I really dont print much and don’t want to spend much money. What is a better alternative besides bambulab

  • mickeyripple@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    3 days ago

    Yeah that’s a good deal if the small print bed is what you are needing. Just make sure you buy from a reputable seller.

  • radswid@feddit.orgEnglish
    21·
    7 days ago

    if the printvolume suits your needs, i guess it’s a good deal. the prusa community is great and the printer is well supported

      • EmilieEvans@lemmy.mlEnglish
        1·
        4 days ago

        The print quality is fine if the printer doesn’t freeze. Nothing exciting but also not bad for a $100 used device. Still, nothing to ride home about if $200 buys you a new BambuLab A1 mini. In sharp contrast is the Bambulab a reliable and superior printer in every aspect.

        With this sad. If you still consider the Prusa Mini:

        1. DO NOT update the firmware to versions with input shaping! They introduced a bug that you need to remove the SD-card before turning it on or otherwise the printer believes the firmware is damaged/bricked. This bug has been known for quite a long time without any fix from Prusa (present in multiple “stable”/release firmware versions!!!). I got rid of the last Prusa few years ago because of this issue so it might be fixed, might be still broken.

        2. Do not rely on network connectivity/features. They are unstable meaning the printer needs to be restarted multiple times per day (combine this with the SD-card issue) and might freeze mid-print.

      • PlutoniumAcid@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        6 days ago

        The quality is whatever you print. The printer’s quality is stellar.

        I always say that if you want to print stuff, buy Prusa. If you want to tinker with the printer, buy something else.

        Prusa is the Mercedes of 3d - premium price for a premium experience. At 100$ for a Mini, I would not hesitate even if I already have one.

      • ExcessShiv@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        31·
        7 days ago

        It’s OK…nothing stellar or impressive, but acceptable and absolutely good enough for most light users, the one-sided Z-axis is not ideal.

        But yeah, the speed is completely shit compared to other modern bedslingers. edit: seems they managed to catch up to the cheaper competitors WRT speed, so they’re on par with printers that cost less than half now.

  • bluewing@lemm.eeEnglish
    13·
    7 days ago

    If it works, it’s a superb deal. And the print area will probably cover 80% of everything you might ever print.

    Edit: Print quality is more about your ability to tune your printer, no matter the brand, then it is about the printer brand itself.

    • SoulWager@lemmy.mlEnglish
      3·
      7 days ago

      As someone that has one, I’d say more than 80%. That might be accurate if you only print other peoples’ designs, but for functional parts I’ve designed, 80% are a total non-issue, 10% need to be rotated 45 degrees on the build plate, 5% need minor redesign to fit, and the rest I was able to break into multiple prints without issue.

      Even if you eventually need a bigger printer, I’d still buy this one. I’ve definitely run into situations where I need to print multiples more often than I’ve wanted to print something big.

      • bluewing@lemm.eeEnglish
        1·
        6 days ago

        Yeah, it could be possible to only ever need the mini and 80% is perhaps conservative. But, I as much as I find my Bambu Mini can cover the majority of my printing needs these days, I still need the print volume my Prusa Mk3s has for a very good number of practical prints I design and print. The real world often demands real world size and hates pieced together part designs lack of strength. And I still often need to resort to my metal working shop with lathe, mill, drill press and welders to make serious parts because plastic just ain’t it.

  • grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
    10·
    7 days ago

    That’s apparently a $400+ printer new, so yes, I’d say $100 for it is a good deal.

    That said, Prusas in general have always been too rich for my blood; my idea of a “good” printer is a Creality Ender 3 V3 SE that I got as an open-box for $150. I’d probably still take that over a Prusa Mini because the print volume is bigger, but the low price you found would definitely get me considering the smaller printer.

  • fufu@feddit.orgEnglish
    6·
    7 days ago

    If you are oke with the smaller volume, this is a good printer. this thing will be able to print flawlessly, all parts are semi open source and there’s a great community if you need support parts or any help. Prusa is above average stuff.