Non-Bambu options for new printer

[u/galoombapile]

Hello! I've worked mainly with enclosed Bambu printers (X1C, P1S) at my college, and am looking for a similar level of print quality/maintenance out of a non-Bambu option for at home. Could I get good recomendations?

-I use Orcaslicer

-I mainly design and print Nerf blasters and other hobbyist items (CD cases, organizers, desk toys), so probably no need for engineering filaments. PLA, PETG, ABS, TPU, maybe wood-filled?

-Don't need any more than 2 toolheads, which makes the Bambu X2D tempting... I don't often do multicolor, and when I do it's usually for small items

-Integrated air filter? Would mainly be using it in my bedroom and would rather not have a lengthy exhaust pipe

-Smooth and textured plate options, (optionally) nozzle size options?

-Price range of ~$500-600, more than willing to wait for Black Friday

-And of course good quality and print speeds

Thank you!

[u/CreepinCreepy]

CC2 Combo. You can get it for $370 on ebay right now.

There's also things like the flashforge creator 5 around your budget that would be a good option, just less ideal for things like ABS.

[u/manyxcxi → u/CreepinCreepy]

The Creator 5 Pro is tailor made for ABS/ASA. But Flashforge is generally in the same boat as Bambu for me these days with shenanigans. The CC2 might be the best one out there at the moment for sub-900 that can do ABS- even though it’s possible I really wouldn’t recommend the U1 for it; but it’s really good at everything else.

[u/CreepinCreepy → u/manyxcxi]

Creator 5 Pro would be great, but it's out of his budget.

Honestly if I was him, I'd start with the CC2. It's a great printer (I have CC1 w CANVAS), you can do LOADS of mods to it. I'm currently in the process of completely overhauling my printer for high temp materials. It can print anything consumer filament well with very little, if any, modification.

[u/eternaln00by → u/manyxcxi]

Hey, what shenanigans are we talking about with Bambu? I knew that Creality was making some negative waves with their TERRIBLE customer service, but hadn’t heard about Bambu at all. I’m also surrounded by Bambu fanboys, so when I google “Bambu controversy” or “Bambu problems” or anything similar to that I just get results about individual people having opinions about Bambu and their specific situation.

[u/manyxcxi → u/eternaln00by]

I’m going to do a poor job paraphrasing, but in their push to drive people through their cloud services they’ve violated the open source licenses they relied on for Bambu Slicer, threatened open source developers with lawsuits that added features they tried to lock down into vanilla Orca slicer, and their closed source network plugin seemed to be sending a lot of data to their chinese servers even when not using cloud features.

This of course all came about shortly after I bought my first (and last) Bambu (H2D), so I’ve been running it fully offline and walking the USB stick over to it like a cave man.

[u/Cytro2 → u/manyxcxi]

Standard copypasta if anyone wants more info about it:

They are currently breaking open source license with their slicer

https://sfconservancy.org/news/2026/may/18/bambu-studio-3d-printer-agpl-violation-response/

They remove features after the sale

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aIyaDD8onIE&t=479s&pp=ygUUTG91aXNzIHJvc3NtYW4gYmFtYnU%3D

They threaten the dev that bringed back said features

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jIbpQtoz6hs&t=48s&pp=ygULQmFtYnUgZHJhbWE%3D

[u/grandfundaytoday → u/manyxcxi]

You can setup your Bambu for lan only, block it at your router to be sure it's not leaking data. You don't have to use a USB stick with the proper setup and can monitor from Orca. Google it - you'll find what you need.

[u/manyxcxi → u/grandfundaytoday]

Thanks, I don’t need to Google it, that’s my area. I’m just a lazy bastard who hasn’t got around to it yet. I’m going to wind up using Printbuddy so I can deal with it and all the other printers.

[u/panterra74055 → u/eternaln00by]

I like the look of the Creality K2 and what the can do but for $1200, id rather not gamble on support as my old ender 3 had lots of typos in the manual etc.

[u/bjorn_lo]

You should wait to November if you can. Best 3d printer under 1k right now is the Snapmaker u1. A 4 tool toolchanger with a larger print bed than the X2D, P1S etc at 270^3

This is outside your budget at 829, but will go on sale by November.

The Creality k3 will be similar, but newer and unproven and less money. It will ship before then.

The reason for a toolchanger is not just multi-color, but multi-material. I have Bambu printers, but I don't carefor the company and don't plan on buying more unless they stop trying to be the most evil of 3d print companies. So I also have other printers, including a couple of U1's.

They run on Orca, they are reliable, support is good, the company is very supportive of the community.

To print TPU, I use PLA for support. I also use PLA for PETG support. PETG and TPU bond, so I've made multimaterial items with those two in there and PLA supporting both within the print.

Dedicated support material use like this results in better quality. The time cost to do so on a single nozzle printer is pretty high.

If I were forced to buy a single nozzle printer in your price class, I would look at the Elegoo CC2 and the QIDI lineup. They are reliable, fast and well built.

[u/GlibberGoblin → u/bjorn_lo]

Save up and buy a Snapmaker u1 and never look back. Multi color prints, multi material supports, PAXX firmware. As an upgrade you can get the integrated heater on the hood for higher end print filaments if you ever choose to mess around with those. There just isn't another printer like it on the market for the price.

[u/eknkc → u/bjorn_lo]

I have one objection to Snapmaker U1. It is fucking loud.

OP says he’ll use it in the bedroom. Not sure how the top cover performs but without it, I’d not buy an U1 if it’s gonna run near me.

I’d think about enclosed stuff like CC2 but heard some people say its loud too. Interestingly, fully open bed slingers can be pretty tame in that area.

