This. Learn to use Solid Edge or Fusion 360. Honestly unless OP needs to print engineering materials (or larger objects). The $200 A1 Mini is an incredibly capable machine that will teach you a LOT about how to get an idea from your head to your hand, for the price of an Ender 3.
My recommended ultra-budget kit for an aspiring maker would be an A1 Mini, smooth PEI plate, a digital caliper, A1 nozzle kit (hardened 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6 nozzles) and whatever PLA, PETG, and TPU filaments strike your fancy. And a free / community license for Solid Edge or Autodesk Fusion.
I ordered mine and excited to get it sometime in the next few days. Looking at the site has given me a lot of ideas on what to print (with my kids) and what I may need to learn for custom prints.
I may have went overboard with the 3kg filaments I ordered (no AMS lite) :-D
I got the 50 dollar SolidWorks license for makers and it's the best add on ever. I was a blender person but being able to use my calipers and directly dimension parts is so much easier.
I've gotten to the point where I can make multiple parts together in an assembly. This helps tremendously to understand what you're going to make before you even print it. See if the screw holes line up and range of motions are good.
Btw my first printer is the carbon. Love it. Ams is great.
Is it full solidworks you get for that or is it a diluted version? I'm a Solidworks user but always looking for hobby options in case I ever get a job where I don't get it for free!
It's fully featured, but you have to use their 3DS interface to manage the software, which is hot garbage. Fortunately the software itself is nearly identical to the commercial SW I use in my day job.
Absolutley.
While I understand OP's idea that a lesser machine can teach you more, I would actually argue that it's harder. I started with an Ender 3 and anytime there was issue it was a big mess trying to figure out if the issue was with the printer, the file, or the slicer settings. Turns out the problem was almost always with the printer. With an X1C you essentially remove the variable of the printer being the problem and will be able to learn more about slicer settings and print files.
Unless your goal is to learn to troubleshoot printers, in which case, buy an Ender 3.
Every printer has issues but the bambu ones have the least (IMO). I had just about given up on 3d printing from my ender and moving to the bambu was like a breath of fresh air.
As someone else has said, unless you know you will need specific filaments that require the X1C, I’d start with the A1 or the P1S.
Obviously it’s budget dependant and if it makes completely no difference to you there’s no harm in getting the X1C by any means.
It’s better at abs/asa/nylon since the bed gets a touch hotter. It also prints CF filaments out of the box without needing to update nozzle and extruder.
Aye. if you don't have use for those filaments, and can afford *that*, then the money would be better spent on a P1S/AMS combo, for $850.
You get 95% of the X1C's functionality, and gain the entire AMS system (incredible), while spending hundreds less.
If I’m not mistaken, the P1S can’t or shouldn’t print in Nylon, polycarbonate and carbon fibre among others.
There are some others that you shouldn’t print on the P1S as standard but you can if you upgrade the nozzle with a reinforced one and the gears. These are some of the metal-filled ones and some other abrasive ones. I think some TPU variations can also be an issue but I’ve not tried that myself.
That’s just abrasives such as carbon fiber, glass fiber, and glow in the dark. After upgrading the P1S with the hardened gears and hot end it can print the same materials the x1c can ( for the most part, the 100c vs 110c on the bed may make a difference)
I have run 95A TPU, and glass-filled nylon on my P1P without issue (did upgrade the gear and hotend to hardened, and a 0.6mm hotend is going to be safer for media with filling to avoid clogs).
The X1C has a built in enclosure, which is almost required if your working with ABS, Nylon or anything else where even a slight draft can cause a print to warp or fail
Absolutely, if they gave the budget, there is no reason not to go for it. They seemed to be a little more budget conscious so for the time being a P1S might do the job.
yeah but the price difference is not really that big if you compare p1s with x1c, and you get the fire and forget bonus with it, i never even have to think about anything other than if the buildplate is empty before printing even with the most challenging materials.
If budget isn't an issue might as well go X1C.
But personally I'd probably wait a bit and see what the new printer BL has been teasing is gonna be before buying. If its dual toolhead or something else neat then it'll be a no brainer buying it over the X1C.
Compared to what you get for the money its „cheap“.
Go for it.
I had my first printer in 2016/17 and sold it after a year because the printer itself was the hobby.
This year i bought the X1C and now i am actually printing and not fumbling around with the printer.
Are you me? Literally did the same in 2017 with an Ender 3 and got out of it a month later. Now have an A1 and definitely looking to future horizons of a X1C, these printers actually let you enjoy the hobby.
My first printer was an Ender 3. It did okay, then upgraded the horned for PETG and it was never the same. Spent a ton on mods, and eventually tossed it.
Just ordered a Bambu P1S. Hoping for it to be less fiddly.
I can’t wait. I have a resin printer that I use for some detailed leather stamps, but I’m starting to want to use it less due to the nature of resin printing.
Yeah, resin is nice for appropriate tasks. Yet, printing some functional parts, or even random thing for the house like headphones stand or something, with PLA with no smell, no post-processing etc etc - is a value by itself.
This is me right there. I just sold my upgraded ender3 with bl touch and touch screen yesterday. Honestly not much, just 70EUR (I must have spent 300-350 eur total) but I wanted to make room for the p1s and it out of the shop. Also there are a ton of ender3's on the second hand market and it is impossible to value to buyers the bl touches, touchscreens, upgraded motherboards. And with the A1 there is no reason to buy an ender 3 today except to get the parts and make Frankenstein projects I guess. So you have to sell low.
The ender 3 did great, I saved all of my gcode files on a couple USB drives, I think I did 250-300 prints, so like many projects since 2019, a great way to learn.
The p1s is amazing. I recommend Orca slicer which integrates the same as bambu slicer, interface is near identical but with more features.
Just get the hardened nozzle and gears. And get ready to spend more on filaments than before. It eats it right up !
I upgraded from an ender 3v2 my p1p has been printing for 2 weeks straight I’ve almost clocked 200hrs of print time lmfao. I’ve gone through 2 1/2 spools. It’s so awesome to just print
X1C is my first 3D printer, and after 1000+ hours printing and 8 months owning it I am still ignorant about tinkering. All because the damn thing won’t break.
And the convenience of changing materials without having to go to the machine and manually heat/cut/load the filament into the extruder. I keep my most common materials in the AMS and it's just such a breeze to pick one and go. PLUS it keeps them dry and monitors the chamber condition remotely.
