23 3D Printers You SHOULD or SHOULDN'T Buy!

I've used 23 3D printers in the last year! Would I buy them today?

This is a fun video, where we go over the 23 3D printers that have come through the studio in the past year. Some good, some bad, some I'd buy again, some I wouldn't. So my recommendations are pretty simple, just a quick you should or shouldn't buy!

The list of 3D printers is large, and the cost wide spread, from Prusa to Bambu Lab, Creality and more. 3D printers ranging from $99 to $5,500 and everywhere in-between.

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Bambu Lab P1P, P1S, X1, AMS & new super secret product coming soon!

Polymaker Filament

MatterHackers

QIDI X-Plus 3

Creality

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00:00 Intro
00:34 Raise3D Pro2
01:01 Creality Ender 3 v2
01:31 FOKOO Odin-5 F3
02:29 Artillery Sidewinder X2
03:10 Anycubic Kobra Plus
03:58 LulzBot TAZ Pro XT
04:57 Prusa MINI
06:07 Wuxn WXR
07:15 LDO Voron Trident 300
07:36 LDO Voron 2.4 350
08:01 Creality K1
08:40 Elegoo Neptune 3 Max
09:19 Bambu Lab X1C / X1 Carbon w/ AMS
09:41 Raise3D E2
10:50 Creality Ender 3 Pro
11:38 LulzBot TAZ Sidekick 747
13:16 Kywoo Tycoon Slim
14:14 FOKOOS Odin-Smart
15:05 Kingroon KP3S Pro
16:28 Prusa MK3S
17:11 QIDI X-Plus 3
18:11 Bambu Lab P1S w/ AMS
18:53 Prusa SL1S Bundle w/ CW1
20:12 Thank You Channel Members

[matthewwain]

What I found after a few years of printing.... I just wouldn't waste my time on printers that don't have the features and quality I want, unless I had a very specific mod to do. Just spend the money up front, and get what you need. For me Autolevelling is pretty much non-negotiable. I don't even have to think about it, I get consistent first layers. Direct Drive is another, I just won't go back to bowden setup, even with my Delta's.

[AdamGs]

I currently have an Anycubic Kobra and Creality Ender 3 V2. I'm going to be getting the Bambu Lab P1S with AMS soon. I have a love-hate relationship with my Ender 3 V2. It's heavily modded and pretty much silent with the Noctua fans mod. But everything that could go wrong with that printer did. It has been nothing but a headache. However, I love it because it has taught me so much about 3d printers. So, I'll never get rid of it. The Kobra has been fine. It's nothing special though and has had a few issues. Print quality has been mostly good. But I did spend a lot of time chasing print quality issues. I have been 3d printing for several years now. And I'm over the tinkering part of it and just want something that works. I considered a Prusa. I know they are fantastic and they have excellent customer support. But I think they're priced just a little too high for what you're getting. 5 years ago it was a no-brainer. But today there are other options in that price range.

[BillLogan-kl]

Loved the video and looking forward to more of your expertise. I brought a Bambu Labs PSI Combo with the AMS and had it all up and running within the 15 minutes from unpacking the box to printing my first print with 2 minutes to spare just like Bambu Labs advertised. I started printing everything from poop containers, fridgets, signs, filament spools, and tons of other stuff along with a rack to hold up to 66 boxes/rolls of Bambu and Sunlu filament in their boxes. I've never owned or operated a 3 D Printer before. I've learned so much from trial and error with things like heater head temp changes to unclogging the head, changing build plate temps to help different filaments stick better or not. I printed off LED Risers in order to install more lighting in the print chamber. It's great and I love it. Thanks for all your your FYI, I've had the printer since the last week in Nov 2023 and as of today Feb 2024 I've used a little over 18 rolls of filament, printed hundreds of pieces and have 752 hours of print time on the P1S. I am proud to say that with that 752 hours of print time I've only had 3 issues with it and was able to solve those issues within a few hours. The P1S has been running almost continuously since I got it. I am definitely addicted to it. Now that I've practiced for the past 5 weeks almost non-stopped I'm thinking it's time to find a way to make a little money with this beautiful machine. Any ideas would be Thanks again for all that you

[Lillie-Elkins]

I love how Loyal Moses has embraced the term of Helmet Class printers

[adiands]

Thanks for the great video. Since many of us are just starting out in this hobby, I rearranged your list into price order:

