Hi all.

My venerable ender 3 has likely printed it’s last benchy. Plus side, the tech has advanced significantly since I bought it. Down side, I’ve not kept track of the newer options.

Can anyone give me a rundown of which are worth looking at, and which to avoid?

I’m mostly concerned with reliability, but a speed boost would definitely be welcome. A heated chamber and/or multi material would also be very nice to have.

I would like to keep the costs closer to £500 ($680) but can stretch that, if there is a machine worth it.

I also have a complete no on bamboo printers. I don’t like what they’ve done regarding abuse of the open source movement.

Thanks all!

Edit to add. I’m not against non open source printers. I just have an issue with companies trying to burn the ladder behind them and lock their customers into a bubble.

Double edit: The snapmaker U1 seems like my best option. Ticks all the boxes, while remaining well in budget.

  • philpo@feddit.orgEnglish
    3·
    12 hours ago

    You will need a top for it either way, but it worked reasonably fine with a ikea like crate. (Had this while my old Bambu printed the enclosure)

    It needs proper preheating of course AND a proper ventilation concept as the enclosure is far less air tight compared to e.g. the Bambus. And while ASA it not as nasty as ABS it still anything but healthy.

    • CIA_chatbot@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      11 hours ago

      Good to know, how’s the heater work, pretty ok, I am thinking on picking one up, right now (on my bambu) I just have it in a larger insulated tent enclosure and heat the plate for 20 minutes but that’s a pain

      • philpo@feddit.orgEnglish
        3·
        7 hours ago

        I have the Srin Top hat with 6mm panels (that helps considerably with keeping the heat in) and the Panda breath. I would rather not heat such a large enclosure as well,as it also fries the motherboard,etc. and it additionally produces very uneven heat.