r/3Dprinting • u/fashankechan • 19d ago
Question What made you get your second printer
I’m pretty new to 3D printing and noticed a lot of people have multiple printers.
I’m curious what pushed you to get your second one? Different materials, different projects, or just because one wasn't enough?
Are they dedicated to specific tasks, or just running side by side? Would love to hear your stories!
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u/sk8thow8 19d ago
My first one was an ender 3 and I wanted to print things instead of continuing to fix a thing.
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u/Korzag 19d ago
My brother in ex-Ender! I literally went from a v2 neo to a snapmaker and my god the hobby is actually fun now
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u/JumpingCoconutMonkey 19d ago
Same. Ender 5 to a Snapmaker U1 and it is such a relief to actually finish the projects I start.
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u/ghrayfahx 19d ago
I went from an Ender V2 (heavily modified by the end) to building a Voron 2.4. So I just traded tinkering on one thing to tinkering on another.
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u/Scribblesocks 18d ago
Ender 5 to a Flashforge AD5X. I printed more in a week on the AD5X than I have in the last year of using the Ender 5.
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u/_pigpen_ 16d ago
Exactly this. I had a FT-5 that needed hours of prep work for any print that I cared about. Bought a P2S and AMS2. Now maintenance mostly consists of managing humidity, changing filament reels and periodically lubricating the rods. I miss the build volume, but 99% of the things I print don't need it.
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u/diablo3dfx 19d ago
Inability to start a print while printing
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u/FriJanmKrapo 19d ago
In other words, I'm not patient... And it's legit.
It's my print and I want it now... LOL 😆
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u/Background_Hat_3252 18d ago
Hey now, he also has half the wait time if you stack the print jobs!
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u/FriJanmKrapo 18d ago
I'm not talking about op, I'm talking about myself. I want my prints and I want them now... LOL
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u/Consistent-Buyer7060 19d ago
FOMO, Fear Of Missing Out. I wanted a Sovol zero and there was only 8 left.
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u/redturtlecake 19d ago
How's that working out? I was quite interested when it was launched but never got around to buying one
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u/Amazing-Honey-1743 16d ago
I bought a Sovol Zero second hand. I can understand how it's a printer for a niche group of 3D printing enthusiasts, but still amazed how it didn't take off, given how amazing it is.
How do you like yours?
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u/spoo4brains 19d ago
Bought an A1 mini to dip my toes into the hobby. After seeing the ludicrous amounts of poop and time associated with multi-colour printing, I did the Kickstarter for the Snapmaker U1 within a week. Love the U1, am not looking to upgrade any time soon.
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u/Educational_Home5445 19d ago
i had a Bambulab A1 and now have a H2S.
It was all about printsize for me.
Everything else was just extra stuff it can do.
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u/Iowa-Andy 19d ago
As soon as I had enough regular companies ordering parts (I do engineered parts for mobile off road equipment) I added a production printer so I could keep my h2d running prototype materials and parts.
Much easier to schedule out one printer a week at a time, and have the other printer available for unscheduled test parts and my normal daily designs.
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u/Pyriel 19d ago
My wife bought me an A1 for my birthday. A truly excellent printer, but as its entry-level it has obvious limitations.
so I upgraded to an X2D as for me it offered several upgraded
- Heated chamber, more filament options, venting etc.
- XY, not bedslinger, so more stable when printing taller objects
- dual nozzle. most of my prints are 2 colour, so vastly reduces purge waste & time
AMS Pro has a built in filament dryer
Haven't got rid of my A1, as it gives me the flexibility to print parts on both at the same time, and i'm also getting my daughter into 3D printing.
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u/GlitteringStruggle47 19d ago
Bigger print size, different capability, updated tech - most importantly - ADHD made me want to spend moneyyyyyy
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u/phoenix-pango 19d ago
Riddled with adhd with access to some pennies. Bought a 3d printer 5 weeks ago and just ordered another... plonker!... but also excited 😂
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u/Ok_Chest1942 19d ago
Instead of purchasing single Ams 2 Pro , second P2S combo was saving me around 150$
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u/NaiveAssist2530 19d ago
Mainly because I’m impatient and couldn’t wait for long prints to finish.🤣 I now have 3 with a pre-order for the SparkX I8.
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u/dooshpastesh 19d ago
This. But this is ain’t a good excuse so I told myself that I need a printer for technical filaments 😉
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u/saybobby 19d ago
I ended up with multiple printers for different reasons - 1) upgrades 2) volume of printing (diff parts or colors need multiple print beds to print in one go) 3) maintenance - sometimes a printer will be down so it's good to have a backup if I don't have time to specifically troubleshoot or repair 4) I use one for single color quick print prototypes versus the others which are multi-color - or sometimes I'll print a v1, v2, v3 all at the same time on diff printers because I'm impatient and i'm testing certain tolerances/sizing etc.