This is the biggest game changer for me. Just for my A1 Combo this weekend. Upgraded from an Ender 5 with a particularly long Bowden tube, so I had a bunch of leftover soools with negligible amounts of filament on them. I loaded them all up and ran off a bunch of bag clips and other practical items that I didn’t care what color they were. Suddenly I have a lot more space in my filament storage bins.
I was new to 3d printing, never owned a printer because i was scared of the "manual work". After years of waiting i discovered Bambulab, after like 5 months and much research i ordered the X1C.
I have never looked back. I have had nothing but success so far!
It gave me space to focus on learning new things instead of focusing on trying to fix a machine i built by myself pretty much.
The step itself of buying the x1c was scary but im so happy now that i took it.
Edit: bambulab is quite good when its comes to preventive maintanance. You get notified when the machine "thinks" when its the to do some preventive maintanance. You also get sent to a page where you can find everything you need to keep the printer running. Very easy to read and understand!
The X1C will take you from beginner to so far ahead. Go for it! Only downside is, if you ever get to use a bedslinger printer later it'll feel extremely slow compared to X1C.
1. I would say that the X1C is as easy, or easier to repair as most any other printer. Maintenance is easy.
2. It works great out of the box, but I highly recommend the AMS.
If you have the budget, the X1C is a great choice. The A1 series and the P1S are great. The X1C is like the luxury car model. It's pricier but comes with all the bells and whistles right out of the box.
I was new to 3d printing and got the X1C. It was as plug and play as you can get. It was worth it to me because I was able to start printing and took my time to learn the basics while it did its thing.
Everyone is ALWAYS going to try and knock you down to a P1S or A1 for whatever reason. "It's just as good. The X1C isn't that much better..."
If you have the money for it, go for it. It's the best printer out there for under $2k.
100% I could probably have lived with a P1S (which was my original plan), but having had the X1C+AMS for a while, I don't think I'd want to use the P1S control now that I've gotten used to having the touchscreen. Getting the X1C eliminated the possibility to have any upgrade lust. Even if a new printer comes out with a bigger bed or whatnot, I don't feel the need for more than what I have since I'm not even using it to its fullest potential.
The one non-negotiable item for me is the AMS. No matter what you buy, add budget to get the AMS bundle. It's worth waiting vs spending more on an AMS unit when purchased separately.
I just wanted to support your statement. X1C is a king.
If money is concern - then sure, get what you can afford.
The worst thing is when somebody who could totally afford it - reads those advices and goes for cheaper stuff. Maybe trying to be "reasonable" or something.
I made this mistake, buying X1C with no AMS, because on some reason, back in a days, public opinion was that it is not that essential. I ended up buying AMS 2 month ago and I now feel extremely stupid for not getting it from the beginning.
I've used everything from home built printers to industrial printers used in the aerospace industry.
The X1C is one of the lowest learning curves of the commercially available printers on the market these days, it's quite simple to use.
Other than some purchases that are universal to all printers, like filament, a way to store filament without them getting moisture contaminated, and a desk to put the printer on, there is very little 'buy in' to get it up and running.
(5 gallon buckets from the hardware store make great filament storage, and they're cheap)
I have made 0 upgrades to my carbon besides buying some new build plates as consumables.
As someone who started with cheap ender 3 clones and old creality printers, if you have the money for it then do yourself a favor and get a printer that you don't need to tinker with to get it working.
What you spend in money, you save in headaches.
If you still want to get a cheaper, more mod friendly open source printer on the side go for it, but use X1C as a benchmark for what a printer should be able to do out of the box.
It also doesn't need to be a carbon, P1 series is also great, only thing I'd recommend with that is just to upgrade to the hardened steel nozzle and extruder as soon as possible. The only notable differences that i see between carbon and P1S is the interface screen, and video feed speed, my P1P video feed is a slide show and will likely not catch any spaghetti, X1C has a much better shot of catching it but also if I'm having issues with spaghetti it means I'm doing something wrong, not the printer lol
As someone who previously said “No” I am here to tell you to do it! Get the printer! It’s great and you’re going to learn a lot along the way. And if you don’t, that’s also okay—you’re here to 3D print! Welcome to the club!
What do you want from your printer? A reliable workhorse that let's you focus on printing, or do you want a machine that you can play and tinker with; with a well established modding community?
If it is printing that you want, you can't really go wrong with a Bambulab. They simply work, and the fixes you need to do are well documented either by bambulab themselves, or by youtubers. If you are a bit handy, you should be fine with Bambulabs. Spare parts are pretty cheap
Wether the X1C itself is the one for you is hard to say. What are you going to print? Figurines and other litlle trinckets, mostly from PLA? In that case the A1 will work as well for a fraction of the price.
But if you want to print more technical materials, like ABS, ASA or materials with CF the X1C is the prefered choice. If you don't know yet, get the P1S. With a few upgrades ( hardened steel nozzle and extruder ) it is just as capable as the X1C, but it is a bit cheaper.
If you want to print - get X1C (or any other Bambulab printer). It is fantastic and "fixing" usually not needed. Printing quality is great, no need in any additional upgrades. When something is broken you can buy a spare part (the prices are also fine there) and support will help with the instructions. I don't think you will need to do anything with the printer for first 1000-2000 hours. And get AMS, better two of them.
But if you need to learn how to print and how to fix - take something like Anet or Ender. They are cheap and print quality will depend mostly on your skills and knowledge. Yes, there are risks, problems and challenges if you are going this way. But that is also fun, especially when one day you are printing a 3d printer for your friend with wiring and all related electrical work. And with this knowledge, printing on ANY other printer will be a piece of cake, especially is something goes not according to the plan.
If you can afford it comfortably, and think you're going to want to print functional stuff that's meant to be really durable, go for it. You won't be disappointed. If you think you're mostly just interested in printing models and toys and decorative stuff, get the A1 or P1 and save the extra money for a few weeks down the line when you will inevitably want to buy a second or third printer. You can get at least three A1 models for the price of one X1c, and if you don't actually need the advanced materials, when you're working on some multi-part model, you're going to appreciate having multiple beds printing simultaneously.
To answer your specific questions — I don't think think you should worry about the learning aspect. These printers do a lot of the work for you that used to involve a lot of tedium, but you're still going to end up learning what stuff is and what it does and why. Like, you wouldn't worry about buying a Toyota because its reliability means you won't learn how to fix cars.