01:31 FOKOO Odin-5 F3 $89
15:05 Kingroon KP3S Pro $179
01:01 Creality Ender 3 v2 $209
10:50 Creality Ender 3 Pro $219
14:14 FOKOOS Odin-Smart $279
02:29 Artillery Sidewinder X2 $299
03:10 Anycubic Kobra Plus $359
13:16 Kywoo Tycoon Slim $369
04:57 Prusa MINI $429
08:40 Elegoo Neptune 3 Max $470
08:01 Creality K1 $599
16:28 Prusa MK3S $649
17:11 QIDI X-Plus 3 $699
06:07 Wuxn WXR $849
18:11 Bambu Lab P1S w/ AMS $949
07:15 LDO Voron Trident 300 $1259
11:38 LulzBot TAZ Sidekick 747 $1285
07:36 LDO Voron 2.4 350 $1349
09:19 Bambu Lab X1C / X1 Carbon w/ AMS $1499
18:53 Prusa SL1S Bundle w/ CW1 $2599
09:41 Raise3D E2 $3499
00:34 Raise3D Pro2 $3499
03:58 LulzBot TAZ Pro XT $5495

[keifer]

I have spent the better part of this morning watching your videos. I just want to say THANK
YOU for speaking in non-tech language. So many of us are new to this field and all that tech talk goes right past many of our gray-matters! Learned a few things this morning and will be back for more later! Thanks again.

[belpyro]

Regarding Creality K1. They disrupted the GPL license of Klipper and made firmware closed from users with unknown changes. At the same time, they "tweaked" some essential parameters (like resonance compensation) and made the incorrect choice. There are two reasons why I can't recommend this. Regarding Voron: a lot of engineering faulted solutions in construction, imho. In general thx for good definitions!

[stewartbeckman]

My one and only 3D printer was the Artillery X. I did a lot of research on it before I purchased it, so I knew what to expect and what the potential problems were.
First I printed parts that I felt would improve the machine's performance, including ductwork and fan to keep the chips on the motherboard cool. Then I installed a solid state contactor to protect the 120 VAC heating platform. (Worked like a charm) Then after testing, I installed CHPOWER Supporting Rod Set for CR-10/CR-10 (these gussets worked perfectly and took out the slight wobble which improved the print quality) Then I changed the firmware to Marlin mesh leveling which really improved the leveling process. I use to love watching it. Amazing process...
Great video! Thanks for you honesty!

[ironoreiron]

No, 369 is not a good price for the prusa mini, the prusa mini is worth less than $200, look at the bambulab a1 mini, $300 without the ams, better in every way

[thesharky]

Its crazy to me that his first 3D printer was $3, 500

[TrevorDrPrints]

Great video. You were in your comfort zone and it showed. Great rapid fire info as well. Awesome job man!

[reprintedD]

You can't skip the Vorons.

And I'm still willing to give the Trident a good, loving home if you don't want to finish it. I'll even pay for shipping!😊

[xx]

The only reason I watched in was the Creality Ender 3 Pro.
I use two for years.
Mainboard of the first printer failed at around 2k hours of printing.
Printer two still works perfect, after more than 4k hours of printing.
I had not a single failure this whole year.
The Ender 3 Pro needs minor mods - anything else is a waste of time & money - it's a relatively slow printer, but if all done right - it does exactly what it should.

[SpectraVi]

I would buy the Prusa Mini+, MK3S+(just bought my second), Wuxn. A bambu only if customer support was as good as Prusa's customer support.

[Rsuperty]

I just converted my Prusa Mini into a Bulbasaur so I'm not sure any other printers can compete with that. That being said I do want the P1S and it's on my Christmas wish list this year, excited to see what Bambu is going to announce this month though.

[ColdIronGaming]

I love how Loyal Moses has embraced the term of Helmet Class printers

[makerspace]

Almost any 3D printer, when in the hands of an experienced operator, can be quite reliable. But, when it resides in a makerspace with 300 members, that's the real test. We had several different 3D printers and the Prusa 3s was the worst in reliability. I'm not sure why, but the Ender 3-V2 was actually more reliable once we got people to quit messing with the leveling. The reliability got so bad, that almost no 3D printing was being done. So we dumped all the printers and replaced them with 4 Bambu Lab P1Ps. What a huge difference! The 3D printing room is busy again with lots of people using the P1Ps. Bad prints almost never happen, and the printers have never needed maintenance except for occasional cleaning.

[KurtDNixon]

Here are my top three choices, at this moment, for my ultimate 3D printing mini farm. A Bambu Lab X1 Carbon with AMS, QIDI X-Max
3, and an Elegoo Neptune 3 Max. For the Neptune, I'd mod the print cooling for absolute maximum airflow, linear rail X & Y axes, hook it up to a Sonic Pad, and let 'er rip. Just need to get the wife on board ;)

[poepflater]

Flashforge Finder, just starting out in printing and it is super easy, cold bed and small builds are its main downsides. Reasonably fast and super quiet.

[officialWWM]

This was fascinating. I’d love that Pro 2 but I could never invest that kind of money. I just bought the K1 and I haven’t even opened the box yet. It’s my first machine. Wish me luck!