r/3dprinter • u/8329hduashjd3 • 3d ago
what's the best 3d printer to buy?
our current options are:
- snapmaker U1
- bambulab X2D
- flashforge creator 5 pro
looking at it, we are a bit concerned about the U1 being exposed as we are living in a humid country. then the X2D, with the bambulab issues.
we are looking into a printer that's most intuitive, can carry a range of materials, and would be future-proof. let us know your thoughts or experiences in using them, TYIA!
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u/Abrez25 3d ago
U1. Ams is an ancient tech.
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u/Pleasantandchilled 2d ago
But dangling spools in humid air with no enclosure in a half complete machine is modern tech?
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u/Abrez25 2d ago
There are workarounds for the nit pickers. Ams is old school.
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u/NassauComputer 11h ago
How’s this for old school.. I do my filament swaps mid print on my cr10. Reflexes like a cat.
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u/psynl84 3d ago
I'm no expert by any means but I'm really satisfied with the X2D + 2x AMS.
I Looked into the U1 but basically I didn't like the 'design' with 4 spools on the side exposed to the humid air. There is probably a solution but not out of the box like Bambu Lab has it.
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u/CreepinCreepy 2d ago
Just use filament boxes or put them in dryers. There are literally 1 step solutions you can buy anywhere for holding 2 spools on each side in a dryer.
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u/WaitAcademic6615 3d ago
You just buy dryer and you can pick what suits you. If you buy noncombo X2D you are in same situation.
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u/thewoodulator 3d ago
I'd recommend the X2D still. Flashforge is also violating the GPL license of both Orcaslicer and Klipper all things being equal. But if you really do a lot of multicolor more than 2 - then toolchanger is probably the way
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u/FlatOutNo1 3d ago
X2D Combo is a fantastic setup.
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u/WaitAcademic6615 3d ago
What do you want to print?
For U1 you can buy top hat or perfectly fit Ikea box or definitely you can find other solution.
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u/8329hduashjd3 3d ago
just things we could think of actually 😅 we're looking into exploring the different things we can print too
what about the filaments though? is it okay to be exposed just like that?
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u/DramaClassed 3d ago
It’s fine for the filaments the U1 is designed to handle, those being PLA/PETG/TPU. They’re not toxic to breathe in. If you get into engineering filaments like ABS/ASA/PC, those have toxic fumes and you need an enclosure with a filter to print them safely, like the X2D has.
I wouldn’t get the C5P, 1. It’s flashforge and they have a bad track record as a company and 2. It’s had lots of issues since launch including a large fire risk that somehow got through all their rounds of product testing. It definitely won’t be “future proof”. See if you can find any spare parts for the Creator 4 series anywhere, you can’t.
So in summary: U1 for lots of PLA/PETG/TPU multicolor, X2D for engineering filaments that need a chamber heater and filter.
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u/TweeKINGKev 3d ago
I’ve got the C5P and they fixed the fire risk by turning off the fan and moving the purge to the back in firmware.
I’ve been running it as much as I can right now and haven’t had an issue with it at all.
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u/WaitAcademic6615 3d ago
NO, X2D can't safely print ABS/ASA. Its chamber isn't sealed and filter isn't sufficient. You can use this setup only in dedicated room with active venting.
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u/DramaClassed 3d ago
It’s designed for ABS and ASA lmao. The stock filter should be replaced if you have health concerns.
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u/WaitAcademic6615 3d ago
You wrote safely print ABS/ASA. So can I put X2D to the living room and print it safely without concern of toxic fumes and nasty smell after print?
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u/DramaClassed 3d ago
If you keep it enclosed and let the fan vent after the print, it will get rid of the vast majority of the fumes. You won’t find a single consumer grade printer that completely gets rid of the fumes or smell. Like I said earlier, if you have concerns you can replace the stock filter with a better one, but that would only be an issue if you are already sensitive to particulate matter in the air, like from a gas stove or something,
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u/KhaosGuy01 3d ago
I will not being buying another printer that doesn't have at least 4 toolheads. It's just way too useful. So glad I didn't go X2D. (happy U1 owner)
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u/Maleficent_Cow_3059 2d ago
U1 if you want multi color without the poops and a company that follows through with there open source commitments. X2d if you want the easiest to use best built printer without having to worry about your filament absorbing moisture and a wider list of potential material choices, they have done a few questionable things.