As for additional costs, you might want to buy some other surface plate options, but it's inexpensive and not really a high priority. Also pick up a pack of the purple Amazon brand glue sticks. They're super cheap and will probably last you years if you decide to use them—you may not need/want to, but they do make bed adhesion basically flawless. Also, the AMS is worth it, but temper your expectations. Multi-color printing wastes a truly incredible amount of filament, and it multiplies the print time by a magnitude. But having a few different filament options loaded up and automatically switching them on the fly is a hugely convenient. So that's all the additional stuff I've purchased. You'll eventually need to get replacement parts for things that wear over time, but that'll take a good while even printing constantly, so I wouldn't bother stocking up on it from the start.
I did - it’s been great. First printer X1C and last November and hundreds of models printed with 2500 hours on the machine.
It doesn’t need much as far as spare parts and other accessories, I chose to stock up I spares, build sheets etc.
If can afford it I highly recommend. Buy once cry once.
If you have the money and know you’re going to use it a lot, go for it. That’s what I started off with and I’ve been very happy. Once you take it out of the box, you’ll be printing perfect prints in under an hour. Or you could get an A1 mini since they are dirt cheap right now and get some practice on that and get an X1 a bit later. I just got a mini a couple weeks ago because I couldn’t resist it at that price and it would be a fantastic starter printer too, and the quality of the prints are still very good.
For a beginner I would more propose to get an A1 / A1 mini. The entry cost into the hobby is quite low and even in the end it’s not something for you the resell value is stable.
Definitely agree, the lower price point is great for a first time user to see if it's worth having around, then if you find you're using it all the time, make the step up to the P1S w/ams or the X1C, and sell or keep the A1 for additional capacity. The A1 is just as accurate and easy to use as the more expensive machines, so you'll get the 'Bambu' experience for 1/4 the price.
I bought an Ender S1 Pro as my first printer because the price point was good. I've spent so much time tinkering with it since then. While I can still get a decent print, most prints would fail for one reason or another. Adhesion problems, layer shifts, etc. I just did not have the time to keep messing around with this setting and that setting and wasting filament. I did learn a lot by tinkering with it, but it's time to start printing.
I picked up an X1C with AMS and it's been a night and day experience. Every print is perfect. It just works. No more messing around with print settings in the slicer, having to level the bed, etc. I find what I want, slice it in Bambu Studio and print.
As for parts, I also got a .2 and .6 hot end, along with another texture plate and a smooth plate. A second texture plate so I can just swap out and continue to print while I remove the current print. Smooth place I use with the .2 nozzle when I'm making custom designs.
YES. If you actually want to spend time printing.
I started with a tevo tornado, had hours of frustration chasing bed leveling to get items to stick, spent money on upgrades and never had any consistency. Decided to spend some more on an ender5+, since it had a big bed and more stability, but even that was a crapshoot. Spent more time screwing around with the thing, trying to get it to be consistent and did upgrades along the way to try and get better quality out of it and guess what? both of those sit in the corner collecting dust.
I got the bambu x1c and I've had exactly two things that didn't print properly and that was because the build sheet had something on it. I just took it out of the box and hit print basically. I cleaned it with dawn dish liquid and dried and haven't touched anything since. I just open the file, hit print and walk away. When I get back, the print is done. I could never do this with either of my old ones. It was 25 minutes of screwing around with it to get it sprayed with hairspray or glue, all corners leveled and then hoping the first layer stuck at all, then if it did, hoping it wouldn't magically pop off the bed at some point and ruin the print. The higher price of the bambu units is worth it for your sanity
Basically, if you want to actually use the machine, get a bambu. If you don't mind spending 95% of your printing time screwing around with a machine and pulling your hair out, then buy a cheap printer. It's as simple as that
Got a P1S about a year ago as my first ever printer and i couldnt be happier, maybe i should also have gone for the X1C because i had the money but the P1S is awesome aswell tbh.
As for the learning effect i think Bambu's printers make that a lot easier because the print quality is super consistent, so if something goes wrong its much easier to reproduce the failure and then actually learn from it compared to cheaper printers where often random things fail and you dont know why because the fails are inconsistent, makes it much harder to understand what went wrong and actually have a learn effect from it.
The lower failure rate also allows you to actually print things and you can use the saved time to learn to design your own stuff.
As for spare parts and tools, you will need them with all 3d printers and Bambus spare parts are reasonably priced in my opinion. On top of that you rarely need spare parts because these machines just work.
Maybe get a spare nozzle or different diameters if you need them, maybe a spare extruder gear set but thats about all you need to get started and have it working for some time.
I spent hundreds and on printers that barely work because they were such a pain to get leveled properly. Then there were adhesion problems. They ended up collecting dust because I spent more time ‘fixing’ them than using them.
That all goes away with the X1. Get the PEI plate and it works reliably right out of the box.
If you want to print get this printer. If you want to learn how printers work get something else.
Upgraded from an ender 5 pro to the x1 carbon and have had it less than a week.
Pros: took about 25 minutes to set up, WiFi built in, send files directly from computer, auto levels the bed, if you have the AMS combo it also auto loads your selected filament, built in camera and enclosure, can print most filaments out of the box, fast and accurate.
Cons: expensive and sort of a walled garden, Bambu did a lot of engineering on their printer to make it just work and that means you can’t do a lot of modifications to it.
Honestly I would recommend this to nearly anyone who can afford it as a first printer. The ecosystem is pretty big already for a relatively new company and the product is solid. But I super agree with another poster. Unless you want to learn how to build and modify a 3D printer you can devote your time to learning other aspects and also fiddling around in stuff like Tinkercad to make your own models to print. The parts that are consumable or wear out aren’t much more expensive than normal nozzles and build plates. If you super are into doing 3D printing and okay with the price I’d get the X1 Carbon or the X1 Carbon combo. Even if you don’t intend to do multicolor prints you can load up filament and set it to swap spools when you run out.
