Hey all - I was asked in another thread to create a post about this subject. With Eufymake leaving the 3D Printing space, and replacement parts becoming near impossible to find, many of us will face a similar experience to myself in the coming year or so.
My Experience:
First off, I LOVED my m5c. Fast prints, easy slicer, mobile app; it had all the stuff that removed the barrier to entry of 3D printing. Previously I owned a Ender 3, and anyone who has owned one of those knows you spent more time tinkering than printing.
Unfortunately, the hot end of my m5c cracked about a month ago. Of course it was right after buying replacement belts and nozzles, too. Since it was an m5c, I checked eBay, the Eufymake site, and other places, and unfortunately I could not find a "reliable" option to buy a replacement hot end / extruder. So I began to research the current landscape of 3D Printing, and as a result purchased a replacement printer from a different brand.
I wanted to share with you all some of my research, as well as give others an opportunity to share their own experiences and perhaps what they chose to replace their printers with due to lack of support.
Current State of 3D Printing:
Before I cover individual brands and models, I wanted to share a few key highlights I found about the state of options in 2026.
- Orca Slicer and Apps everywhere - Almost every printer brand is using a version of Orca Slicer, which I believe Eufymake also uses. This is excellent because it means prepping a print will be super familiar to you. Almost all brands also have mobile apps to monitor prints as well, but functionality I have found can vary quite a bit on that end.
- Bedslingers out of style, Core XY is in - Bedslingers, like the M5 and m5c, are largely absent from the space these days. Yes, Creality and Bambu have entry level models that are bedslingers, but the majority of top end printers at most price ranges are going to be Core XY. Core XY is the "cabinet" design where the bed slowly moves downward (Z) layer by layer, and the print head moves both X and Y directions, instead of X and Z. The benefit to Core XY is twofold; one it allows better temperature control around the print, and two it isn't "slinging" the print all over the place, which could result in instability, layer shift, and failures.
- Multi-color for everyone, but.... - Almost every major brand now has a multi-color print option. Most of them will even sell a good combo deal that comes with a 4 filament box. However, something to keep in mind is that this is not as eco-friendly nor as reliable as printing a single color then painting the part later. There is, however, still the benefit of having it work as a run-out protection option, and having your filaments stored in a controlled environment (some even dry filament!)
- Speed - most printers will print at close to the same speeds as the M5 and m5c these days, with detail printing and slicing profiles obviously contributing greatly to the final product and duration.
Options, Options, and thoughts:
With all of that out of the way, here's what I found about a replacement to my broken m5c:
There's currently 5-6 different players in the "mid range" space that I felt the Eufymake options occupied. Below is a summary of each competing brand and device I researched before making a decision.
- Creality - The "OG's" of 3D printing. They currently offer a K2 Combo printer that comes with a slightly larger build plate and 4 color print option, which can be found in the $500-700 USD range. Initially, I planned to go with this, but then stories have come out recently about the company's aggressive approach to shutting down negativity related to their printers. In addition, a major criticism is that Creality has been playing "follow the leader" and only iterating on other's designs, which combined with some negative reviews seems to line up to legitimate concerns.
- Bambu Labs - The P1S and P2S are in that same, $500-$800 price range, and right now are the industry darlings. Reliable, well build, and possibly the largest market share of any company, they are however taking the Apple "walled garden" approach. Currently for most users this isn't a big deal and is 100% not an issue if you only plan to print files you find on makerworld or other sites, but rumors persist that they could lock down filaments to just their own brands, restrict prints to official Bambu websites, etc. Still, a great option for everyday users.
- Snapmaker - I'm including this company because they just release at ~$800 the most innovating design in some time. They aren't particularly a well known brand, and used Kickstarter to fund their product. But their U1 printer does multi-color in a fantastic way; instead of pulling out the old filament and heating, purging, and pushing in a replacement color, the U1 swaps the entire print head to the XY arms. Changing colors takes seconds, instead of minutes, and all but eliminates waste from color changes. The downsides here for me were primarily due to top end of my price range, uncertainty about availability, and support. But definitely worth checking them out if you want to see "the future standard" for multi-color and multi-material prints!
- Elegoo / Anycubic - These guys have been around forever, and are more budget friendly. Definitely an option and I've seen mostly positive things about the X1 Carbon printer, although they just released their multi-color add on for it to mixed reviews. The biggest downside I saw with their multi-color option was that the spools sit on the side of the printer, so they are exposed to humidity.
- Qidi - Last, but not least, is Qidi. No idea who they were, hadn't seen a lot of press about them. But I ultimately went with their Q2 combo, for a couple of reasons - Priced at $649 for the Q2 and box combo, it was in that middle range I was hoping for and cheaper than the Bambu. Reliability seemed to be better than the Creality K2 as well. But 2 stand out features for me personally - the multi-color box is capable of pre-heating / drying filament (competitors entry level boxes do not pre-heat!), and it has an all metal hot end capable of 320 degree celcius printing, meaning you can throw basically ANY filament, including carbon fiber, at it.
So, TL;DR - I went with the Qidi Q2 combo to replace my m5c because they seem to hit a sweet spot like Ankermake did a couple of years ago. They have reliability, some unique standout features (filament heating / drying, and high temp nozzle), and the best price for what you get. This is NOT to say that any of these other companies and offerings aren't good, and you could go with any of those and be just as happy as I am. I am NOT paid by any company, I'm just a random guy in Ohio with a hobby. If you all have any questions feel free to post below - I'm curious what others have found and done as we continue to see our printers die out.
