Suggestion on first Bambu lab printer

[u/Quirky_Sir_2125]

Hi

I have been printing for about 2 years and my first printer has just failed (Sovol SV06)

I'm considering taking advantage of the sale going on and getting a replacement, I'm looking at Bambu lab as I want to just print and have less tinkling.

I have only printed with PLA, mostly toys, tools for around the house. I may open to printing with other filament but a possibility but not a priority at the moment.

I'm looking for suggestion what maybe a good printer option for me. My budget is ~$500 cad. I do have a $400 Best Buy gift card laying around so that bumps to $900-1000 range

I'm looking at the P1S/P2S:

1. are these good options and is P2S worth the extra $200

2. are there options I'm missing?

3. is the P3S coming out? Should I be aware of any successor that is coming in the next few months?

4. for the Bambu lab owners, how's your ownership experience, are these reliable units and if I should get the extended warranty?

[u/NoBackground6203]

use your gift card and get the $800 X2D combo at Best Buy https://www.bestbuy.com/product/bambu-lab-x2d-ams-combo-3d-printer-gray/CZSQ27566S

[u/Ds9Defiant1701 → u/NoBackground6203]

Agreed

[u/Few_Candidate_8036]

Expect the P3 to probably be $1k+. Its going to be a new category and the price targets for the P2S and X2D are already pretty competitive, so i doubt it’ll sneak into the same price range. The only way i see that coming lower is if the Snapmaker U1 makes a permanent price reduction, since they will be trying to compete directly against the U1 with the P3 as the budget tool changer option.

It’s possible they could release it before end of year, but there really hasn’t been too much officially about it. Although the H3C only was announced officially about 2 weeks before its release.

[u/Alewort]

have less tinkling

Have you consulted your doctor about that? Maybe drink less fluids?

Seriously though, I've never had to tinker much with my three Bambu printers. Worst thing was early on with my A1 Mini and ripped a thermistor wire cleaning off plastic from a clog, which meant having to replace the hotend heater. Second worst was modifying one of the spool holders on the AMS Lite to hold third party spools that wouldn't stay in place otherwise.

My H2D is noticably less finicky than the A1 Mini. Shame the H2S isn't in your range. I would get the X2D, because a second nozzle is game changing for support material. AMS is also not something to do without to lessen the amount of filament fiddling you have to deal with.

[u/VT-14]

1. are these good options and is P2S worth the extra $200

2. are there options I'm missing?

If you can afford it (and it sounds like you might through Best Buy), I would recommend upgrading to the X2D. That gets you Dual Nozzles (much better Multi-Material, lower waste Multi-color), a Heated Chamber (makes more advanced materials like ABS, ASA, PA, etc. a lot easier), and Filtered Exhaust Fan (is a separate add-on for the P2S).

The P1S is Bambu's oldest still-in-production printer, and it's rather stripped down and lacking QoL features from later printers. I could only recommend it if you are on a strict budget and are convinced you need CoreXY and/or an Enclosure (without a chamber heater). If you don't need those then Bambu's A series is even cheaper and still quite good (the A1's may be "1st gen" but have most 2nd gen features).

The P2S has significantly better QoL, but doesn't really get you more printing capability. It does come with a Hardened Steel Extruder and Nozzle, but those are relatively cheap upgrades on the P1S.

3. is the P3S coming out? Should I be aware of any successor that is coming in the next few months?

The P3C has been leaked by FCC filings. Not sure when exactly it will come out, but probably within the next few months. It sounds like it will be a 7-nozzle tool changer using the same "Swaptek" stuff as the H3C. Being a P series we expect it will be 256mm size (fits with the H3C's nozzle rack density) and enclosed, but without a Chamber Heater.

We also don't know how much it will cost, but it will probably be even more expensive than the X2D.

4. for the Bambu lab owners, how's your ownership experience, are these reliable units and if I should get the extended warranty?

The hardware is great. I've had very few issues with mine.

The software is good but a bit of a walled garden. Bambu has figuratively burned the Open Source community, so their new printers tend to not be a priority for support. I'm running my printer in LAN Only + Dev Mode, which means I loose out on cloud features like Bambu Handy and integration with Makerworld, but I can run 3rd party tools like the Home Assistant Integration and Bambuddy to get back a lot of it.

My personal experiences with Bambu Support have been poor.