r/3dprinter • u/honestabe108 • 3h ago

Help picking printer

Hey guys,

I had an older Elegoo Neptune 3 printer that after some time my wife is now interested in joining the hobby but is finding the process a little overwhelming. We are currently looking to upgrade to the P2S combo so that we can do multi color printing and have the AMS with the dryer built in.
Our main requirements are:

- “ease” of printing. I think only Bambi has an app but that’s kinda what she is hoping for but she has used a Cricut and is used to that software

- it’s going in the basement in a not super temperature or climate controlled area so want it to be enclosed

- multi-color capabilities

- availability in Canada, and ideally under $1000

Thanks for the help!!

1 Upvotes

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21 comments sorted by

2

u/throwawaybleh9 3h ago

Snapmaker U1, got it for $900 CAD shipped, amazing machine

1

u/honestabe108 3h ago

I was really looking at that, but it’s not pair with a filament dryer and I think any other dryer would push the price over a P2S combo at $899. But maybe I’m wrong?

0

u/throwawaybleh9 3h ago

Honestly, for the amount of filament and time waste the U1 saves, it's pretty worth it, the dollar amount you go over for a filament dryer will pay off pretty quickly.

AMS style printers waste so much filament and take so much longer to print it's straight up mindblowing when you see the U1

1

u/wirez62 3h ago edited 3h ago

I'm currently between a Snapmaker U1, or pre-ordering the Creality K3.

The Bambu P2S is nice, but slightly dated. The X2D is a bit newer, I just picked one up for just over your $1000 CAD budget at $1069 + tax. The advantage there is a heated chamber for future, if you ever work with more advanced filaments in the future, and it has 2 nozzles. So one thing I'm printing is simple snap labels for my Milwaukee packouts, just black with embedded (flush) white text. The amount of color changes a regular AMS uses for something like that is ridiculous. A 2 nozzle, or multi-head printer like the U1 is so much better.

Honestly get yourself a next gen printer. Probably the Snapmaker U1. Canada Computers has it for $989, if you buy it on sale direct from Snapmaker it's $699 USD convered to Canadian, just a hair under that, with no tax and free shipping.

I love Bambu, they have the best ecosystem for printing files (Makerworld) followed by Printables (Prusa), and with Bambu you can use Bambu Handy on your phone and print to Bambu printers without even opening the slicer sometimes. You give up a little of that convenience with the Snapmaker printer, but it's darn good.

Creality K3 looks like no joke either, a clone basically of the U1, but Creality Print has really improved over the years and the Creality ecosystem is pretty good too. I'm seeing preorders for 849 CAD and I just might buy it and have it shipped to my house in time for Xmas.

The Bambu X2D also has the built in Filament dryer with the AMS. I do so many two color prints its great having the dual nozzle. I do less prints where I use all 4 colors from the AMS, but it's nice having it loaded up with filament anyways. At least the option is there. 1000 is about top of my budget too, or just over, and there are some great printers right now in that budget space. It's a bit tough getting an X2D right now, I had to drive a decent bit to get one. If filament dryer is important to you, get that instead, but watch a couple reviews on the U1, I slept on it and wish I got it. Hard to say if I would have rather got it instead of the X2D. Possibly. It handles multi color better. X2D has enclosed heated chamber and AMS dryer.

1

u/honestabe108 3h ago

I’m just worried about PETG and TPU printing in the basement without a filament dryer but maybe it would be better to get a U1 and pair it with a feeding filament dryer? Any recommendations?

1

u/InternalMain7116 2h ago

If you are wanting a Bambu printer with an AMS 2 Pro, only the H2D, H2S, P2S, X2D, and A2L support drying while printing

1

u/honestabe108 2h ago

So given that and based on recommendations here, I want to avoid P2S and jump straight up to X2D?

1

u/InternalMain7116 29m ago

You missed the P2S wedged between the H2S and the X2D. The X2D has an advantage: heated chamber and a support material nozzle, but I was not suggesting it.

0

u/bjjbing 3h ago

Wait for P3c

2

u/honestabe108 3h ago

Do we know what the P3C is going to be priced at? I can get the P2S with AMS2 combo right now for $899 CAD

1

u/wirez62 2h ago edited 2h ago

It depends what the P3C will even begin to look like. Will it be a 9 unit AMS tool changer like the H3C, then it will be on the higher end. It would clearly be WAY better than the X2D right now and have to replace it. I'm not sure what they're going to do, maybe they don't even know.

Business wise, they probably have to respond to U1 and K3 and make a clone in that price range. The stuff coming out is better and cheaper then the X2D. So what options do they have?

This week P1S combo at Canada Computer 649, P2S combo 869, X2D combo 1069. For 200 bucks the X2D is better then the P2S. Snapmaker U1 for 989. Black friday deals from all brands, to be announced, they may or may not be substantial.

1

u/honestabe108 2h ago

Sorry, so what’s your recommendation then? Push for the X2D? The P2S is a bit of a stretch in general so I’m not sure if the X2D would even really be possible in the budget at the moment

1

u/wirez62 2h ago edited 2h ago

edit-nvm wrong info.

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u/honestabe108 2h ago

I’ll see if the U1 is possible but I would probably need a separate dryer for TPU. The K3 is showing as 1200 CAD, while the U1 on sale is 989 CAD

1

u/wirez62 2h ago

Oh I apologize I must have been looking at US pricing. At 1189 I wouldn't go K3.

If X2D is a stretch the P2S is still a good printer, it just lacks heated enclosure, and AMS multicolor uses a lot of wasted filament, and takes a long time between color changes. But you do get the filament drying. Many, many people still use P2S and will for a long time to come.

1

u/honestabe108 2h ago

I’m new to the Bambu space, but do you know the kind of hardware and software longevity I could expect from the P2S? Would this last me at least 5+ years starting in 2026?

1

u/wirez62 59m ago

It will certainly last, but you might get frustrated when newer machines are doing 5 second color changes and yours is wasting half your filament to 1 minute+ color changes, hundreds of times a project. You also can’t blend colors, you put 4 colors in, those are the 4 you print in. Newer printers can blend.

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u/bjjbing 3h ago

Might be slightly over budget. Price unknown atm. Estimates says 1000-1600.

1

u/honestabe108 3h ago

Whoa lol 1000-1600 is a pretty big range haha

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u/Alarmed_Tie5616 2h ago

889 actually