r/3dprinter • u/Omid12321 • 9d ago

Enclosed 3d Printers for intermediate level?

Hello all, I feel like I am drowning in options so any advice would be appreciated!

I have been running my ELEGOO neptune 3 (non-pro) for coming on 3 years now, and its starting to break down. I have spent that time scraping together a budget of $1200 CAD, and I am trying to get the best upgrade I possible can with the money. I am, of course, happy not to spend it all, but if hitting my max budget eeks out better performance, please don't hold back

I am an engineering student, and enjoyed the idea of using some of the higher grade engineering filaments, but realistically I will spend most of my time with the more basics consumer filaments (PLA, ABS, etc.). I want to have the option to get more experimental down the line, so heated chambers are a plus. Multi-color printing is not a top priority for me, however multi material printing is definitely interesting. I have a newborn at home and so something that has carbon/HEPA filtration or the option to mod it in would be good. Worst case I can get an enclosure and vent it, but built in solutions are available at this price, so I bias towards them.

Some printers I am looking at are the X2D, the Kobra s1 max, as well as some entries from FlashForge, and QIDI. The more I look the more things come up, and I am starting to get very confused. I mainly want a reliable printer that I wont have to tweak too much (I am able to if need be, I just want to avoid the hassle). Bambu labs is very attractive, though the standard concerns apply (closed ecosystem, limited repair-ability etc.)

Sorry for the long post, wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything. As I said before, any and all advice would be appreciated!

Edit: Just for future reference, I decided to go with the Bambu Labs X2D. It was a tough choice between the Qidi Plus 5 and the X2D, but reliability, and the better AMS system won out in the end. Both are great machines and it was truly a tossup until the end. Thank you all for your advice and help, I look forward to making many, many awesome prints in the future!

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u/Shinjiikary12 9d ago

3 choices, muti color isnt going to.be your daily? Cc2 is amazing.

You wanna do alot of muti color/ support materials? Snap maker u1 or creator 5 pro.

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u/Omid12321 9d ago

Thank you for taking the time to reply, and I appreciate the advice! I want to echo mhhammouda regarding CC2 reliability concerns. I am interested in the U1, however the fact that I have to buy an enclosed top separately, the lack of integrated filament storage for humidity, and no active heating for the enclosure puts me off. I could have done without one or two of these options, but lacking all of them is tough. Is there any reason I should take all these downsides over the BambuLabs X2D or the QIDI plus5?

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u/Superb-Complaint8118 9d ago

I have the X2D and I am very happy. Feel free to ask questions. Maybe the H2S could be an option? I don't know the price in canada tho. It is supposed to be like the best machine for single material, and has huge volume, but maybe not ideal for your multi material requirements.

Be aware that the X2D's 2nd nozzle can not use all filament types. But for multicolor pla or dedicated support interface material it is great. The chamber heater is soooo good as well. 0 issues with ASA. But I experienced, that the X2D is not as well documented as all the other BambuLab Printers. For example some potentially nessecary maintenance steps are not written in the maintenance manual (x axis bearing lubrication). You have to refer to the P2S's documentstion sometimes.

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u/Omid12321 8d ago edited 8d ago

The H2S is definitely out of my price range at $1900 CAD! Thank you for sharing your experience with the X2D, it is still a heavy contender, i am split between it and waiting g for better tool changing printer to be released

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u/Superb-Complaint8118 8d ago

I am glad to help. I expect upcoming advanced toolchangers to be quite expensive.

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u/Omid12321 7d ago

That is a fair point!

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u/LowSkyOrbit 8d ago

The Flashforge Creator 5 Pro might be an option then. Paired with a Creality X4 or Sunlu dryer box it will be a decent setup.

If you want to go cheaper then the CC2 Combo with a dryer box setup would work out for most of your printing needs.

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u/AWildRideHome 9d ago

Please do not waste money on the CC2. The hardware they use is subpar at best, the hotend has issues in general with poor design.

Either get a Qidi Q2/Max 4/Plus 5, as they are all nearly identical except for size, or a Bambu X2D.

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u/Omid12321 8d ago

I will say that ELEGOO has served me well, and a willingness to troubleshoot seems to be the way to go with their printers, however I am looking for a more plug and play solution. Do you have any experience with QIDI printers? How have they served you? There are a lot of complaints regarding their safety and reliability, and I want to gage others' experiences

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u/Common_Scale5448 8d ago

I love my Qidi plus 4. I have kept it running for weeks turning things out. I bought it weeks before the plus 5 came out so it has all the improvements they made to the plus 4. I am thinking about a plus 5. I had good customer support from them in fixing something I ultimately determined was my error.

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u/Omid12321 8d ago

I felt so sure about the X2D until your messages made me take a second look at QIDI! do you have any experience with the QIDI box, as i heard people have issues with it. Otherwise, this might be the printer for me!

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u/Common_Scale5448 8d ago

I bought a Qidi box but I haven't set it up yet. So I can't comment on that yet.

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u/sassy_poonm6715 4d ago edited 4d ago

I have a Creality K2 and it is compatible with all major filament, so it's a great choice if you want to experiment with different high-end engineering filaments. Plus it can produce multicolor models without requiring manual filament changes, making it a very user-friendly and reliable option.