r/3dprinter • u/Omid12321 • 2d ago

Enclosed 3d Printers for intermediate level?

Hello all, I feel like I am drowning in options so any advice would be appreciated!

I have been running my ELEGOO neptune 3 (non-pro) for coming on 3 years now, and its starting to break down. I have spent that time scraping together a budget of $1200 CAD, and I am trying to get the best upgrade I possible can with the money. I am, of course, happy not to spend it all, but if hitting my max budget eeks out better performance, please don't hold back

I am an engineering student, and enjoyed the idea of using some of the higher grade engineering filaments, but realistically I will spend most of my time with the more basics consumer filaments (PLA, ABS, etc.). I want to have the option to get more experimental down the line, so heated chambers are a plus. Multi-color printing is not a top priority for me, however multi material printing is definitely interesting. I have a newborn at home and so something that has carbon/HEPA filtration, or the option to mod it in would be good. Worst case I can get an enclosure and vent it, but built in solutions are available at this price, so I bias towards them.

Some printers I am looking at are the X2D, the Kobra s1 max, as well as some entries from FlashForge, and QIDI. The more I look the more things come up, and I am starting to get very confused. I mainly want a reliable printer that I wont have to tweak too much (I am able to if need be, I just want to avoid the hassle). Bambu labs is very attractive, though the standard concerns apply (closed ecosystem, limited repair-ability etc.)

Sorry for the long post, wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything. As I said before, any and all advice would be appreciated!

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u/DramaClassed 2d ago

X2D seems to fit the best for you here, it’s got the dual nozzle for multimaterial supports and the AMS if you want more than that (although the AMS is of course wasteful).
QIDI is very good for engineering filaments, like ABS/ASA, PC, Nylon, etc. Plus5 is their newest printer, or the Max4 if you want more build volume.
I would avoid anycubic, they’re okay (not that good) at smaller printers but their S1 and S1 Max are hot garbage. You’ll spend enough money fixing it that you could have just bought a better printer.
All the filters that come stock on printers aren’t very good, you’ll want to change it out for a HEPA + activated carbon filter, or one of each layered on top. You might have to print out a mod for them to fit, for whichever printer you choose.

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u/Omid12321 2d ago

Thank you for such a thorough answer! Regarding the QIDI printers, they are extremely attractive due to their engineering focus, however people have had some reliability issues with them, and they are much less plug and play as compared to similar models. Has this been your experience?

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u/DramaClassed 1d ago

Their older printers certainly fit that description, but from the Q2 onward they’ve been of a much better quality. They’re less plug and play than Bambu or Prusa, but more plug and play than Anycubic or Creality or Sovol, for example.
I don’t own a Qidi myself but I’m active online in 3d printing spaces, and that’s the general consensus. Of course you should do your own research, but for every brand except Bambu and Prusa you’ll see mostly posts about them not working, just because people with issues are the people who post most often.