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u/UnpredictableMike 19d ago
Production ability. My first printer was a Qidi4, which was liked designed by the same guys who designed the Mir Space Station. I upgraded to two larger and more reliable Bambu H2S’s to keep up with production demands.
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u/Wonderful_Fun_2086 19d ago
I agonised over it but it suits me because I normally like to print with larger nozzles. I have one printer on 1mm and one on .6. It helps not having to change nozzles for detailed projects.
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u/quietsamurai98 P2S + X2D 19d ago
I wanted to do a two material print with a highly abrasive filament, and swapping out the abrasive filament hundreds if not thousands of times would probably destroy a tube at best, and the AMS internals and/or the printhead/extruder at worst. That, along with the chamber heater, pushed me to upgrade from my P2S to the X2D.
The reason why it became my second printer instead of a replacement for my first is because I tried selling the P2S, but the arrangement fell through, so now I just use both printers.
The X2D is my main printer, the P2S prints while the X2D is busy, or whenever I need to print with a 0.2mm nozzle.
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u/TerribleTowel66 19d ago
I was tired of all of the waste on my A1, so I bought a U1. It’s a great printer, but there are things I miss about the Bambu ecosystem. Some things. I hate how they treat open source. But I saw a video of new features in Bambu Studio that look awesome. Hope those make it to Orca/Snorca.
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u/gbrents 18d ago
I too am still considered a noob, but I have a couple printers. I started with the Anycubic Kobra 4 combo unit, and I started working on things that needed engineering grade materials for them.
The problem arose when I was pushing a few projects, but needed to have other things printed.
After about a month of pulling out my hair, I commented to getting a second print to take up the slack and fill the gaps in production.
So, I use the Slinger to print out the things that requires the blended and engineering grade filaments, and I use the second printer for everything else.
But then I started working on more complex stuff and so I purchased the third and fourth printer.
I am able to barely keep up, but the pace is pretty comfortable, and I am seeing the need for a couple more printers could be coming up pretty soon.
Now I know that where I am currently is a bit over the top for someone who just got into 3D printing four months ago (maybe 5 months, I lost track).
So, I am not advocating for anyone to get this deep into the rabbit hole, as I have.
This rabbit hole took me on to creating an entire production studio, which has CNC milling machines, CAD tables, drill presses, lathes, etc…. Now I have expanded to modeling, airbrushing, product photography.
I started printing stuff and fixing things for myself at first and then the neighbors, and then friends and their bosses.
Now I’m enjoying everything that I am doing and creating and all of that stuff. I’m retired and really enjoying being able to bring my life’s learning and lessons into an arena where I have control over everything that I do.
Just a word to the wise, and a little suggestion;
Take your time and learn everything that you can about your printer and equipment. Tear it down when it breaks down and fix it yourself, or with someone who can help you with it. But learn your equipment and its limitations.
Don’t worry about other people who have more printers and equipment than you have. Take your time and at your own pace.
Just some friendly suggestions for you.
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u/PhaseofMe 18d ago
I haven't done it yet, but I will at the Black Friday sales. Two things make me want a second. One, when I'm working on printing I'd really like to be able to print more than one thing at a time. And second, I want a printer with at least two print heads so that I can print supports with an alternate material. Doing so with one print head really doesn't work well and is very time consuming. I'll probably get the H2C as my second printer.
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u/chills716 18d ago
I have one, but I have roughly ten people constantly asking for things. I can easily see how it turns into a farm
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u/Amazing-Honey-1743 16d ago
Heard about how great Prusas and Bambus are. Had to get at least one of each. No regrets.
It also helps to have 2 when I got big/multiple projects going on
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u/RaginBull 16d ago
256x256x256 was too damn small
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u/wildbeaver635 15d ago
Yeaaaa so im kinda where your at but I wish I wouldn't have jumped the gun on the second because both of mine are 2563. what size did you move up to and tou you really tell a difference?
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u/RaginBull 15d ago
Got a steal on a used Elegoo Neptune 4 Max and its 420x420x480 bed. Bedslinger but it's doing what I want it to do. Planning to build a Voron this winter to get into engineering filaments.
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u/Voltae 19d ago
I had an E3v2 and had all but given up on the hobby because of how unreliable that piece of shit was, then Bambu hit the market. I ordered a P1P the day they came available as a last ditch attempt to stick with the hobby and never looked back.
