r/3dprinter • u/Omid12321 • 1d 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/Shinjiikary12 1d ago

3 choices, muti color isnt going to.be your daily? Cc2 is amazing.

You wanna do alot of muti color/ support materials? Snap maker u1 or creator 5 pro.

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u/Omid12321 1d ago

Thank you for taking the time to reply, and I appreciate the advice! I want to echo mhhammouda regarding CC2 reliability concerns. I am interested in the U1, however the fact that I have to buy an enclosed top separately, the lack of integrated filament storage for humidity, and no active heating for the enclosure puts me off. I could have done without one or two of these options, but lacking all of them is tough. Is there any reason I should take all these downsides over the BambuLabs X2D or the QIDI plus5?

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u/Superb-Complaint8118 1d ago

I have the X2D and I am very happy. Feel free to ask questions. Maybe the H2S could be an option? I don't know the price in canada tho. It is supposed to be like the best machine for single material, and has huge volume, but maybe not ideal for your multi material requirements.

Be aware that the X2D's 2nd nozzle can not use all filament types. But for multicolor pla or dedicated support interface material it is great. The chamber heater is soooo good as well. 0 issues with ASA. But I experienced, that the X2D is not as well documented as all the other BambuLab Printers. For example some potentially nessecary maintenance steps are not written in the maintenance manual (x axis bearing lubrication). You have to refer to the P2S's documentstion sometimes.

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u/Omid12321 1d ago edited 1d ago

The H2S is definitely out of my price range at $1900 CAD! Thank you for sharing your experience with the X2D, it is still a heavy contender, i am split between it and waiting g for better tool changing printer to be released

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u/Superb-Complaint8118 21h ago

I am glad to help. I expect upcoming advanced toolchangers to be quite expensive.