that is only slowly changing.
So just again, the biggest problem - many companies, homeowners and 3D printer hobbists have not even begun to realize what problems they can solve with a 3D printer. There is simply a big lack of understanding about the limits and possibilities.
And sorry, concentrating on Makerworld and A1 and not continuing to work on the P1S and X1C only further confirms this view of 3D printing. But that’s just my opinion and my experiences, which don’t always have to be true. It doesn’t even have to be the PPS-CF and PPS-GF with engineer training at my level, even the simplest TPU parts for a simple problem can really surprise people and open their eyes.
What evidence do you have that this is true?
Do you know more than everyone else?
MakerWorld, for all its faults, has been a boon for the community as a whole.
It is a mostly professional solution with most of the others stuck in the old world of messy UI and catalogues of low-quality and stolen models (do NOT read me saying they don’t have good models, I didn’t).
The A1 and A1 mini before it were excellent additions to the BL world and 3D printing as a whole. It has introduced far more people to 3D printing inexpensively and reliably.
My first 3D printer took two people and two days to fail to get it working.
It came as a box of parts and an incredibly bad manual that missed multiple steps and parts that didn’t match the descriptions of their lengths.
No auto-bed levelling (no one did back then), the print head ground into the print bed as it raised the build plate to the head and the UI failed to recognise touch commands to stop it.
Fast forward a few years and we have printers that a child can set up, choose something to print (using MakerWorld) and print in multiple colours. With free software that a child can use to design and print their own models (read a different post here detailing exactly this story).
The P & X series printers are great printers, they could do with some upgrade options, but right now, they are incredible workhorses.
I imagine a new printer will have the rest of the industry playing catch up as they did after the P & X series and the Ankermate printer which was also cool.
It is frustrating having to wait for what is next, but, I love playing with what is now.
You shared your views, these are mine, differences of opinions are good as the world would be boring and nothing would change without them.
It’s interesting to note that our problems are identical in many ways.
This is precisely my stepback with large printers.
I was once a dreamer for larger printers until I used 350mm Voron. When I started slicing the design files and looking at the amount of filament needed, I thought it was a mistake. I optimised the design, and even with a significant mass reduction, the risk (cost) is still high, and I understood why guys like CNCKitchen claim that they aren’t fans of big printers. Furthermore, the Exlibris Voron 2.4 isn’t the same at 350 mm, and the owner advised me to reduce acceleration to avoid artefacts and risk of failure, so the fast print wasn’t so fast. This issue is more noticeable when you do 3D printing as a hobby. Maybe those in business need to increase the failure cost in their quotes.
Assembly also has downsides, but at least one still has a margin for error and improvement.
I don’t own such an arsenal of printers, but this is also my thought. I am satisfied. If the new printer features are so remarkable that they make the X1C outdated, if longtime (some) user feedback pleases me, and if the cost is reasonable, I may be a client.
I have the same issue with an S1Pro. The cost went down to 100€, and mine, after modding and especially an intensive rebuild of the mechanical structure of the printer, is so reliable that I am not willing to sell it for that value. More likely to give to someone in need that shows interest than sell it…
I live in an old house with enough space (but humidity, too) for having 3D printers. But I am currently reluctant to increase the number of printers, as I struggle to keep everything tidy and organised. It comes to the point that printers (I have only two placed inside a repurposed wardrobe, one on each side), printer accessories, dry and ready-to-print filament (at least 60 spools ready - I don’t need that much but will I do to the ones I used and currently don’t need?) and a similar number in stock, paint and accessories, electronics, ongoing print project parts, tools, mechanical parts and fittings, forced me to have cabinets, solely dedicated to the hobby, and to develop organisation system (I am currently using tags to access what is in a specific place) and only db to find where a particular component is. As many of the products are consumables, there is an intensive dynamic on their use and refill, resulting in significant space requirements and time to be well organised. Time is the most critical for me, as I prefer to use it for doing things, and not cleanly organised. However, even space comes into the equation as it is a living place, and others should be affected by it.
There are unique and creative ideas for improving your maker space, yet I am still not convinced to spend that money on a hobby organisation.
Thats impressive. For the private person, I only know of such service in expresso machines, that they come, take the faulty one, and loan you a similar model for the time yours will be in repair. No cost associated. But they are in the coffee and not in the machines.
The stores that sell printers are obliged to comply with the law. If I acquire a product, I am entitled to a warranty period. In that period, I can send it for repair. They are obliged to do it within a month or provide you with a new product (the warranty period will start again), or if the problem persists, they are limited to a maximum of three attempts. Afterwards, a new product needs to be offered. Yet, with 3D printers, there is also the issue of what is within warranty. Some parts are consumables. Maintenance also needs to be carried out. Also, I am sure that if the manufacturer wants, it is possible to claim a warranty breach if there were mods. I’ve never bought a printer in these terms because of the limitations in models or brands and the high cost. In any case, no one is offering such a replacement service as in Switzerland.