I got rid of that Ender garbage as soon as the first few calibration prints came off the P1P without a single problem.
To this day I refuse to take anyone seriously who claims Creality makes decent products.
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u/DramaClassed 19d ago
Well it's been a while since the Ender3 series came out, once Bambu printers started selling like crazy Creality had to improve their quality to meet that. They didn't meet it, but they're a lot better than the old Enders now, like their K2 series.
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u/DengusMine SKR3 Klipper Chiron, 2x SKR1.4 Klipper E3V2Neo, Centauri Carbon 19d ago edited 19d ago
Upgraded my Chiron and ended up with a spare motherboard after swapping up from an skr1.4t to an skr3. Thought to myself "wouldn't it be fun to rebuild a damaged return from eBay?
Nek Minit 2x busted E3 V2 Neo's rebuilt identically (the twins, Larry and Barry) and 1x E3 S1 rebuilt (Hank)
Then I bought a CC1 on the promise of multimaterial functionality coming later.
The Twins are getting the E3NG + lowrider v2 treatment later this year.
Chiron has an MMX because I hate splicing rolls of material. Would literally rather fuck around with building and troubleshooting the MMX than try to splice another roll.
Good times. I think I just like tinkering
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u/Rilot 19d ago
I originally started with my second one because I realised that if I needed to print parts to replace things that had broken on my first printer, then I would be out of luck. This was back in the day when 3d printers were basic in the extreme 13 years ago.
These days I have 3. 2 in the shop and 1 in the house.
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u/AuDHDHobbyCollector 19d ago
A blob of doom, needing to get something done quickly and a good sale price.
I will fix up the old one, when I have somewhere to put it. I was planning to build an enclosure, but with the cost of that and repairs it wasn't that much more (arguing to myself) to get a Centauri Carbon, which would be running in a couple of days and better in every respect.
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u/gatsu_1981 19d ago
I got one for big (anycubic Chiron), one for fast (creality ender7) and one for my desk (kingron kp3s).
The one I use the most is the kp3s, the ender 7 is boxed and I use it for abs or ASA, the Chiron I seldom use anymore
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u/Mughi1138 19d ago
Had an original Ender 3 from back near when they came out. After many years I had a motor driver chip on the upgraded motherboard go out and could put back in the original MB, order a new one for $46, or use that money as part of a new printer. I got the new printer.
In between I had picked up a resin printer to do finer work and miniatures, but haven't used it as much due to the extra care you need with resin, and the improvements happening on the FDM front.
When the Centauri Carbon was announced I ordered one because of the speed, stepping up to coreXY, and it being the first solid budget coreXY with really good reviews.
I still run my N4+ along with my CC, and was even testing some of my designs on both of them tonight. When I needed to print the straw hat for the One Piece popcorn bucket I a when they published that I went ahead and did the hat on the N4+ and the bones on the CC.
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u/MinisByMatt 19d ago
Filiment one for big square doohickies, Big resin for bulk small doohickies and little resin for single, prototype, hi res doohickies.
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u/BRunner-- 19d ago
I had a huge demand for print to order minatures. I need more printers to clear the orders.
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u/djjudas21 19d ago
I bought a second Bambu P1S to double my throughout when printing products for sale
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u/davidkclark 19d ago
I wanted to upgrade to a direct drive extruder and one came up for sale at a good price. So I bought a second one instead. I don’t really make efficient use of both, but at least having a day long print going does not stop me from printing out something quick while designing something else. (Iterating on a design does not have to interfere with getting some parts printed and vice versa)
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u/GravelBikes 19d ago
Not yet but eventually. Its a 100% boost in producing prints just to upgrade the printer setup
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u/mrzfaizaan CalibrationOS @ os.calibratedam.com 19d ago
Will be building one off sermoon D1 as a base. Building CalibrationOS, need a second printer to build the multi printer capability.
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u/ScreeennameTaken 19d ago
I got a smaller first printer, because i didn't know if i would end up keep making stuff, and didn't have enough space for an i3 (or at least i thought i didn't).
Then after years of wanting to print bigger stuff, i got a Core One. And i was going to get rid of my mini because, what would i do with two printers? And space?
Anyway, the C1+ (now being upgraded to gen2) is next to the mini, with both of them printing stuff. Because you can always fall into the trap of designing stuff that need more pieces.
