So, I am looking to buy an FDM printer. The application will be mostly printing end use parts and prototypes. The printer will need to be able to use engineering type filaments, like Nylon and filled fibers (e.g. CF, GF). The budget is a bit flexible with the max at about $3K.

So far some candidates are:

Lulzbot TAZ Workhorse
Excellent printer, but old technology and design. Already long in the tooth and not getting younger although it fills the role in terms of being a good production printer with an excellent record for reliability, it might just be overpriced for what you get. On the upside it is completely open source and everything you need to build one is available making self repair an easy thing.

Prusa i3 MK3S+
Probably a really good choice. Excellent value for the money and very well respected. 300°C nozzle means Nylon and other hard-to-melt filament is no problem. Very open source with Prusa Slicer obviously compatible directly.

Bambu Labs Carbon X1
This is a very attractive printer. Turnkey, and including a complete cabinet as well as an automatic four spool filament dispenser supporting multilateral prints. This last bit is very attractive. The price is excellent, the downside is the closed ecosystem. The bright spot is that the slicer is OS, being a fork of Cura. This printer would definitely be good for the application so long as there is no issue with the closed source part.

Kodak Portrait
Not really a “Kodak” product but a licensee of the name and look. (Eastman Kodak is no more, except in name and colors). Still it is nicely made, very similar to the Bambu Carbon but with IDEX. I wouldn’t really be considering it but the printer is currently being steeply discounted ($2000 off the $3500 previous price). Also very closed source which isn’t the nicest thing, and the real reason it is even on the list at all is the IDEX which feels like it could be very useful for end use parts printing. Probably not going to be the choice, though.

So, do you have any comments or suggestions? Experience with any of these? Something useful to tell me? I am currently leaning towards the Carbon X1 but nothing is set yet. I hope you can help.

 

Is this your first step into the world of 3D printing?

 

Is this your first step into the world of 3D printing?

No. It is the first printer I will be buying for my own studio but I have done 3D printing using printers elsewhere. I also have an Ender 3 Neo V2 arriving today. It will be for experiments (software and hardware) related to printers. The other will be for production.

 

I want this one:

 

I want this one:

Alas, it exploded. But, it DID get to space first!

Edit: the printer, on the other hand, has not exploded, and remains "very cool."

 

A followup...

I settled on the Bambu Labs X1 Carbon (Combo). It’s a truly modern printer. While it doesn’t have the advantage of open source hardware and software, the community around it and 3rd party manufacturers are already making up for that.

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This is a printer that is for someone that wants to print things, rather that have a hobby of printers. It is unmatched in the price bracket, and it is very fast and very accurate. So I am looking forward to printing things, which is the point.

My little Creality Ender-3 V2 Neo is fun on the printer-as-hobby and it was very cheap (currently sub $300, currently $254.00 on the Creality website). Definitely recommended if you want a start in 3D printing.

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I have an Ender 3 Pro, and with the coupon from Microcenter for $100 I had my work buy one too, as I was using mine extensively for custom fiddly bits for fixturing.

Yeah I do recommend a short list of upgrades for it (springs, lock nuts, metal extruder, glass bed) but even out of the box it works well enough to get you running (until the plastic extruder snaps).

 

I have an Ender 3 Pro, and with the coupon from Microcenter for $100 I had my work buy one too, as I was using mine extensively for custom fiddly bits for fixturing.

Yeah I do recommend a short list of upgrades for it (springs, lock nuts, metal extruder, glass bed) but even out of the box it works well enough to get you running (until the plastic extruder snaps).

The V2 Neo comes stock with an all metal extruder, I opted for a (cheap) upgrade to a better solid aluminum one to replace the lesser stock one. The build plate that comes with the Neo is a flexible steel magnetic one. It’s got a PEI coating and works quite well.

The Z axis is a single lead screw but an upgrade kit to add a second was around 20 bucks and though it required a bit more than plug-and-play (mostly creative routing for the wiring) it was a cheap and cheerful upgrade to be sure. I also replaced the stock PTFE tube with a better quality one with a smaller ID so TPU feeds more reliably.

And of course there are quite printable upgrades you can make yourself. It’s fun, and it really does teach all the fundamentals of 3D printers and printing, including selecting modeling and slicing software and possibly setting up Octoprint, which is really quite nice.

 

Have you considered a liquid resin 3D printer instead of a filament one? I own an Epax and I'm quite happy with it.

 

Have you considered a liquid resin 3D printer instead of a filament one? I own an Epax and I'm quite happy with it.

I recall your search and choice. Resin printing is interesting but doesn’t align with my resources (I don’t have a place to put something smelly and potentially messy) or my basic needs (various sorts of prototypes and end use parts using cheap or expensive materials and suddenly available even after a long period without use.

But, some day, assuming I get my shop back, I would love to have a resin printer.

 

UPDATE:

The Bambu Labs Carbon X1 arrived and I am extremely happy with it. It’s a genuinely modern machine that prints unreasonably fast with fantastic quality. I am going to get a lot of use out of it.

This video is of a test print using automatic color change. If you can’t stand to watch the whole thing, the color change happens only a few seconds in, and then a 1:15 the second color gets printed. It is used for the last layers so you can see the “slow” printing of the first layer then the almost unbelievable speed of the two layers of 100% infill before the final surface.

I am really loving this machine...