I remember a few years ago Micro Center was selling ender creality 3 pros for $100 but I didn't buy one because I had no where to put it. Then Bambu Labs became popular but they started putting spyware in their printers. What is the best entry level printer now? Is the industry just dead?
>>109423557Prusa mini. A cheap 3d printer is almost worse than no 3d printer. Don't bother with a cheap one.
>>109423573maybe no 3d printer is the way to go then. I would only need it occasionally.
>>109423557>selling ender creality 3 pros for $100That's how I obtain one>started putting spyware in their printersIf I'm ever in the market for a new 3D printer is going to be something that is self repairable and open-source = Prusa, and also not chinese.
>>109423616If you don't use it often something like jlcpcb is probably better. I feel less anxious owning the things I use but I probably go too far with it hosting my own email etc.
>>109423557idk man i bought an ender 3 3 years ago i bet its still the best thing you can buy
>>109423668they don't even sell them anymore at microcenter.
>>109423679not even the new variants? i have an ender 3 v2 but i think theres a 3 v3 and even fancier versions with direct drive, bed leveling, all the features you add to the older versions built in
>>109423557Elegoo Neptune 4 Pros are $230 right now but routinely go for <$180 on sales.>direct drive all metal hotend>2 bed heating zones>PEI plate>ABL and mesh calibration>klipper>webcam support built inThere's a couple times I wanted a bigger build plate but it's good enough for most of what I print. I have mine on LAN cutoff from internet access so I don't care about chinese spyware.
>>109423557>Buy 2 shitty Ender 3's for $30 each>Spend an additional $150 and several hours of time to build a DuEnder>>109423653Yeah I was pretty interested in the Creality K1 series as an upgrade from my old Ender 3's. Turns out they stopped their open source initiative and are now trying to be a shittier bambu. I'm glad the spirit of rep rap has lived on and there are new DIY designs>>109423727NTA but it's not what it used to be. They've gotten rid of all the tinker kits for DIY printer upgrades and now mostly stock only bambu and creality k-series printers. Both of which are going to start scanning every print for copyright violations or gun parts in the future btw
>>109424625>Turns out they stopped their open source initiative and are now trying to be a shittier bambuWhy are people so offended that printers aren't made of aluminum extrusion?It's like they see something that resembles a finished and manufactured product and proceed to stare in horror that you might actually print things instead of fucking with the printer itself.It's not even like it prevents you from modding it. It's just less need to.
>>109423616I got some stuff printed through Xometry a few years ago. No idea if it's still the best.
>>109424676>print things instead of fucking with the printer itself.There more closed it is the less freedom you have with fucking around with the printer, people should have the right to fuck (figuratively) their printer since they are the owner. People who say otherwise tend to be tech cucks.
>>109424676I'm not a fan of watching 3d printers become as more locked down than 2d printersAside from that, why would you even be interested in the ultimate DIY machine if you have no interest in fucking around with it?
I have a bambu lab p1s and I enjoy using it.
>>109423557owning an ender 3 will make you hate the entire concept of 3d printinggrab a bambu if you can afford it. they sell manufacturer refurbed ones (as in change-of-mind-returns units) for half price. i want to kill my ender 3 in a coliseum while ten thousand plebs cheer for me
>>109424676what does aluminum extrusion have to do with softwarekill yourself
>>109425461The low end bambu ones are last gen flagships. They’re really great printers. Anything from creality is just garbage.
>>109423557Used bambu P1S with either rooted custom firmware or simply don't update to the pozzed fw is probably the best cheapish, good and just werkz option.Poorfag bedslinger option would be the creality sparkx-i7 which is a knockoff of the bambu A series.Don't buy an ender piece of shit.Actually things are getting really chaotic right now with somewhat affordable multi-material toolchangers that bamboo is behind on and may or may not result in a patent legal shitshow.Snapmaker U1Flashforge Creator 5Creality K3 (soonish?)
Sovol SV08 is basically a preassembled Voron kit if you want to go full open source.Their new tool-changing dual-extruder M1D printer is cool but not exactly cheap.
>>109425492>>109425461this bambu jus werks
>>109424625>scan printlmao this shit cant be real
>>109425537SV08 is a bit questionable value. >rails are cheapest possible>z-probe is inaccurate, to put it mildly>taco bed issues all over the place>factory printhead cover likes to fall off>controller board fan more noisy than the rest of the machine combined>default hotend likes to stall, creating clogsAlthough the replacement by microswiss is superb. Made me realise how they sell their more expensive stuff.>weirdly restricted modified Klipper>optional enclosure looks great, but comes with a filter so laughable they could've just left it out.By the time you fixed everything, you could've as well bought a proper voron with better rails. 7/10 learning machine though.
thanks for the replies anons. it seems like things aren't what they used to be. hopefully the industry will pick back up in a few years.