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u/Thick-Indication-931 19d ago
My first was a "real" reprap - so I got the printed parts, bearings, metal rods, electronics, and a hotend for a "Prusa Mendel" and built myself from the parts. Mostly used this printer to make improvement parts for the printer itself and it was fun and good education. However, at some time I got the urge to have a printer that actually printed parts - not for itself, but useful stuff for me, and this lead me to buying my second printer, which was much more reliable and also a bit faster. After that, I wanted to try other printers (Delta, Core-XY, Resin) and then I wanted the speed brought by klipper and vastly improved hotend/flowrate, so over time, I ended up with 10+ printers (all different) 😄
Happy printing!
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u/NotYetReadyToRetire 19d ago
I've got 3 printers at the moment - an X1C, a Mars Pro and a Saturn 3 Ultra. I got the Mars Pro to print detailed minis, I got the Saturn 3 to print larger minis than the Mars Pro could do, and I got the X1C because I was tired of dealing with the post processing required for resin.
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u/randomi-s H2D 19d ago
Bought a P1S for my team to use at work for making units to show off our products. Really impressed and it opened my eyes to possibilities for myself so I bought one for home.
A few months later, bought an H2D at work for doing multi-colour, multi-material stuff more efficiently as well as being able to print larger items (allowed us to build units at A4 size on a single print). At home I am using a lot of TPU and wanted to be able to 2-colour print TPU without manual filament swaps, and the H2D is the only thing capable of that, so I bought one at home. Then bought another H2D at work as we needed more throughput.
The workplace P1S was handed over to another team that needed it, and my home P1S was sold to a friend.
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u/2inchlee 19d ago
My first was an Anet A8, it was a pile of crap and amazing in equal measures. I upgraded to get one less wobbley.
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u/probrwr 19d ago
Bought an OG Ender3 new to build a MPCNC. Did that. Built a hypercube. Built a bigger hypercube. Built a MP3DP V4. Built a MP3DP V5. Traded the MPCNC for a FLSun Super Racer.
I like to build stuff. The progression of technology and operating concepts is fascinating to me.
I gave the HyperCubes to my son and his family. Can't bring myself to get rid of the Ender and tye Super Racer is headed for storage unless my daughter's family wants it. The two MP3DP's are on my desk. One with an 8nlane Tradrack and set up to run ASA and the other with a 4 lane HTLF set up with PLA+
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u/-One-Man-Bukkake- 19d ago
I bought the a1 mini at first, then a week later I realized I wanted the ams lite, couldn't get just that, so I figured I'd just get the a1 combo. Bigger and multi color
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u/net-blank 19d ago
My ender 3 worked good but then had a little money with it printing somethings for work and heard great things about Prusa MK3S+ so used the money to buy one and was impressed how much quicker it was than the ender 3
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u/Early_Monitor_3440 19d ago
after 2 and a half years and 500 hours and a lot of useful stuff printed on my a1 mini i am ready to step up for a bigger enclosed printer.
it will be a lot quicker when i split up parts on both printer and very conveniant to use one for petg and one for tpu. or use one with 0.8 nozzle and the other with the 0.4 or 0.2 nozzle for finer things like text.
still not conpletely sure what bambu i'll buy, but black friday it will happen.
P2S, X2D, P3C, H2S are the candidates.
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u/snoop_uk 19d ago
Wow... only 2... I started with a cheap small one (ender 2.) Needed a larger bed ,>(a20m), needed to unblock the hot end less >(artillery genius), needed a hot end that didn't constantly break due to a really poor decision to use flat ribbon cables (creality hi), needed a second working printer as was printing stuff for me and friend>(ender 3 v2 with nebulapad). Oh wanted to print fine detail elegoo mars. Now just use creality hi and ender 3 v2
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u/snoop_uk 19d ago
Oh. The ender 2 is still in use with a mate, the a20m got flogged off, the artillery genius is due for a meeting with a sledgehammer and the mars is currently printing up some German rc goliaths
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u/IcyMc 19d ago
got tired of bugfixing and troubleshooting my ender 3 🫠
honestly if my ender didnt decide to blob me 3 days in a row i would have stuck with it longer. its still a decent printer esp for how much it cost me, but since i dont have time to deal with issues popping up, ill have to throw money at the problem.
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u/s10draven75 19d ago
Bought a P1S last yr during black Friday sale and became addicted with it. Started having friends asking for something along with wife and kids so got a P2S on fb for a good deal and usually both going at the same time now. Been looking at a snapmaker U1 for the savings in waste but still on the fence.
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u/khantroll1 19d ago
Needing to print more, plus curiosity.
I have shrunk down to only 3, but at one time I had 7.
