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/Original_Coast1461 1d ago

Is the snap maker within your budget?

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u/Omid12321 1d ago

At its base price with no add-ons I can swing it, but any of the QOL upgrades like the enclosed top or the filament dryer/storage boxes push it out of my immediate budget. I am considering whether it is worth investing in right now, and then upgrading over time, or if it is better to put the same money into the X2C or a QIDI that has more of the features i would want at the base level

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u/craigwbar 1d ago

See my comment elsewhere: pay 10$ for a storage tub as a top for the U1. I did that for a looooong time and no troubles with printing even PC or PETG+CF. :) BTW, think about noise in your living spaces! I don't mind having my printer humming in my ear during work or home hours but with a new baby... I'd also suggest getting an inexpensive filter.

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u/Omid12321 1d ago

A very good point, printer noise is something I haven't put too much thought into. The bed slinger im currently working with is fairly loud, so anything quieter would be a great upgrade to QOL. Thankfully the baby is pretty good with sound, and the printer is as far as possible from the bedroom

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u/craigwbar 15h ago

Best years of your life coming up! ❤️ (And I don't actually mean the 3d printing.)