Hi all.

My venerable ender 3 has likely printed it’s last benchy. Plus side, the tech has advanced significantly since I bought it. Down side, I’ve not kept track of the newer options.

Can anyone give me a rundown of which are worth looking at, and which to avoid?

I’m mostly concerned with reliability, but a speed boost would definitely be welcome. A heated chamber and/or multi material would also be very nice to have.

I would like to keep the costs closer to £500 ($680) but can stretch that, if there is a machine worth it.

I also have a complete no on bamboo printers. I don’t like what they’ve done regarding abuse of the open source movement.

Thanks all!

Edit to add. I’m not against non open source printers. I just have an issue with companies trying to burn the ladder behind them and lock their customers into a bubble.

Double edit: The snapmaker U1 seems like my best option. Ticks all the boxes, while remaining well in budget.

  • sbeak@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    2·
    11 hours ago

    Aside from the mentioned Prusa (which might be outside of your price range, especially if you need CoreXY or a larger bed area) and Elegoo Centauri Carbon, I can also suggest some of Qidi’s printers. Their Q1 Pro seems pretty good, lots of people online have mentioned how it’s great for more engineering type filaments. The Q2 is newer, so doesn’t have as much of a reputation as the Q1 Pro yet, but it looks like an all-round upgrade with optional support for multi-material too!

    Agree with your take on Bambu, they are locking down their printer ecosystem, and this is speaking as somebody who owns an A1. At the rate they’re going, they might go the HP route and make it so their printers are only compatible with their brand of filament (I mean, they have the proprietary tags on them already, so it’s just a small software change…)