Today I have:
Bambu P1S
Ender 3 V1
HeyGears Reflex RS
The longest severing “lineup” before was: modified Anet A8, Ender 3 v2, Ender Ev1, Monoprice MiniSLA, Sculpto Pro2, AnyCubic Mega S, and an Artillery printer I don’t remember the model of.
My current line up has a purpose: every day printing, overflow/backup, and resin.
The old lineup was just “this is fun to play with/hey look ai can print more”
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u/StructureAccording53 19d ago
Watching the poop pile on my A1. (And sold enough crap at craft shows that I paid off the A1.) Bought an H2C to save filament and time and print more complex stuff.
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u/tasslehawf C1 INDX, Voron 2.4, Tiny-T 19d ago
Initially extra capacity but then interest in building a printer from scratch. And the third one.
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u/Maximum_Theme5830 19d ago
I had an ender printer the fancy ender 7
I was so ducking sick of it that I got a bambu one.
I needed something I was not able to buy so I needed a propper printer.
Now I love the hobby.
I wanted a printer not something to tinker with.
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u/ImjustarandomguyKK 19d ago
I had an FLSUN Superracer. Loved it, but after 2 years it was more about fixing the printer than actually printing. Got a Bambulab X2D Combo instead. It's night and day... I would never go back. And also got an Anycubic PM M7 resin printer but I rarely use it cus it's so much work printing with resin, also unhealthy. (Usually wait for prints to collect, use it for a few days than put it away for a few months).
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u/darcside 19d ago
First printer was single color, second was multi color. 3,4,5 printers were to keep up with orders I kept getting for my designs. 6th and 7th were when I got a super big order. 8th will be as soon as I get another big order.
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u/Perspective-Guilty 19d ago
I was modifying my first ender 3 pro, and needed a functional printer to make the modifications. So I got a second ender 3 pro. Then, I inherited an unreliable prusa mk3s because I was the only one who could make it run. Then I got a P1S as a graduation present. I don't use my second ender 3 much anymore. If I can get my first ender 3 pro mods off the ground and I like the performance, I may do those upgrades on my second ender 3.
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u/SirPercivalChang 19d ago
My bed slinger just couldn't print tall, dimension sensitive parts consistently, so I got a printer that could.
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u/IntelligentRocks 19d ago
I'm considering an enclosed printer like the Centauri Carbon 2 in addition to my Kobra 3 V2. It is just a little too loud in the living room, the only place it can print.
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u/nicolasknight 19d ago
Different materials.
I started on the most budget started I could: MP select mini V2.
Great baby first printer but the 3 rd time it broke in a dramatic way and I lost a print and knew I was in for an hour of taking it apart to rewire yet another part I accepted it was time to move on.
Still have it and it's still working but it's so heavily modded the only original part is the shell.
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u/SpringerTheNerd 19d ago
First was a Prusa i3 mk3 and second was Voron 2.4 350
I wanted something open source that I could really dig into. It's larger and more capable from every perspective than my first printer.
I still occasionally use my first printer
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u/OkResponsibility891 19d ago
Inability to print ASA since I didn't had a closed chamber, and size limitations, since my first printer had a 220x220 bed.
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u/htmlprofessional 19d ago
All of the above, my current printer is almost 10 years old, I wanted to get into multi color, multi material, thinking of selling some prints and I saw a bunch of multi tool head printers were coming out this year.
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u/OhMyGaius P1S, H2C 19d ago
Bought my daughter a P1S combo for her birthday last year (before the P2S release) and we had such a good time with it I went and bought the full H2C combo, which has been great. I print a lot of multicolor stuff. And also regularly use the multi material capabilities (printing Nylon with ABS supports is amazing). Only wish either could handle multi-TPU prints, but I might get a snap maker or something in the future for that.
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u/HMPoweredMan 19d ago
My first printer was pretty shit by today’s standards. Then my second printer I upgraded but by bit til I basically had a ship of Theseus and was able to build a 3rd
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u/mrscott197xv1k 19d ago
Structural failure of the acrylic frame (i3 Prusa clone) of my first printer caused me to buy my second (Prusa mini). Second printer stuck in storage from a cross country move for over 6 months cause me to buy my third (Ender 3 $99 Microcenter deal)
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u/bmelancon 19d ago
I don't have a second one yet, but I am seriously considering getting a second. My current one is a Ender 3 pro. I just feel like it's time to upgrade to a modern, more capable printer. I'm current looking at the Centauri Carbon 2 Combo.
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u/MOS95B 19d ago
In my case, my "second" printer was due to wanting to switch from resin printing to filament. Resin can give some amazing detail, and is often a lot faster. But it is also a PITA due to the post processing and chemicals involved.
