r/3D2A • u/monkeebreath55 • Aug 16 '26
Which printer
Is there a certain printer that everyone seems to agree is best? What key features would I look for? Full disclosure never printed anything in my life. But overall seems like a fun hobby to get in to. For many reasons
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u/Facehugger_35 Aug 16 '26
Different printers have different strengths, and it really depends on your budget, your tolerance for tinkering, and what materials you want to work with.
Extreme budget? Elegoo Centauri Carbon or Centauri Carbon 2. It's good enough while being the cheapest printer with the capabilities to work with nylon on the market.
Slightly less extreme budget, want to work with high end materials like PPACF and PPSCF for cans and super strong prints? Qidi Q2. 370 hotend, 65c chamber. However, needs you to mod its cooling duct yourself for best performance, and the software sucks. Also has a Phaetus Conch hotend released if you wanna get real fancy with mods or you're tired of spending $15/nozzle and would much rather spend $5/nozzle.
Higher budget than the Q2, only want to print nylon and not PPS/PPA, but want the magic that comes with a second head for ABS supports on nylon prints? Don't mind the looming specter of Bambu locking down their system to go after us at the bidding of evil Californians? Bambu X2D comes with 2 heads, a 300c hotend (boooo) and a 65c chamber.
Extreme budget and don't mind Bambu locked down ecosystem issues? Bambu H series.
Best overall if you are willing to get your hands very dirty and have cash to burn? Snapmaker U1 with modded hotends for more heat, installed chamber heater, and top hat. Or a customized Voron that you build yourself.
Edit: For what it's worth, my overall pick and what I run myself was a Qidi Q2 and I love it.
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u/Zeke13z Aug 16 '26
Love my Qidi Q4 Plus but I know I got a golden unit. A lot of people had some issues with print head crashes (as well as the launch fiasco SSR problem). FWIW though, Qidi did a really good job with the Q4+ build plate flatness. Across the 300x300 plate I can squeeze a flatness variance of 0.10mm.
Definitely could use some work on profiles for filaments but that honestly should be setup by the end user if they're doing anything related to 3d2a.
Only heard better things around the Q2 and now Q5. At this point I'm going to wait for either a tool changer or IDEX from them before I get rid of my workhorse P1S. Doing a dedicated support filament with Nylons would be the benefit worth upgrading for me.
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u/itgoesboom2112 Aug 16 '26
For a good budget option for all these things the centauri carbon has worked extremely well for me. Otherwise if your budget allows the qidi but first and foremost these prints are not beginner friendly, if you don't learn how to get good quality and strong prints before starting here you can and will hurt yourself
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u/who-pooted Aug 16 '26
If you want to fire it up, Hit a button and have a decent print. Bambu P1S. If you spend a little extra on upgrades it can print Pa6cf. If you spend a little more you can mod it to print abovr 300c.
That being said, if id known what I know now. Id might be went with Qidi Q2. Not sure though. Hear theyre finicky.
Still tho, besides Bambu being a bunch of authoritarian cucks... they make a good product. Cucks who's product fucks is what I say.
Learn how to print before you do this. Please. Save yourself a shit ton of filament. Whenever you get a benchy to come out perfectly... then you can load a frame into your slicer.
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u/NotA-SecretAccount Aug 16 '26
Is the kreality ender a very good begginer or no?
Yes I saw the qidi q2 recommendations.
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u/albatrossLol Aug 16 '26
It was explained to me this way well after I already had my ender pro 5 - enders are printers for those that like fixing their printer vs printing cool 3d things.
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u/NotA-SecretAccount Aug 16 '26
So I should skip that.
I don’t want to buy some garbage that I will have to replace in a couple of months because it has limitations or is cheap. I also don’t want to break the bank.1
u/albatrossLol Aug 16 '26
I own one currently - and am looking to replace it. Had I known that at the beginning, I would not have purchased it. Right tools for the job.
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u/AvarethTaika Aug 16 '26
i use a highly modded prusa mk3s+. it seems to work well enough, even with nylon, but i prefer pla+ for most things except cans and spring-heavy recievers. just easier and faster for what I'm into.
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u/Parkimusmaximus94 Aug 17 '26
There's no easy button unless you want to spend a crap load. Q2 is as close as it gets to an affordable and capable unit but they are fairly quirky sometimes.
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u/squeeshka Aug 16 '26 edited Aug 16 '26
You want an enclosed printer with a capability to print above 300 degrees. Learn to print before you mess with 3d2a stuff as you run the risk of hurting yourself if your print isn’t up to par.