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For didactic reasons, I overstated the case. I think for some things the risk is really quite low, and the upside is huge, such as printing a gridfinity toolbox that’s larger than the (at most) 4x5 cell compartment I can squeeze onto a Bambu build plate:
Generally speaking, that’s a lot smaller than what I would want.
So, I did buy on sale a cheapo large bedslinger for handling such cases, though I haven’t yet gotten around to setting it up because the garage has been too hot this summer for me to spend more than a little time there. I do wonder now if a big enough enclosed corexy will get released before the garage cools off this fall, in which case I maybe should have just waited. But none of us really knows what’s coming or when, do we? It’s almost as bad as trying to time the stock market. Meanwhile, prices continue to plummet, so what seemed like a bargain in July seems kinda meh now.
The overall quality of the build and how smart everything is. Stuff like the wiping system obviously had a ton of thought put into it.
This is a good one.
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Based on that review in particular, it looks very good. I hope that it is! Much more polished than the X-Plus3.
I not long ago acquired the X-Max3 during a sale. It prints just fine. And I’m relieved to say it should also be able to print the PPS-CF filament, even though I didn’t know about its existence at the time I made my purchase. Just be aware that the new user experience might be a little more uncertain than what you’ve come to enjoy with Bambu, but maybe on the Plus4 they’ve polished that as well. Anyhow, it’s not your first printer, so no worries: once you’re over that little hump, it will likely be smooth sailing.
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The flsun s1 has been like that for me. Its 100x better than any printer I had before bambu came out, but Im still starting to hate it because of how easy bambu is. Im a bit spoiled now. Im in the process of returning the s1
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I dont think it’s not just me who realizes this. It could be that I live in my own bubble, but it is also entirely possible that others live in a bubble that may burst at some point - and as I said, my impression may be wrong. So statements like, 3D printing is no longer a toy… 3D printers are now tools… so statements like that don’t come from me only.
- Fast-growing YouTube channels that are no longer in the core competency of 3D printing - craftsman and get very high ranges. Some people probably haven’t realized yet that this part of the “community” is growing extremely quickler. You can still talk about “community” - but the needs of the left and the right side are then becoming increasingly different.
- People who ask about 3D printed figures when they see the printers at the company entrance and are then very are surprised when they realize what it is about. You even have to point out that it is a workshop and not a toy shop. People understand it but it is still incredibly surprising for them.
- People in higher decision-making positions who know 3D printing but are unaware that a 1500 euro printer delivers parts that 3 years ago could only be obtained with extreme man-hour effort by high wages on very expensive machines, which also took days to get a part. I don’t want to know how many people haven’t yet recognized the developments of the last 3 years
- Specialists who ask how fast the part can be here - still think that 3D printers either cost several thousand euros, are still only used by students on Universit to play with in their first steps, or some kind of technology that is used for tool production in space.
- and just such a question “what I know that no one knows”
- Sorry, how much more professional has Bambulab delivered in the last 2 years since the X1C? How did they get there market share and which direction they took afterwords?
It is then very easy to see which part they are concentrating on - but it will not be the part that may will grow more and those waiting will then jump off very quickly when the one that takes over comes - like they jump off by Criality and Prusa. Ok, Prusa still has a powerful printer - but nonetheless, 10 years of playing with things and in the end Bambulab proved that very few people were interested in such things. And now I can see the same game going on from printer to printer at Bambulab - hopefully it will work with the new QIDI. Don’t wait, but they will then be welcomed into very open arms if they make it happen
I am sorry, but, I am still confused.
You say “3D printing is no longer a toy”, it hasn’t been for a very long while.
You appear to blame BL for not understanding something that occurred in the industry long before they started their R&D into 3D printers.
They produce entry-level, mid-level, prosumer and professional-grade printers (they make one you can’t buy off the website).
You spent a lot of time detailing how those who have never seen a 3D printer before are confused by them, even after someone takes the time to explain them. That happens to many products. I still have to explain what an Air Fryer is to people which they sell in massive numbers.
Does the Air Fryer business not understand their marketplace because some people do not know what they are? Are all companies making Air Fryers or just Ninja (because they have a big name with a premium style product range)?
I still do not know what you think BL must do to fix the problem(s) you believe they are responsible for.
Originally you seemed annoyed they created MW, a place for those who have never designed something with the ability to print a solution, toy or anything available easily (making it mass market, something you said didn’t occur).
You also didn’t like they made the entry level A1 & A1 mini, ironically targetted at the mass market, only serving to increase the number of people who can print at home or work or anywhere at a tiny cost, all increasing the knowledgeable group who know what 3D printing is.
I am NOT a BL sycophant, I do not defend what they do or how they do it. I do give credit where credit is due though.
If you are blaming one company for the lack of knowledge of the rest of the world, I cannot understand why.
If you are annoyed more people do not understand the benefits of 3D printing, I am still confused why you appear to blame BL for that.
I would love to understand your cogent point, I just have no idea what it is and I have read and reread your comments several times.
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Nope, not alone. I’ve got three, purely hobby for me.
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LOL, if my 3 printers are viewed as an “arsenal”, I wonder how we should view Mcgee’s list?
A repository? Warehouse? A nuclear facility? 
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