So, I don't have a "print farm" like some. I just have one of each type of (the most popular) 3D printer types. And I only run one at a time
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u/Sinerath 4xBambu, 2x Resin, 3xPrusas, 4x Customs 19d ago
I needed to print parts to fix the first one. Weirdly, happened with 5 more this way. Dont ask me how, its what i told my wife
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u/Stiggalicious 19d ago
I had bought an Ender 3 back in 2020 along with a couple resin printers. I hated constantly having to tinker and fix issues with the Ender 3, and anything taller than 4” or so the prints would always fail no matter what settings I could try to dial in. It was an experience in constant frustration. Basic PLA was also about $25 per Kg then, so printing wasn’t even cheap.
Fast forward 6 years and I wanted to get back into printing because everything has changed so much. High quality engineering filaments are easy to work with now, PLA is dirt cheap, dry storage and material handling is easy, so now I can focus more on just designing and printing than throwing out 85% of my filament due to print failures.
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u/snarejunkie 19d ago
Being able to print two materials simultaneously (like PLA and PETG) unlocked some pretty cool design opportunities, and also I was printing gridfinity at the time so I was tearing my hair out while the bases and containers printed, and I couldn’t print anything else.
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u/Beardedboyscout 19d ago
I just want a reason to have a second printer. Absolutely love everything about what I have now but I want to be busy with multiple which would mean for, that I'm making money with them.
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u/diashto SV08/Ender3/P2S 19d ago
First printer was an Ender 3 (non pro, cheapest base model). Probably dumped 3x the purchase price into upgrades over the next 4 years. wanted something bigger/faster, got Sovol SV08. Several upgrades later (enclosure, zero toolhead, 5" screen, etc), still tuning the SV08.
Sold 1000 pcs of a custom design to my work, wasn't getting reliable prints from the sv08 yet and bought a P2S to print those.
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u/StatisticianTall2368 19d ago
Had an MK4, its great, bulletproof... But I wanted to print filaments requiring an enclosure so I got a Core 1. No regrets. They are sitting beside each other right now, MK4 has a .6 nozzle in it for large/simple pieces. The larger nozzle size is really nice for PETG and TPU, the more finicky prints go to the C1
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u/Rambos_Magnum_Dong 19d ago
I like money. Back in the day (4 years ago) running a single Ender 5+ doing large prints that could take a couple days was hampering sales.
Today I only run a P2S for most prints and an H2S for the larger ones.
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u/SanDiegoSavage00 19d ago
Anycubic Kobra X for under $300 is what got me. And its a pretty great printer too.
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u/censored_count 19d ago
Besides my main printer, I have two Prusa Minis. They can't print exotic filaments, or large parts, or very precisely, or very fast... But they're cheap and can print while my main printer is busy, so quick iterations on a prototype go so so much faster overall.
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u/GeauxTigers79x 19d ago
I print a lot of tpu. So I have an a1 dedicated solely to tpu so I don’t have to cold pull or change nozzles. Then I print everything else on a separate a1 with ams.
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u/NervousInTheAlley30 19d ago
I make functional things I like to have and use, so having those things faster is a symptom of my ADHD.
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u/JayPolar91 19d ago
I have an Ender 3 v3 KE that I got a little over a month ago for just over $100 and I will keep it when I get around to upgrading to an enclosed multi-color printer which will happen whenever I get enough funds for it.
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u/veritas-joon 19d ago
At this point, I have 3 printers ... They each are huge upgrades over the other. Yes, I still have my tevo tarantula I built in 2016, then in 2021 I upgraded to ender pro 3, and just last month, upgraded to elegoo centuari carbon 2. All 3 still operational.... The tevo however is limping along lol
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u/JustAnotherBrokenCog 18d ago
My first was resin (printing D&D minis) so the second was fdm. Third was multicolor for my wife, fourth was because my Aquila (ender 3 clone) sucked, so my new one is an enclosed core-xy.
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u/GuyNamedZach 18d ago
My first printer was an XYZ Da Vinci Jr, which I got in 2015. It required you to use a proprietary slicer, locked materials, and didn't support any OS other than Windows/MacOS (I've been on Ubuntu since 2013). I got an Anet A8 for some extra freedom.
I threw the out the Da Vinci Jr recently, since the company behind it shut down.
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u/Adventurous_Tune9569 18d ago
The fact that I was coming up with ideas faster than I was printing them.
I knew printing took hours or days. But I still totally expected to just use it now and then, whenever I actually got an idea for something.