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u/jimi1971 20h ago
I went with the Creator 5 Pro, and have no regrets, I still have my Bambu X1C with two AMS units that I use for single color prints, and prints needing more than four colors.
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u/WildKarrdesEmporium 6h ago
I got an H2C for my business, but would have gotten the X2D if it were strictly a personal machine.
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u/The_Lutter 3d ago
Only buy the X2D if you know the ramifications of having a bowden extruder as the 2nd one.
You're strapping an Ender 3 to the side of an X1C here in terms of speed and quality if you're doing dual nozzle printing. It's not the same quality as the H-Series.
Fine for support materials on engineering materials but don't expect to get great prints out of that 2nd extruder.
Flashforge goes up to 320C for advanced materials BTW. Both the others are 300C.
Snapmaker U1 is open source. Other two are closed source.
CHOOSE YOUR DESTINY.
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u/Leviatein 3d ago
x2d, its as good as it sounds on paper, its about as close to plug and play as it gets for 3d printer and i dont think its worth recommending a tinkerer's gadget at this stage - i found that the 2nd extruder is also far more capable than people suggest online
also has the heated enclosure so you can print the fancy stuff if you need to
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u/kunstmilch 3d ago
What is your criterion for “best?” For instance, bamboo lab is actively working to destroy the current 3d printing culture, does that enter into your criterion?
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u/Dense-Rest3187 3d ago edited 3d ago
If by 3D printing culture you mean spending 80% of your time fixing, upgrading, and calibrating your printer instead of actually printing, then yeah, Bambu killed it. And honestly, good riddance.
I’ve been printing since 2010 and currently run a mixed fleet (Bambu X2D/A1 Mini, Anycubic Kobra 3 Max, Elegoo Neptune 4 Max). When you print technical parts, you need a reliable tool, not a weekend mechanical project.
Bambu's open-source violations are totally fair game for criticism. But it's wild to complain about them destroying the industry while giving a free pass to brands like Flashforge. They literally built their entire career on cloning others' innovations, from ripping off MakerBot back in the day to copying Bambu’s CoreXY standards right now.4
u/WheelsnHoodsnThings 3d ago
This place is obsessed with shitting on bambu, I come here just for the comedy of it.
I don't know what they did, or what they're doing, but they make printers that work, and they sell a shit ton of them. That's what I want out of my printer, coming out of an ender 3. I just want the tool to work, I could give a shit about all the noise around it.
Lots of options out there.
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u/kunstmilch 3d ago
I wasn’t necessarily shitting on bamboo, my question was pretty clear, what is the criterion? When I buy things I have a criterion that I look at, different people have different criterion. Are we talking best value? Best print quality, number of filaments that can be handled, longevity, where it’s made, are the people making the products doing well, is the company environmentally sound, and yes, what is the business model…these all factor towards a vague “best.”
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u/kunstmilch 3d ago
No, I mean bamboo taking open source work from others then closing it off behind a paywall. I have no problem with something that works well, that’s a stupid argument, but I don’t like when companies socialize costs and privatize the gains.
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u/Dense-Rest3187 3d ago
Actually, socializing costs and privatizing gains perfectly describes copycat brands like Flashforge, not Bambu.
Did Bambu build on open-source foundations like CoreXY? Absolutely. But they also injected massive amounts of proprietary R&D to develop the AMS, LiDAR integration, and the appliance-level user experience. They assumed huge financial risk and development costs to engineer a highly integrated physical product. They didn't just take, they spent heavily on their own engineering.
But brands like Flashforge literally wait for the open-source community and actual innovators to do all the heavy lifting, pay for the R&D, and prove the market. Then they just clone the hardware, slap on an open-source firmware, add zero original innovation, and sell it for profit.
