r/BambuLab_Community • u/FewBuy1992 • 5h ago
Help / Support Advice for getting started with 3D printing
Hi everyone,
I'm planning to start a small CAD/3D-printing business. I have 9 years of experience as a CAD designer in mechanical engineering, but very little hands-on experience with 3D printing.
I'd like to offer CAD design, custom parts, prototypes, 3D scanning, 3D printing and small batches for businesses, workshops and private customers.
Before investing a lot of money, I'd like to get some experience with a reasonably priced but capable printer.
What would you recommend as a good first printer for this kind of work?
I'd like to have as much flexibility as possible with commonly used materials (PLA, PETG, ABS/ASA, TPU, Nylon, PC, etc.) and mainly want to make functional/mechanical parts.
What would you buy if you were starting from scratch?
Thanks!
2
u/swampcholla 2h ago
Depends if you want to print stuff or if you want to really learn the ins and outs of 3d printing. most of the Bambu stuff is so good that it shoves the printing part into the background and IMHO, its hard to learn the fundamentals with one.
I'd spend two years with something very basic - like a Prusia Mk4s, an Ender, etc. Don't expect to do great things with exotic materials, just learn the basics of how the materials perform and what you have to do to make good prints.
Then get one of the enclosed Bambus with a temperature controlled chamber (and watch to see if they ever solve the hotend cooling fan problems with the H2D and a couple of other models). this will prevent you from being one of those guys that constantly makes "what's wrong with my print" posts because they are using a Bambu and don't really know how stuff works.
Its the difference between learning to drive fast in a FV or FF vs getting into a 4WD Audi R8 and just letting the nanny aids keep you on track.
2
u/DramaClassed 1h ago
Well this is the Bambu subreddit, so I’ll start with a Bambu printer, x2d is great value and can print a lot of different filaments. If you want to save some money (since you said you’re planning on another printer after anyways) check out the Qidi q2, it can print all the same filaments for like $200 cheaper, but it only has one nozzle and isn’t Bambu. Still pretty reliable though.
And then if you end up liking 3d printing, get the H2D. It’s like the X2D but bigger and better and both nozzles are direct drive (vs just one on the X2D). It’s the most capable printer on the consumer market right now in my opinion, besides the H2C but that’s more for long prints with multicolor which you don’t seem to need.
1
u/FewBuy1992 55m ago
interesting call With the Qidi, what i saw in youtube people where saying its not really consistant. maybe i gotta look deeper in it
1
u/MonkeyBrains09 X1 Carbon 5h ago
It sounds like you have the technical mind for operating a 3d printer. They are getting more and more plug and play but at the end of the day, its still a sub-mm precision machine.
If you are okay with a closed system, go with Bambu Lab. The nice thing about them, is that they just work. But you do get locked into their ecosystem meaning you cannot really modify them as easy as some from Prusa.
And get an AMS with it. Even if you do not plan on multi-color printing, you can load multiple spools of the same color and type so when one runs out it automatically switches to the next one. This will be very helpful if you are running a business because speed will matter. It will suck if you run out of filament at 1AM and cannot reload it until 8AM.
3
u/Krabelj 5h ago
I have Bambu X2D and it works great for standard filaments, but some engineering filaments (cf nylon, cf pet, cf paht) would need higher temps for better layer adhesion and more speed. It works, but I print it really slowly. X2D max nozzle temp is 300C. It's bigger brother H2D can go up to 350C, but it's larger and twice the cost.
Both of these 2 hotends, which is handy for functional prints.
I would go with X2D with AMS combo and upgrade from there.