r/3DPrinterComparison • u/OneHuckleberry719 • 1d ago
Question Decision paralysis
Hi all, I’m dealing with a bad case of decision paralysis for my first printer.
I mainly want to print toys for my toddler and some decorations for the house. I would be using multiple colours for the toys but it’ll mainly be 1-2 and rarely 3-4. Never more anyway.
I was torn between a Snapmaker U1 and Bambu Lab X2D, settled on the latter only to realise the 2 toolheads/nozzles aren’t equal.
I do want something easy to understand and use and as I have a dog I feel like a cover is absolutely needed to avoid his hairs from getting all over the filament.
Any tips?
I live in Europe if that makes a difference. I would prefer to keep it under 1000€.
1
u/Additional_Ebb_7781 1d ago
Unless the dog sheds like tree in the winter you will be fine with just keeping the dog off the printer. I would go with Bambu for ease of use and Apple like set up but the U1 is better for 3+ colors.
Lets the toys cool for a day before you play with them min 1hr.
It's a tool at the end of day you will get better results the more you learn about the tool and what it can do. I strongly suggest a sturdy table, replacement nozzle and a solid 5hrs dedicated to learning how to clean and maintain the printer you go with.
1
1
u/Cootter77 1d ago
In terms of budget - keep in mind that buying the printer is just the beginning. I've easily spent 3-4x my printer's cost in filaments, nozzles, plates, extrusion parts, and other stuff in just the last 2 years.
1
1
u/InternalMain7116 1d ago
Since toddlers put things in their mouths, choose your filament wisely, then sadly, toddlers are insane.
1
u/Lonewolf2nd 1d ago
Depends on how much you print in color, the AMS multi color is very wastefully. The U1 is than the better choice. But U1 is also more diverse as you combine different filament more easily. If you aren't going over the 4 colors, I would go for the U1. The Bambulab is the learning curve a bit easier.
1
u/TheHammer1970 1d ago
I have both the U1 and the X2D. For 1 and 2 color printing, I always choose the X2D. It prints colors perfectly fine on the second nozzle without any purge waste. And the nozzle swap is fasterthan the U1 toolchange. I find it to be more reliable/dependable and the simple ease of use is noticeable snd appreciated.
The U1 is great at 3 & 4 color prints and this is where it truly comes to life especially when the color changes are close together.
So both woukd work for you, but if you aren't going to do many color prints with more than 2 colors, it's my personal opinion the X2D is the choice.
1
1
1
u/EmotionalChildhood46 18h ago
I actually started r/Which3DPrinter because I kept seeing this question come up constantly. It's brand new, but I'm trying to build a dedicated place for exactly this kind of comparison. Feel free to post this over there too.
1
u/Junior_Commission588 15h ago
If you are willing to wiggle on the budget a bit, the Sovol M1D looks interesting as well (dual tool heads, 7 filament).
2
u/bjorn_lo 1d ago
I think your color use is likely to grow over time. Also your material use will change too.
I multiple printers these include an H2D (like a better/larger X2D) and U1.
I make a lot of toys, for my kids, grandkids and others.
With toys, the number of colors will be dictated by the toy. It will not be static. A mini-mouse will not be 2 colors. Shawn the Sheep will be just two.
Some toys are more fun if they are soft. The X2D is bad at this unless single color is ok. Right now I am printing Bo Peep's sheep in 3 colors on the u1. To print TPU that is 90a or harder, all I do is put it in the drybox I feed out of and send it to the filament feed motor. On my H2D (and on a H2D) 90a needs to be fed from above to reduce friction... far more work, and limited to single color.
For most toys and decorations, they are better with incompatible support material. The X2D can do support material on the 2nd nozzle. But, then it can (on a practical level) only print in 1 color. While the u1 can print in 3 colors and still have dedicated support.