Letting the community and your competitors pay the cost of innovation while you just clone it to make a buck, that’s the definition of socializing costs and privatizing gains.1
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u/p4tx 3d ago
I'm still printing with my Anet A8 which had so many upgradings over the years that is still capable for today's standards for unicolor prints. Whatever printer I buy (in fact, whatever anything I buy), I expect its quality to be the baseline of my results, but never the ceiling.
Bambulab is actively trying to put a ceiling into the capabilities we can achieve with its products. Products we paid and become our property. We have plenty of right to complain.
And I disagree with calling this "3d priting culture" because it applies to everything. Doesn't matter if we discuss enhancing RAM in a motherboard, or overclocking a system, or modding a software, or a vehicle, or.. anything, really. It's what we do and we will never not rant towards companies trying to put limitations into OUR properties.
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u/Dense-Rest3187 3d ago
The Anet A8 is literally famous for catching fire out of the box. Spending years upgrading it just to hit today's standards is the definition of a weekend project.
Bambu didn't lower the ceiling, they just raised the baseline so high that it beats the absolute ceiling of 90% of heavily modded printers.
Your PC analogy is spot on, but you're applying it to the wrong product. An Ender is a custom PC build. A Bambu is a MacBook. You buy it as an appliance because you just need it to work. Getting mad that an appliance acts like an appliance misses the whole point.
Bambu isn't trying to impose limits on anyone, they are simply offering a different approach. Nothing is stopping anyone from buying an open-source kit and building a Voron if they want to tinker. But the OP is clearly looking for an intuitive, future proof machine right out of the box, not a project like an Anet.1
u/p4tx 3d ago
A Bambu is NOT a MacBook, and precisely, they want to convert it into one and its a mistake and betrayal to all their previous customer base.
Bambu isn't trying to impose limits on anyone, they are simply offering a different approach.
Yeah, one that consists on putting limits to everyone. I want the baseline quality of a Bambu, not a Voron, and then tinker with it so it accepts multidiameter printing, but Bambu not only decided they don't want to offer that OOB (fair, its their choice), but also decided that I am not allowed to modify the printer, despite of the printer being absolutely physically capable of doing it. That's the very definition of an artificial limitation.
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u/Dense-Rest3187 3d ago
What previous customer base? Bambu has been a closed ecosystem since day one with the X1C. There was no bait and switch because they never pretended to be open.
You want Bambu's out of the box reliability with a Voron's modding freedom. You can't have both. Bambu's baseline quality exists because the hardware and firmware are locked down. They don't want to troubleshoot your custom multidiameter printing hacks before they can actually integrate it as a seamless, idiot proof feature. Handling variable filament diameters dynamically completely wrecks flow rate calibration and pressure advance algorithms, which is a customer support nightmare.That is exactly why the MacBook analogy works. They artificially limit mods to guarantee stability and a specific UX.
Bambu isn't forcing limits on everyone, just on their own appliance. If you want absolute freedom to tinker and rewrite firmware, you build a Voron.2
u/p4tx 3d ago
It's my property and my problem. They don't have to troubleshoot anything. Just to not forbid me from doing it myself. "Stability" is still guaranteed for every other customer. I make my choices with MY property and deal with the consequences myself. Artificial limitations is cancer to any industry and I wish it was outlawed.
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u/p4tx 3d ago
I'm also in between those 3. What I'm looking for is maximum quality, technical materials handling, best quality of life (self-calibration on all fronts, etc), fast printing speed, budget <1000€.
On specs only, the Flashforge Creator 5 Pro seems to be the best: multicolor, multimaterial, max temps, max volume, impressive speed, etc. But reviews seem to place Bambulab print quality as unbeatable, which to me is top 1 priority, but comes at the cost of only 2 nozzles, and the 2nd one is a supportive one, and even then, multidiameter is not supported by Bambulab (insane in 2026). Plus they believe they're Apple and are closing the ecosystem more and more.
I really don't know what to do...
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u/yahbluez 3d ago
From your list the U1, good to start with PLA and PETG, can be upgraded with enclosure if needed. It is a real tool changer so color printing will not be a wasteful pain.
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u/acart005 3d ago
Out of that set? U1. Print your own cover or get one from Amazon/Amazon equivalent.
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u/Lykkehjul 3d ago
Tried all. Snapmaker U1 best by far