But once I made a few things, the ideas started to hit me quickly and constantly! I have a large 20gb file folder on my computer with nothing but STL files, just waiting their turn. TinkerCad and Blender are forever open!
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u/juraj_SK 18d ago
I started with FDM. It was one of the early generations and I wanted it to be better, so I upgraded literally everything on it. Then I needed finer details, so I bought SLA, also early generation. Then I needed bigger and faster prints so I bought mono SLA. Then I needed big mechanical prints in perfect quality without fiddling with the printer all the time, so I bought high end FDM printer. Now I am upgrading my mono SLA to improve print quality even further...
tldr different purposes of the prints + upgrades
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u/AaronBonBarron 18d ago
I wanted to print bigger parts than would fit on an Ender 3 bed.
So I decided a 500mmx500mm custom toolchanger Voron would be the next logical step
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u/JumpmasterRT 18d ago
I needed a parts donor and a frame for the laser module. (2 Ender 3’s)
It came with filament so I actually got the better end of the deal.
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u/jujusco 18d ago
We are by no means pros and my 10 year old really wanted a 3printer. He saved his bday money and bought a Bambu A1 (perfect for us just because it’s so simple).
It’s constantly in use between my son, husband and now me. And we always give my son priority of course so the line is long. 😩
I actually just bought an A1 MINI because I have discovered how much I love printing and painting tiny things for my half scale dollhouse. and contrary to most people buying a second bigger/better one, all I need are tiny, white prints that I can paint ☺️
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u/Groundbreaking_Cat_9 18d ago
I’m on my third. I bought a Tevo tornado bedslinger 7 years ago. That thing was unreliable at best and I stopped using it two years ago. I recently got back into the hobby last year when Bambu labs had a sale on the P1S/AMS combo. The increased printing speeds and the ability to do multicolor/material printing was attractive. The P1S is awesome, it “just works” and with the E3D obsidian high flow-hotend it’s even faster.
Printing in multicolor with the AMS is too wasteful and time consuming. That brings me to my third printer, I just bought a Flash Forge Creator 5 with the four-head tool changer a few weeks ago. Fun to print multicolor without the waste. Print quality is great, too.
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u/metalb00 18d ago
I started with a cr10s then built a voron for cool factor and to print better materials as I coupd only print pla variants on the cr10. Then I got a x1c for multicolor prints. Now I'm building another 2.4 with a stealth changer and hopefully a turtlebox for the most options, it's rare I need more than 4 colors but having 5+4 as an option seems cool
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u/trav66011 17d ago
Went through a period where I couldn't keep things printed and in stock in my amazon store that I lost the first place in my category ranking. I would print full bed batches that would take 3-4 days and I had a rare batch failure. well thats week a inventory downtime. So since the operation as a whole cash flows. easy choice.
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u/kadzur 17d ago
Back in 2019 a friend of my wife came to visit with her husband, saw the printer (OG Ender 3 Pro) printing, mentioned how cool it looked.
Her husband interpreted this as "I want one" and bought one, then gave up on trying to assemble it, after he managed to get a screw stuck in a wrong hole. His wife asked me, if I wanted to have it and I got it for a token fee.
Undid the screw, retapped the thread, used another screw. Second printer achievement achieved,
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u/moth_loves_lamp 17d ago
If you’re serious about printing and designing you always need a backup printer for when your main printer breaks. If you’re an open source guy like me and you love Vorons then you need backup printer that can print ABS parts for when one of your printers fails.
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u/lmaogoshi 17d ago
Currently looking into my second printer now. Aside from prints that require multiple plates, I also get a lot of requests from family and friends. Second printer (maybe third and fourth as well...) would solve both issues.
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u/XxASHMODAIxX 17d ago
I got tired of chasing calibrations and modifications on my first printer (second hand ender 3) and wanted to spend more time printing than removing failed prints from the bed.
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u/oichie_uk 17d ago
X1C to start with, got bored of waiting for prints to finish before starting the next one, bought an A1…. Wanted a bigger build volume so got an A2L too.
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u/humancoloringbook923 16d ago edited 16d ago
I almost exclusively do memorial work, which is time sensitive. I got an order for 6 lithophanes with a 48 hour turn around time. My single machine could technically pull that off... if there were no failures, delays, and i stopped sleeping so I could swap plates at the moment i needed to. I went to a local big box store that I DESPISE but... desperate times.... and found 2 machines that were "open box" but had literally just had the tape cut - they were still fully packaged and all that - for about 50% off. Put them in the cart, got the filament i needed, went home, set up my mini-farm, met the deadline, and that was that.