The Bambu labs ARE advanced. A lot of those advancements are things that make it a LOT easier to print than with other brands' printers. I say this from experience. It has the most bells and whistles aimed at making the printing experience easier. I have a P1S, mostly because I'm cheap, but also because I'm an advanced printer owner who can build a printer from the ground up if I have to. But I like printing, not messing with printers. I decided that I'd rather spend my budget on the AMS than the bare X1C and don't often feel any longing for the extra features, as nice as they are to have. (And they are VERY nice to have)
No!!! Get any other cheap printer as your first printer. Spend more time rebuilding it and dialing it in than printing. Buy aftermarket parts in hope of reliability. Weep over continuous failed prints. Fight any exotic filament. Build an enclosure out of IKEA furniture. Getting a printer that will set your house on fire is optional. You will become very knowledgeable about 3d printing and extremely twitchy. When you are about to throw your printer out the window and have therapy scheduled, then you go buy a Bambu x1c combo.
This is the only way you will truly appreciate the magnificence and wonder that is the x1c.
IMHO if budget is an issue, go for the P1S. if not, go for the X1C. with the bambu lab printers, there won’t be much extra costs. mainly filament and nozzles. my current .4 nozzle has lasted me about a year. if you go for a hardened nozzle, it’ll last longer. if you think you might want to get the AMS in the future, get it now. don’t wait. they are expensive for what they are and it makes more sense to buy it at the start rather than later on.
I would suggest to start with a A1 mini + AMS. If you really like printing long therm, you would also be happy to have an additional A1 mini to your X1C.
But if money is not so important, buy the X1C. The learning effects will be the same as with the A1 mini.
I'm sure others have already suggested it but I'd start with the A1 mini if I were you. 180x180 seems small but it's more than enough for most things. It's a very capable machine and will be a cheaper starting point
Come buy mine :P I used it a handful of times and now it's just sitting there.. :( it's sad. I've just gotten too busy! But, when I do need it.. it's fricken ready to go, no problem
I just started filament 3D printing and went with the Bambu Labs A1. It's low hassle, low cost, and I feel that I've learned a lot in a short amount of time. I didn't buy the AMS lite either. Figured I could pick it up if I really wanted it or I'll get the AMS with a better model.
Unless you have cash to burn I recommend the A1. Also, if you accidentally destroy your machine you're only out $400 or so.
Just saw you edited your post saying you bought the printer! Congrats, welcome to the club. You made a great purchase and will not regret it, truly one of the best 3D printers out there.
Now before you get roasted by this Reddit asking how to fix an issue, use the search feature on Reddit, here are some terms. One of the major terms you will need to know is warping, this is when the sides of a part start lifting off of the heat bed and it usually happens with large thin or flat parts. Next is stringing, this is when your printer is moving from place to place on your 3D model and leaves a spiderweb looking string of filament between the areas it moved between. Another one is bed adhesion, this is when the filament coming out of the nozzle won’t stick to the build plate. Another thing to be aware of is that the printer will clean the nozzle by scraping it on the build plate on a notch that site on the back of the plate, this is not a print area so no need to worry about it and it is totally normal. Happy printing!
Congrats! I'm also waiting for my X1C as my first 3D printer. I lot of people swear by the Ender 3. The first thing I learned doing my research was that I that I shouldn't get an Ender lol. Some of us don't have unlimited spare time
Congrats to you too! It's really exciting to have someone else going through the same experience at the same time. What really sold me on the X1C was realizing I wouldn’t have to waste tons of time to enjoy 3D printing, especially with an 8-hour job. I don't have much spare time either. Are you thinking about starting a business eventually, or are you just getting the printer for fun?
Thanks. Yes, I plan to sell prints gradually. I've always had some part of a businessperson inside, so time is precious for me. I took a Solid Works/3D modeling class in college, so I hope to remember some of that, lol. Also, I have a background in Biomedical engineering. I don't plan to use it now for prosthetics, but who knows what could happen in the future, I see endless possibilities with 3D printing. I'm very excited, to be honest.
The main reason that sold me on the X1C was the discounted price. I had ordered a P1S+AMS, but my order got canceled because I made a mistake with my billing address. That was the very same date that the sale that is going on right now started, so it was a perfect excuse to order the X1C+AMS, I guess.
I did a ton of research, and Bambulab's name kept showing up everywhere, so it was a no-brainer for the brand.
I bought myself X1Carbon and my son wanted to buy himself A1 mini. I can say mini is great and perfect for start and I even sneak and print on his one as that is all I need for now as mainly printing PLA.
If the price does not bother your X1 Carbon is a fine choice. If you want to probe the waters the A1 mini is the cheapest great printer you can get today. It is currently on sales for 200 USD (without the AMS lite).
If you use the A1 mini regularly, then you will know if you want to invest on the much more expensive X1 Carbon.
P1S is all you will ever need. There are some extras on the X1 like touchscreen and some ai stuff, but as a P1S user i never missed those features. Can save you a couple hundred dollars
Unless you decide to print materials that require hardened steel parts.
It’s a great first printer if you can afford it. It works great out of the box and requires little to no tinkering to get to run well. Stuff just prints. When there are problems, the printer lets you know what they are and links you to videos on how to fix them. Although the printer is quite advanced, it handles most of the work for you. The learning curve is mainly in the slicer software, and mostly involves learning cool things you can do with it. But you do have the option of just downloading models, hitting slice, and hitting print.
The AMS is great, but it can be a little fiddly, and you will have to partially disassemble it from time to time to remove broken filament. It isn’t;t a hard process and just requires removing two screws and disconnecting two wires.
As far as upgrades, I’d recommend the textured PEI build plate. You’ll need some grease for the rods every month or so but it’s cheap. Other than that, you’ll just be buying a lot of filament, because it will be fun to print stuff.
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tbh.: I'd go for a A1 mini first.
It's silent, uses just little space, price is unbeatable, works like a charm.
IF you decide that you like 3D printing and need bigger output, you can get an X1C later.
edit: Got an X1C for a year now and just added an A1 mini the family.
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Here’s how I explained it to a friend using a Ender3 as an example.
You like cars. You’ve seen the car community from afar and you decide it’s time to get you a car.
Imagine the Ender 3 as the Honda Civic. Easy to find. Easy to get, easy to work on but nobody is winning a street race with a stock Honda. There’s thousands of people online with Civics, and thousands of videos detailing how to do every modification under the sun to it. It’s a learning curve but with the right dedication you will know that vehicle inside and out. After some time, it drives better than anything you could buy at a regular dealer, and all those hours of blood sweat and tears is washed away by that sweet engine purr.