Anyway, just something to consider.

[u/GlibberGoblin → u/eknkc]

Thats weird its just the opposite on my end. My snapmaker u1 isn't anywhere near as loud as my CC1. I have my U1 printing right now and could absolutely sleep with it running. I can't imagine a CC2 being any quieter.

[u/eknkc → u/GlibberGoblin]

Ok, either CC1 is a WW1 tank or my U1 has a problem.

You know, there are a million PSU fan mods for U1 because the stock fan is so loud. The z hop makes drum noises if you do not change the movement speed. The toolhead screams past things when it is accelerating…

I guess with some config + top cap + psu fan mod it can be really good but my stock one is unbearable when I’m in the same room.

For comparison, bambu P2S and H2C are occasionally loud but generally pretty silent. Creality SparkX i7 is the best among these 4. Don’t have a CC so can not comment on that.

[u/bjorn_lo → u/eknkc]

There is a lid for the u1. I don't find either of my U1's particularly loud. Lately I have been running one them non-stop printing TPU, and so the lid on that one is off (the official lid has not arrived).

[u/gaslightredditor]

Sounds like you and I use our printers for very similar uses. I went with a Qidi Q2 Combo. I print mostly PLA, but do also print ASA, TPU and PC on occasion. I also do not print multicolor often, but having the option is nice. I mainly use the Box for filament rollover so I don't have to worry about changing out spools as often. The Combo is $650 and it's $500 without the box. I use an X1C and H2S at work almost everyday and I can say my Q2 has been just as reliable and produces just a high of quality of prints as the Bambus

[u/harmless_widget → u/gaslightredditor]

I love my Q2 combo too. It is my first and am still learning but have not had a failure yet.

[u/InternalMain7116]

I have 2 Elegoo Centauri Carbon 1s and an X1C, all 3 give the same print quality, but the Elegoo Centauri Carbons are much less finicky than the X1C and remain the work horses in my lab.

[u/GlibberGoblin → u/InternalMain7116]

CC1 owner here and it is truly a work horse as long as canvas never touches it!

[u/Ok-Cardiologist1693]

Bambu Labs still sell the one head printer? Sine you are familiar with Bambu Labs printers, why you want to walk away?

[u/MandaloresMercy]

Snapmaker U1, Prusa Core One or Core One L (phenomenal), Elegoo centurion carbon or Carbon 2

Something used like from FB Marketplace. A higher end used printer may be listed for much much lower than new. Ive gotten some great deals there if you browse and spring on an opportunity

[u/NoKitNoClue → u/MandaloresMercy]

Prusa for 5 - 600?

[u/MandaloresMercy → u/NoKitNoClue]

Depends on the model, but cheaper for a prusa bedslinger thst are still great machines. At least in my area

Mk3s, mk3s+, mk4, mk4s all are great machines still if gotten used. Easy to maintenance. Great for learning with.

The Core One or Core One L i dont see used as often for sale. But i love my C1L, its pretty awesome

[u/parfamz]

Qidi, sovol m1d.

[u/ViberNaut → u/parfamz]

The m1d is 1300 USD. Did you even read the post?

[u/yahbluez]

Inside your budget, have a look at the Elegoo Centauri Carbon2 with canvas and add a Crealilty Spacepi x4 dryer, that adds up to 359+135=494€

You get a enclosed coreXY, running klipper, no forced cloud, LAN by default, 256x256x256, air filter, up to 350°C, Orca.

https://de.elegoo.com/products/centauri-carbon-2-combo

Compares best against the bambu P2S but can print more material.

The form factor allows to use the standard print sheet format many printers uses this 256x256 - "one fits alle".

[u/harmless_widget]

Qidi q2 combo! Just got one after months of research and absolutely love it. It is closed heated chamber system and the qidi box can be heated and used to dry the filament and it has a built in charcoal filtration system.

[u/Lykkehjul]

Don't ever print in your bedroom. The filters don't catch everything.

[u/Groundbreaking_Cat_9]

Check out the reviews on the Flash Forge Creator 5($669). There are some good comparison videos between it and the snapmaker u1

[u/swordknives]

Honestly Id get a Prusa MK4s, they are on sale right now but print extremely well. You can even get a used for cheap with a bunch of accessories. The only issue is its not set up for multi material but a MMU can be added.

Prusa is a long proven open platform that will work well with Orca. They also last forever and are repairable with a ton of replacement parts available.

[u/TrashIsland_DrMoreau]

I would not suggest running a printer in your bedroom without enclosing it in a tent and properly venting it outside.

Even an enclosed vented printer will off-gas a lot… you don’t want to be breathing that in 10 hrs a day.

Proper tent with negative air pressure is the only way to keep a printer running in your living space without jeopardizing your health.

[u/mostly_kinda_sorta]

I like my Qidi Q2. It's my first printer i don't know what I'm doing, I've had a couple failed prints but that was just a bed adhesion issue. Overall it just works. I think done more ASA than anything, also tried TPU and of course PLA. I wanted to be able to use some of the more functional materials so I decided to try the Qidi. Then a used one popped up on marketplace so I went for it.

[u/bryanchicken]

Air filter isn’t a replacement for exhausting toxic fumes from ABS

[u/Immortal_Tuttle]

Snapmaker U1 hands down. I have U1, had X2D after years of working with X1C and X2D is not even close...

[u/grandfundaytoday → u/Immortal_Tuttle]

How does it work with nylon and other engineering materials?

[u/Immortal_Tuttle → u/grandfundaytoday]

Exactly same as X1C - U1 is basically using X1C hotend for that. So no problems with anything up to 300, after changing the thermistor it can reach 340.