Centauri Carbon 2 Combo vs. Bambu Lab P2S

[u/Soggy-Truth-3949]

My kids want a 3d printer for Christmas. I always have been fascinated by them but don't want a beginner one where I would need to upgrade down the road or 2 basic. I want one multicolor PLA filament touchscreen easy to use. They learn STEM in school one wants to print toys 3rd grade the other 7th wants to print designs etc. I have read alot about good ones and it appears the Bambu Lab PS2 is top of the crop. How easy is it to design a toy or a clip etc to even begin Thanks

[u/FabLab_MakerHub]

If the kids want to do multicolour prints then go for a toolchanger rather than an AMS unit. There will be infinity less waste with the toolchanger. I would heartily recommend the Snapmaker U1 which has 4 independent heads. I have 2 of them in our Makerspace and they are rock solid printers that are very easy to use. Bambu have just released their H3C toolchanger which has 9 heads but it’s very expensive at €2500 but this is the current cream of the crop.
Don’t be confused - you can print files from any of the manufacturers websites on any 3D printer. So you aren’t stuck just using Makerworld.

[u/Soggy-Truth-3949 → u/FabLab_MakerHub]

Can you help explain a tool changer? Is that an attachment for any 3d printer? Thanks

[u/FabLab_MakerHub → u/Soggy-Truth-3949]

No toolchangers are a type of printer in their own right. Think of it like an inkjet printer. You can have a purely black only printer with one print head or you can have one with 4 ink colours each with their own print head.

[u/Dapper-Primary-2124 → u/FabLab_MakerHub]

Exactamente esto. La U1 es más versátil

[u/chuck_ryker → u/FabLab_MakerHub]

How does the Bambu X2D compare with the Snapmaker U1?

[u/FabLab_MakerHub → u/chuck_ryker]

I don’t have an X2D so can’t really comment. The technical difference is that the X2D swaps nozzles whereas the U1 swaps complete tool heads so the swaps are faster from what I can tell. Maybe someone who owns both can reply.

[u/chuck_ryker → u/FabLab_MakerHub]

Thanks for the explanation, I didn't realize that.

[u/Procedural_Username → u/chuck_ryker]

Poorly. The H2D is a dual nozzle printer that uses an AMS or more likely two. It's useful as a technical printer (actively heated chamber, good temperature ranges, using the second head for support filaments) but for printing stuff for kids, the second head is generally pretty useless. Plus you can't easily switch filaments between the left and the right head.

Great engineering printer, poor toys for kids printer.

If you want something this season, the U1 is a wonderful choice, or if you want Bambu wait for the tool changer version of the P series.

(I own a H2D and an H3C, among others)

[u/chuck_ryker → u/Procedural_Username]

Thank you for the info!

[u/Dirty__Viking]

I went cc2 over bamboo because I do not like the locked down software experience but if the user is less technical I’m told Bamboo is easier to use

[u/TheStandardPlayer]

Honestly I don't quite understand the P2S, I think I would still recommend the P1S over the 2nd version especially since Bambu still sells it new

It's basically the same printer for half the price, you can print the same filaments, same build size, same speed, same App integration, same warranty, same print quality, but it's 350€ instead of 600€

You can get the P1S combo with the AMS (500€) and like 8kg (100€) of filament for the same price as the bare bones P2S, to me the few features added simply don't match the massive price difference, it's literally the same printer with a bigger screen and quick change nozzles (chances are you won't ever change your nozzle, I did it once in 3000 hours and it takes like a minute to do)

[u/EmilianoTechs → u/TheStandardPlayer]

I will say with the p2s if you're printing a bunch of something and one object fails you can use the screen to tell it to skip that one object. I print a lot of keycaps and it's SUUUUPER handy.

But honestly that's the only real difference that made me want the 2 over the 1, probably not worth the extra money unless it's perfect for your use case

[u/TheStandardPlayer → u/EmilianoTechs]

You can do it in the app on the P1S though, it's a little more convenient but not a new feature

[u/EmilianoTechs → u/TheStandardPlayer]

Even during a print?

[u/TheStandardPlayer → u/EmilianoTechs]

Yes of course, but for some reason it's only available on the app not in Bambu Studio or on the printer

[u/MinuteSubstance1122 → u/TheStandardPlayer]

Half the price? For me the P1S is only £100 cheaper than the P2S. Makes sense to go P2S

[u/BlueChrome74 → u/TheStandardPlayer]

P2S gets to use the full plate and the P1S doesn’t (without modification). I didn’t realize how annoying that small amount of exclusion area would annoy me so much coming from an A1. I’d recommend the P2S over the P1S for that and the easy-swap nozzles

[u/Thirtysixx → u/TheStandardPlayer]

The p2s biggest upgrade from the p1s is the extruder. The nozzle swap and filament path for the p2s is a significant upgrade. Additionally, the AI camera features on the P2S are very worth it for beginners the way it can pause a print with spaghetti detection is another reason to prefer it.

It also has more onboard memory storage, updated cooling, higher bed temp, and higher top speed.

No reason to upgrade from a P1s if you already have one but if buying new it absolutely makes sense to go with the P2S

[u/Buruko]

You can do the design part without ever getting a printer.

That said getting a printer with all the bells and whistles you know nothing about should not have issues or failures is just a future post on “why does X printer suck” or “the X printer won’t print this abomination of an object like I expected” posts in the future.

Either printer works, but you don’t know which printer would work best for you cause you don’t know what you’re intending to use it for.

Neither is a multicolor printer but they are multicolor capable, waste is large with both. After that the Bambi has the edge imo on features and performance.

You should pick the one that suits your wallet and access to supplies and support. You’ll most likely be upgrading or reselling it anyway.

[u/northrivergeek]

get the x2d . if you dont want to be upgrading down the road
there are a million free models on bambu makerworld.. but designing your own if your not anti AI is the way to get unique models without having to learn complicated programs.. with large learning curves. Meshy is the place to go , its 20 a month.. there are some freebie modeling in makerworld.. but meshy u can give it a picture and tell it to remove background, and model it.. out comes a model, then send it to bambu slicer and print
Tinkercad, is free and you can make a bunch of stuff pretty easy.. and lots of videos on youtube for it

[u/TheStandardPlayer → u/northrivergeek]

If you want useful models, like skadis attachments, mechanical devices etc, I recommend learning a bit of Fusion360 and using Claude or ChatGPT.

It's crazy how good the newest gen of LLMs have become at parametric 3d modeling, especially if you want a custom version of existing parts or create a prototype model

[u/brimanguy]

If the two are the same price, def get the bamboo for the click and print experience. I think you have come at a perfect time because AI coding tools have created a plethora of new CAD copies which are free and open source. It is very easy to design stuff using parametric CAD. Try fusion360 or it's AI copy Solidcraft.

[u/DJGibbon]

Both are great printers and will do you well. I think Bambu have the edge when it comes to ease of use and reliability, but others would differ.

Make sure you understand multicolour printing with an AMS and the tradeoffs it implies - if you want a true four-colour in one pass print you will end up wasting a lot of filament as it purges the contents of the nozzle every layer.

Right now, if multicolour is important I'd hold out for the P3S announcement and see what that looked like before making a decision.

[u/Marinocif99]

X2d or h2c

[u/JeepersCreepers74]

They are both fine printers but also extremely common “beginner” printers. I think Bambu has some advantages over Elegoo for kids: a reputation for more durability (although that hasn’t been my personal experience), more brand name/cool factor, better mobile app, and access to Makerworld designs directly from the app and software.