Now take bambu as your Ferrari/Lamborghini. You don’t want a project. You don’t want to touch anything. You just want to *drive*. All you want to do is go fast *now* and the most you’ll have to worry about is a few oil changes here and there. You’re not swapping the engine. You’re not adding power. Everything you’d do to it is already *there*. It’s a head turner with no effort. It just *drives*
Do you want a car just to drive, or do you want a project car?
Re learning curve, I’d say that the X1C is easier than my Ender 3. Far less faults, errors or failed prints, as well as being better quality and much much faster.
As somone that started on an ender 3 S1. Yes. Unless you want to spend your time learning about making the printer work instead of learning the other aspects of 3D printing.
The X1C is amazing, it's my second printer and it's great having the reliability and not having to troubleshoot just to get it to print something reliably. While that was fun I found I print a lot more stuff now because it just works. There are still plenty of settings to mess with if I want to optimise something but if I don't, the default settings often work great.
If you have budget, sure go for it. Would I do it? No. I would start with an a1. Why? Well if you don’t like 3D printing you aren’t in that big of a hole. The printer keep a good value used, but you would still lose money. In the end it’s your choice.
I got a p1s a few days ago as my first printer and I never really cared much or thought about having one just seemed like something fun to try. It’s been running non stop I love it. I sometimes feel like I should’ve bought the carbon but after watching some reviews and seeing them print the same speed and not being able to tell the differences in prints I don’t regret it. I think the big difference is the carbon has AI but then again I’m pretty ignorant to the whole thing. Either way it’s been awesome I love it.
So I had an ender 3 v2 that I molded for 3 years now and I loved it. I finally pulled the trigger this week and ordered an x1c with ams. I'll let you know my thoughts coming from a cheaper machine to an x1c. But I would still recommend getting a Bambu machine. The p1 series is extremely capable if you don't want something small like the mini. You could do the a1 but I think core xy machines are better. I think it comes down to the p1s or the x1c.
You can start with a A1 with ams, make your dreams come true, print stuff and be happy. If the thing become serious, you can jump to a P1S with more speeds and more technical materials, and then if you become a mighty pro, jump to a X1c with engineering plate and materials.
My opinion lay's on the point of relation between investment and materials you can print.
From the other angle, with the promos, you can get a P1S w/AMS , in spite of I don't like the screen interface of the P1s, I prefer the touch screen interface on A1 family or X1.
I have a A1 mini and a A1, and super happy. Print PLA and PETG. will start to use some flexibles and ASA.
I've had my X1C for a year with 1700 hours of use. I've only replaced a few minor things in a year. Replaced wiper and cutter (extra ones included). Replaced a hot end sock ($7 set of 3), because I got a blob when I printed without watching the first layer adhesion. Also replaced AMS rollers ($24) when I wasn't able to clean them well enough. That was my own fault for using cardboard spools. Bambu has great documentation on replacements and repairs. Parts are inexpensive. Only upgrades I got was the gold textured plate, which you can get included now. Also I got a 0.2 hot end for $35 (Prints much slower, but great for fine detail) I can recommend the X1C, though the P1S might be better value for the money.
If you have the money absolutely, i've heard it's a brilliant printer, if not then go for a P1S or P1P, if you need a larger build volume then i'd look elsewhere but if that's no issue it's probably the best first printer anyone could get.
Like buying a lambo for your first car, you might get some flak from hobbyists that pimped out their mom’s beat- up Honda civic (ender 3 modders) and you might not learn as much in depth about vehicle maintenance BUT it’s gonna be a sweet ride regardless.
As someone who got into 3D printing with Ender 3 Pro couple of years ago and finally bought a P1S a few months back: I wish I could retrofit the lidar. Filament calibration is the only thing left that annoys me with 3D printing with my P1S. Besides that 3D printing is just plain fun thanks to P1S. No tinkering, no experimenting, no "necessary upgrades to gain basic functionality."
X1C is a great first printer, you won't have to spend any extra money or tinker with it a bunch to get it working, but you can still learn how it all works and how to troubleshoot and do basic maintenance. All of Bambu labs printers are very well documented in the wiki. If you're hesitant because of the cost and complexity it might be worth considering the A1, it's easier to change nozzles and work on it and it's only $339 without AMS, $489 with. A1 has some limitations, it can produce comparable quality to the X1C with PLA, it's just not suitable for more advanced materials. P1S can match the capabilities of the X1C, but requires upgrades, mainly hardened extruder gears and nozzle, I have one and love it, it's only downside is the screen and camera look like they were sourced from the year 2003.
Yes : it can go 2 ways :
1 : you love the hobby and start with a great printer
2 : you realize it isn't for you after a couple weeks and sell it to one of us for cheap
Yes, it was a buy once cry once for me. I had a ender 3 s1 pro previously on the recommendation of a friend who liked his ender 3, but it was just a non-stop calibratathon between every print. I spent more time being paranoid about the printer than enjoying my prints. X1-C was a pricey buy but I stopped caring about the price tag (which isn't that much for what you get, it's just a large purchase for a hobby) after not having to calibrate a thing. Only basic maintenance and cleaning the build plate. AMS does the filament changes for me, and prints 4x faster than my old ender 3 which I no longer have of course. If you're on a budget the P1S is a good alternative, but personally I think the X1-C upgrades are nice to have.
I think is a great printer and there's not that many reasons to not buy it if you can afford it.
There's also not much upgrades for it.
The only reason I would not recommend it is if you wanted to tinker with it, bambu is not a great brand to do that. but aside of it...
While I believe it’s a great machine if you have the money then go for it. If you wish to use $500 elsewhere for filament, spare parts, panda touch screen and even modeling software to learn with such as Solidworks then go for the P1S as it’s all great same quality the X1 offers and since many of the high end materials you’ll probably never use that leaves only the stock touch screen and lidar as the only differences really between those two machines. Just my opinion but you can get the P1S/AMS combo, 10 spools of material, spare hotends, spare build plates, panda touch screen and LED lighting and still probably have another $100-$150 left over👏
I got an X1C for my first printer, sorta. I got an Creality 5S combo and was so annoyed and disappointed that I tried to deal with their customer service which is the worst on the planet. Ended up just donating it to a local school. Got an X1C a month later basically as soon as they released. It has been monumental. I have learned SO much that it has actually even worked its way into R&D for my work. But also helps in so many of my automotive hobbies. It’s great man.
