I am looking to buy a 3D printer which will be used in my small business size of about 20 people. We sometimes need little parts made for holding littles pieces of equipment and after seeing a similar lab to us use 3D Printing to make little holders for their antennas, we are looking at buying one ourselves.
What can you guys recommend? So far I have seen this video which suggests the Bambulab P1P, or the Prusa mk3S+ Kit.
I think we will most likely buy the Bambulab P1P as this guy suggests. However he did say that its not great for fixing. “Fixing or replacing parts does not appear to be anywhere near as user friendly or even possible in some cases”
How hard is it to build the Prusa mk3S+ Kit yourself in case we decide we want to have the Prusa given it is more easily fixable? We would prefer the Bambulab as it prints faster and is slightly larger, but might not get it due to the fact its not as easy to fix stuff.
So… I just bought a p1p and it’s just about the best decision I could have made when it came to this hobby. The thing just freaking works, and it works well. I don’t think I have a single complaint about mine.
That being said, they just released a p1s model. This is basically the p1p but enclosed so you can print more difficult materials like ABS. It also allows you to buy a combo with the AMS system that will let you print 4 colors at once for much cheaper than if you bought them both separately.
I really wanted to go with the open source prusa printer, but honestly at the price point I just could not justify it. The p1p is just as fast if not faster. Just as reliable. And actually shipped fully featured, for cheaper than even a mk3s+ kit. It’s really the no brainer option at that price point if you can get over it being closed source.
Think we might go with the p1p. The Prusa MK3S+ is 949 euros for pre built and the kit is 719 euros. But im not entirely sure we want to build it ourselves. The P1S is a few hundred more expensive than the P1P, so will have to check if its really worth it. I dont think we want to spend that much on it but if i feel the material available with the P1P is not as good as P1S, it might justidy it but probably not. Thanks for the info
Not sure what you mean by the material available. Are you saying the material available that you’ll be able to print?
If so, I can expand on this a bit. You can print PLA, PETG, and TPU absolutely flawlessly on the p1p. Far better than I was ever able to do on any of my previous printers. And unless you are going to be making parts that are going to see exposure to a lot of heat or pressure, that really should cover most of your bases.
To print stuff like ABS, ASA, or PC you’ll really want an enclosure, and that goes for just about any 3D printer you get. If you do go the route of the p1p, you can actually print yourself an enclosure for fairly cheap. Look up arc or vision enclosures. That being said though, the enclose kit to convert your p1p to a p1s is only $150 which is very competitive with any self made closure when you factor in acrylic costs.
So, my recommendation, if you think you don’t really need ABS or ASA, buy the p1p. It will work great for you. If you decide down the road you want to enclose it, buy the kit directly from bambulabs or print one yourself.
Correction the P1S is actually 100 euros more expensive over the P1P so not quite as expensive as I thought
I think we might go with the P1S. Its 749 euros compared to 649 for the P1P. And the P1P is not a complete machine it seems, theres panels missing on the top front and sides. While that would be okay, if we ever wanted to upgrade it it would be better off just getting the P1S for the extra hundred euro now and save the hassle
Hey, just saw this post. You can ignore my other long winded reply. I think the p1s is a great choice. I didn’t realize the cost was so close either.