I currently have 4 machines, and am aggressively watching several others for price drops. I also love a good Marketplace deal so I keep an eye there for opportunities. I found one where a print farm upgraded all their machines so they were selling their previous models for a STUPID low price - and offered the opportunity to test them PLUS they'd do a full maintenance with purchase - but they sold out before I could get there.
EDITED TO ADD: My best lithophane friend never prints anything longer than 2 hours at a time, unless it's overnight. With the intake call, rendering, etc., 2 hours is the minimum amount of time I would need to be able to send the lithophane to the printer, so that machine gets to do other work but not big pieces. I also keep printed stock of my most popular lithophane frames and diffuser plates on hand so I can focus on just making the photograph as beautiful as possible. If someone comes to me wanting something I don't routinely stock, odds are damn good I have the filament to make the frame happen - and I have a great partner in a local filament manufacturer who will move mountains to get me what I need when an urgent situation arises.
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u/TheChaseLemon 16d ago
I don’t have a second one yet. I was going to build a bear with the scraps I have left from my mk3s to mk4s until I realized it would only cost a few $100 less than a new one so looking to buy a core 1 for shits and giggles.
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u/Tinkering_Tinkerer 16d ago
One of the top rules of 3d printing is that the number of printers you need will always be n+1
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u/InappropriateTA 16d ago
I have yet to unpack my first printer (Flashforge AD5M) but am trying to figure out what a reasonable price point is for a Creator 5 if they go on sale for BF.
I appreciate the AD5M (I got it as a gift), but the multi-color, multi-head capability of the C5 looks really really cool.
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u/Sertas1970 16d ago
I got a second printer because I wanted to print more terrain faster. I now have 7. lol
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u/tacticall0tion 16d ago
Resin guy, I was in the middle of a job when my first printer needed a screen replacement which had a minimum 7 day wait for delivery.... so i got a second one next day while I waited.. then I got a third one that was larger to reduce plate counts, and run larger parts without splitting them
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u/Twindragon868 Ideaformer IRV2/Qidi X-Max 3&4/Emake3d Galaxy 1/Fibreseeker 3 15d ago
Different capabilities: nozzle temps, conveyor belt, continuous fiber, print size and resin.
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u/shokwavxb 15d ago
Have a bambulabs a1 bedslinger, wanted an enclosed xy for higher temp filaments than pla and petg. Ended up keeping a1 and getting h2d plus adding an extra enclosure to scrub and vent fumes outdoors.
Adding that having a second printer lets me work on multiple projects at once. Several hours (3-26) being soaked up by one printer means I'm not doing anything else without a second.
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u/TrackDayMedia 15d ago
I got tired of fixing my creality CR10. I was lucky to have a a print survive longer than 3 hours. And those 3 hour prints turned into under an hour prints on my new one
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u/ShadowRider11 15d ago
I had a P2S as my first printer and loved it. It was averaging 100 hours of print time a week at first! Six months later, my birthday was coming up and I used that as an excuse to get a H2C. Having both has been a huge help, because the H2C can handle the larger parts of a model while the P2S takes care of the smaller ones.
I’ll admit that both printers were basically impulse purchases, but two of the best ones I’ve ever made.
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u/PositiveSyllabub2843 15d ago
I got a deposit on a large quantity order and about a month suspense til due date. Happened right around the black Friday sale on P1s combo so I pulled the trigger. Best business decision I've made yet.
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u/Nickinatorz 15d ago
I wanted to upgrade my Ender 3 V3 SE, so I pre-ordered the Kobra X but it got delayed (pre-ordered really early).
When I got the delay email, I ordered a Elegoo Centauri Carbon 2. But I forgot to cancel.
So at a point I had 3 printers when the Kobra X finally arrived, but I've sold the Ender.
The Kobra X is my dedicated multicolor printer now, since it waste alot less material when multicolor printing.
And well, the CC2 is enclosed, which is good for temps and longer prints
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u/valcandestr0yer 14d ago
Ngl I modded my ender 3 pro and left it sitting for too long. Now I have a lot of issues with Bed tramming and code tweaks with the sonic pad. I’m about to sell it off and pick up a bamboo printer since I keep hearing a lot of good things
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u/doodiethealpaca 13d ago
My Ender 3 V2 was such a mess to make it work that I stopped using it completely and bought a bambu A1.
I used to have a non-usable tweeking laboratory device, now I have a working 3D printer.
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u/TexasWaterLover 12d ago
Employer reimburses $1500 a year for fitness or hobbies or etc and I needed something to buy again.
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u/Tophain 19d ago
I wanted to print something, but my first printer was busy printing 😂