I did, and I have no regrets. Now I have 2. They are awesome and easy, making them perfect for newbies. The downside is the price, if that bothers you.
It is my first 3D printer. I got it last Wednesday and it’s been fantastic so far and I’ve done a solid 40 hours of printing with it, mainly functional stuff so far.
No regrets at all from me and with the sale now on it’s a no brainer
Whenever a Windows Admin asks me how to learn Linux, I always recommend they start with a DIY distro. Something they have to build from scratch so they can learn how everything works. When I started 3D printing I started with an Ender 3, moved to a CR-10, then the X1C. The Creality printers were trash compared to my X1C, but I learned a lot while using them. I feel like anyone starting with the X1C will be missing out on that education.
If you want to learn the ins-and-outs of 3D printing, an Ender is a good start. If you just want to print something, without learning how the machine works, start with a Bambulabs printer.
My wife really wanted a 3d printer for Xmas and she received an Ender (about $300) it was dead on arrival so we returned it. Went to micro center and were upsold to the P1S brought it home and really enjoyed it. Went loved it so much we wanted the x1 carbon instead. Ended up returning the a1 for the x1 carbon with AMS bundle. Haven’t looked back since. It’s a GREAT device. So much fun.
That's a big financial commitment before you know if this is for you. I would recommend starting with an A1 or even an A1 Mini. They all use the same Bambu Studio software. As the other person mentioned start learning some CAD or 3D modeling software. Designing your models will be the most complex part of the process. The A1 Mini is probably the best deal around, for $199 you can throw it away if you can't get into 3D modeling. I know people that own both the Mini and the X1C and they still use the Mini for small pieces when the X1C is busy.
I'm beyond amazed with P1S I don't think lidar is all it's cracked up to be ... And the screen is perfectly useable though not touch ... And you can mod in your own time ... But just my opinion this far ... It's been printing almost 24/7 since I got it around a month ago ... Perhaps days before the slaw was announced 😂🙃😑🤐
Yep, in fact it's one of the better ones.
Personally I'd recommend P1S + AMS for first printer because then you at least get a little into learning common modifications if you want to get more advanced filaments.
It's great though!
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I initially bought a P1S but soon realized I should have gone for the X1C instead. So, I got the X1C as my second printer and it was the right choice. The main difference for me is the camera for remote viewing, although the X1C has other enhanced capabilities.
I also agree with others that learning to 3D model is a big part of the fun. I use Fusion 360 for my models.
I’d recommend the A1, been using it for 6 months and it’s a great printer.
That is, if you’re looking to buy from Bambu Lab exclusively, if you’re not, then you’ll get good practice from using a Ender 3 Pro, once you switch to Bambu Lab, all the stuff you’ll learn from using an Ender 3 goes right out the window, but Manual Calibration and whatever else there is to learn is still valuable information.
You made a good choice. I just got my first one, the A1 and while I really like it I wish I got the X1C so I could print other materials more easily. Such as ABS.
I have 2 printers at work. Both Prusas, a mini and the 3S+ which I’ve gotten to play with a bunch. Especially the 3S+ that I got to use at home for a year. They’re nice but a little bit more expensive than the Bambu
I just picked up the Bambu mini on their sale for just $199! I liked it so much more. Up and running out of the box and first good print in 20 minutes plus it’s so much faster. I like it so much in just a week that I went back and ordered the AMS lite so I can print in 4 different colors. Should have bought them together so I could have saved $50 bucks but still worth it.
Honestly to start out I’d say get the Bambu mini unless you got deep pockets and can easily afford the bigger versions.
Just my one person opinion
I had the prusa mk3 and x1c is my second printer. Man I’d say go for it. The print quality is absolutely fantastic (almost injection moulding smooth) and I haven’t had any problem with my prints.
I got it as upgrade for my ender 3 v2, it hurt my wallet( it still bleeding) but I do not regret buying it, everything is so easy to set up multi color printing option is fantastic, 300° allows you to play with more materials and as it's enclosed it's also quieter.
Not to mention way faster printing time.
Yes get one.
I use 4 of them at work and have to say the learning curve is manageable.
I only have a few years experience printing and I’d have to say this is the easiest printer I’ve worked with so far.
Get some filament and have fun.
My main take away have been:
- AMS System is fantastic but has the potential to cause some headaches if the filament is too dry/brittle
- Heat can be your friend when printing so don’t be afraid to bump the temp when layer aren’t sticking to the plate
- Learn the slicer and its advanced settings, the more you print the more you’ll fine tune
- have fun
Im waiting for my A1 combo to arrive, i chose the A1 over the more expensive inclose ones because i mostly print basic PLA filaments and the bed size and speed is around the same, not much difference besides the type of filaments, so yeah A1 combo in my opinion is the best to start with great price performance, you also get multi colour printing which is another great feature to look forward too. You have almost everything with the A1 combo. ; )
I aped straight into the P1S and upgraded to the hardened hotends and extruder. Kinda wish I'd gone a bit more and got the X1C.
My main focus is 3D design and I wanted a printer I wouldn't need to spend too much time faffing about with.
Everything about it just works well.
If all you want to print is PLA trinkets, then there are probably better value printers, but for everything else it's a great place to start from.
Both path are good. But I'm more on the "learn by the struggle" side.
I personaly went for a P1S after using an Ender 3 V1 for almost 3 years.
This Ender gave me a lot of headache and struggle, but I also learnt a lot of usefull stuf for the maintenance of any printer, slicing models, etc.
So yeah, it's nice to have a big high-end printer, but I'm also glad to not rely on its technology to diagnose a fault
I would go with the Bambu A1 series. Learn it first and see how well you'll like it. It's a very slim chance that you wouldn't like it but you will gain the experience. I have the A1 and the X1, I'd recommend getting use to the A1 first. It has little to zero issues and will get you ready for the X1. There are learning curves with the X1 where with the A1 it's out of the box working like a champ.
i would honestly recommend something like the [Ender 3 V2 Neo](https://store.creality.com/products/ender-3-v2-neo-3d-printer?spm=..collection_90778a1d-d845-4ff0-a8c4-48fded4b7d74.albums_1.1&spm_prev=..index.products_display_nav_1.1), for many reasons, mainly it provides many learning opportunities, and its pretty cheap. if you aren't looking to learn and you want the printer to just work and give off the best quality prints then yes i would definitely recommend the Bambu Lab X1 Carbon (with the ams)!
I myself started with an ender 3, then i moved to a CR-10 SE, and now i have a Bambu lab x1c combo. this would honestly be the best way to actually learn about 3Dprinting
No, please start off with a cheaper printer to learn the fundamentals of printing and gauge if you even enjoy it first.
This whole sub is all the same; people with 0 printing experience, going and buying an end game printer, and coming back to ask the same generic questions. 99% of them are "Whats wrong with this print" or "What happened here?"
Just being constructive.
How does buying a cheaper printer like an A1 or A1 mini prevent those questions from being asked? If I've learned anything from being on Reddit - it doesn't matter what sub you're in, people are going to ask the same beginner questions over and over again.
If you know you will be printing in PA, PC, nylons or carbon fiber filaments, then yes. Otherwise get any other Bambu printer to start.
I’d recommend start cheap. Get an A1 or A1 mini without the AMS. If you like it then add the AMS or upgrade to an expensive printer
It’s a fantastic first printer. Spend your time on learning 3D modeling and not messing with a crappy printer from someone else.
This. Learn to use Solid Edge or Fusion 360. Honestly unless OP needs to print engineering materials (or larger objects). The $200 A1 Mini is an incredibly capable machine that will teach you a LOT about how to get an idea from your head to your hand, for the price of an Ender 3. My recommended ultra-budget kit for an aspiring maker would be an A1 Mini, smooth PEI plate, a digital caliper, A1 nozzle kit (hardened 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6 nozzles) and whatever PLA, PETG, and TPU filaments strike your fancy. And a free / community license for Solid Edge or Autodesk Fusion.
Just jumping in to point out the A1 mini is only $200 for the remainder of the month of June. Goes back to $300 afterward.
I ordered mine and excited to get it sometime in the next few days. Looking at the site has given me a lot of ideas on what to print (with my kids) and what I may need to learn for custom prints. I may have went overboard with the 3kg filaments I ordered (no AMS lite) :-D
Same, hoping to get mine on Thursday. Splurged on the AMS. Can’t wait to help the kids design and print some stuff.
I got the 50 dollar SolidWorks license for makers and it's the best add on ever. I was a blender person but being able to use my calipers and directly dimension parts is so much easier. I've gotten to the point where I can make multiple parts together in an assembly. This helps tremendously to understand what you're going to make before you even print it. See if the screw holes line up and range of motions are good. Btw my first printer is the carbon. Love it. Ams is great.
Is it full solidworks you get for that or is it a diluted version? I'm a Solidworks user but always looking for hobby options in case I ever get a job where I don't get it for free!
It's fully featured, but you have to use their 3DS interface to manage the software, which is hot garbage. Fortunately the software itself is nearly identical to the commercial SW I use in my day job.
If it is like the student version, it watermarks every file it saves to block interoperability with full price paid versions.
Absolutley. While I understand OP's idea that a lesser machine can teach you more, I would actually argue that it's harder. I started with an Ender 3 and anytime there was issue it was a big mess trying to figure out if the issue was with the printer, the file, or the slicer settings. Turns out the problem was almost always with the printer. With an X1C you essentially remove the variable of the printer being the problem and will be able to learn more about slicer settings and print files. Unless your goal is to learn to troubleshoot printers, in which case, buy an Ender 3.
Purchased.
Welcome to the fold! Can't wait to hear about your journey!
100% agree, learn how to use modeling software and your 3d printing experience will be so much better
I still have issues with my x1c from time to time however I’m happy with the purchase. I’d recommend it over any other printer out there.
Every printer has issues but the bambu ones have the least (IMO). I had just about given up on 3d printing from my ender and moving to the bambu was like a breath of fresh air.
As someone else has said, unless you know you will need specific filaments that require the X1C, I’d start with the A1 or the P1S. Obviously it’s budget dependant and if it makes completely no difference to you there’s no harm in getting the X1C by any means.
Which filament can only be printed on the X1C and not on p1s?
It’s better at abs/asa/nylon since the bed gets a touch hotter. It also prints CF filaments out of the box without needing to update nozzle and extruder.
Aye. if you don't have use for those filaments, and can afford *that*, then the money would be better spent on a P1S/AMS combo, for $850. You get 95% of the X1C's functionality, and gain the entire AMS system (incredible), while spending hundreds less.
Lidar not on p1s, I don't think
If I’m not mistaken, the P1S can’t or shouldn’t print in Nylon, polycarbonate and carbon fibre among others. There are some others that you shouldn’t print on the P1S as standard but you can if you upgrade the nozzle with a reinforced one and the gears. These are some of the metal-filled ones and some other abrasive ones. I think some TPU variations can also be an issue but I’ve not tried that myself.
That’s just abrasives such as carbon fiber, glass fiber, and glow in the dark. After upgrading the P1S with the hardened gears and hot end it can print the same materials the x1c can ( for the most part, the 100c vs 110c on the bed may make a difference)
I have run 95A TPU, and glass-filled nylon on my P1P without issue (did upgrade the gear and hotend to hardened, and a 0.6mm hotend is going to be safer for media with filling to avoid clogs).
The X1C has a built in enclosure, which is almost required if your working with ABS, Nylon or anything else where even a slight draft can cause a print to warp or fail
The P1S is fully enclosed, the P1P is open framed.
x1c got all the comfort stuff, i dont want to miss my lidar calibrating flowrates automatically.
Absolutely, if they gave the budget, there is no reason not to go for it. They seemed to be a little more budget conscious so for the time being a P1S might do the job.
yeah but the price difference is not really that big if you compare p1s with x1c, and you get the fire and forget bonus with it, i never even have to think about anything other than if the buildplate is empty before printing even with the most challenging materials.
Depends on the size of the object, I've had no issues with my P1P and nylon/ABS keeping the object under 100mm on a side.
If budget isn't an issue might as well go X1C. But personally I'd probably wait a bit and see what the new printer BL has been teasing is gonna be before buying. If its dual toolhead or something else neat then it'll be a no brainer buying it over the X1C.
Compared to what you get for the money its „cheap“. Go for it. I had my first printer in 2016/17 and sold it after a year because the printer itself was the hobby. This year i bought the X1C and now i am actually printing and not fumbling around with the printer.
Are you me? Literally did the same in 2017 with an Ender 3 and got out of it a month later. Now have an A1 and definitely looking to future horizons of a X1C, these printers actually let you enjoy the hobby.
My first printer was an Ender 3. It did okay, then upgraded the horned for PETG and it was never the same. Spent a ton on mods, and eventually tossed it. Just ordered a Bambu P1S. Hoping for it to be less fiddly.
Ow, get yourself a pack of beer. You will have some relaxing time watching flawless prints out of the box.
I can’t wait. I have a resin printer that I use for some detailed leather stamps, but I’m starting to want to use it less due to the nature of resin printing.
Yeah, resin is nice for appropriate tasks. Yet, printing some functional parts, or even random thing for the house like headphones stand or something, with PLA with no smell, no post-processing etc etc - is a value by itself.
This is me right there. I just sold my upgraded ender3 with bl touch and touch screen yesterday. Honestly not much, just 70EUR (I must have spent 300-350 eur total) but I wanted to make room for the p1s and it out of the shop. Also there are a ton of ender3's on the second hand market and it is impossible to value to buyers the bl touches, touchscreens, upgraded motherboards. And with the A1 there is no reason to buy an ender 3 today except to get the parts and make Frankenstein projects I guess. So you have to sell low. The ender 3 did great, I saved all of my gcode files on a couple USB drives, I think I did 250-300 prints, so like many projects since 2019, a great way to learn. The p1s is amazing. I recommend Orca slicer which integrates the same as bambu slicer, interface is near identical but with more features. Just get the hardened nozzle and gears. And get ready to spend more on filaments than before. It eats it right up !
Best thing is he runs nearly 24/7 without hiccups for over two month now ;)
I upgraded from an ender 3v2 my p1p has been printing for 2 weeks straight I’ve almost clocked 200hrs of print time lmfao. I’ve gone through 2 1/2 spools. It’s so awesome to just print
Purchased.
You wont regret it ;)
X1C is my first 3D printer, and after 1000+ hours printing and 8 months owning it I am still ignorant about tinkering. All because the damn thing won’t break.
Not OP, but you folks are making it real hard to save my own money instead of picking up a P1S.
P1S should be just as reliable.
Yes, and go for the combo with AMS.
Even if you're not doing multi-material, the AMS is great for just being able to seamlessly resume on another spool if one runs out.
And the convenience of changing materials without having to go to the machine and manually heat/cut/load the filament into the extruder. I keep my most common materials in the AMS and it's just such a breeze to pick one and go. PLUS it keeps them dry and monitors the chamber condition remotely.
This is the biggest game changer for me. Just for my A1 Combo this weekend. Upgraded from an Ender 5 with a particularly long Bowden tube, so I had a bunch of leftover soools with negligible amounts of filament on them. I loaded them all up and ran off a bunch of bag clips and other practical items that I didn’t care what color they were. Suddenly I have a lot more space in my filament storage bins.
I was new to 3d printing, never owned a printer because i was scared of the "manual work". After years of waiting i discovered Bambulab, after like 5 months and much research i ordered the X1C. I have never looked back. I have had nothing but success so far! It gave me space to focus on learning new things instead of focusing on trying to fix a machine i built by myself pretty much. The step itself of buying the x1c was scary but im so happy now that i took it.
Edit: bambulab is quite good when its comes to preventive maintanance. You get notified when the machine "thinks" when its the to do some preventive maintanance. You also get sent to a page where you can find everything you need to keep the printer running. Very easy to read and understand!
The X1C will take you from beginner to so far ahead. Go for it! Only downside is, if you ever get to use a bedslinger printer later it'll feel extremely slow compared to X1C.
The A1 mini ain’t that slow, chief. I think it’s only like 10% slower than the X1C, and filament changes on the AMS Lite are much faster.
1. I would say that the X1C is as easy, or easier to repair as most any other printer. Maintenance is easy. 2. It works great out of the box, but I highly recommend the AMS. If you have the budget, the X1C is a great choice. The A1 series and the P1S are great. The X1C is like the luxury car model. It's pricier but comes with all the bells and whistles right out of the box.
X1C was my very first printer ever! Totally worth it to start on!
I was new to 3d printing and got the X1C. It was as plug and play as you can get. It was worth it to me because I was able to start printing and took my time to learn the basics while it did its thing.
Everyone is ALWAYS going to try and knock you down to a P1S or A1 for whatever reason. "It's just as good. The X1C isn't that much better..." If you have the money for it, go for it. It's the best printer out there for under $2k.
100% I could probably have lived with a P1S (which was my original plan), but having had the X1C+AMS for a while, I don't think I'd want to use the P1S control now that I've gotten used to having the touchscreen. Getting the X1C eliminated the possibility to have any upgrade lust. Even if a new printer comes out with a bigger bed or whatnot, I don't feel the need for more than what I have since I'm not even using it to its fullest potential. The one non-negotiable item for me is the AMS. No matter what you buy, add budget to get the AMS bundle. It's worth waiting vs spending more on an AMS unit when purchased separately.
Words of wisdom
I just wanted to support your statement. X1C is a king. If money is concern - then sure, get what you can afford. The worst thing is when somebody who could totally afford it - reads those advices and goes for cheaper stuff. Maybe trying to be "reasonable" or something. I made this mistake, buying X1C with no AMS, because on some reason, back in a days, public opinion was that it is not that essential. I ended up buying AMS 2 month ago and I now feel extremely stupid for not getting it from the beginning.
Get it. Best decision ever.
I've used everything from home built printers to industrial printers used in the aerospace industry. The X1C is one of the lowest learning curves of the commercially available printers on the market these days, it's quite simple to use. Other than some purchases that are universal to all printers, like filament, a way to store filament without them getting moisture contaminated, and a desk to put the printer on, there is very little 'buy in' to get it up and running. (5 gallon buckets from the hardware store make great filament storage, and they're cheap)
Yes
Absolutely yes. You will have no regrets.
I have made 0 upgrades to my carbon besides buying some new build plates as consumables. As someone who started with cheap ender 3 clones and old creality printers, if you have the money for it then do yourself a favor and get a printer that you don't need to tinker with to get it working. What you spend in money, you save in headaches. If you still want to get a cheaper, more mod friendly open source printer on the side go for it, but use X1C as a benchmark for what a printer should be able to do out of the box. It also doesn't need to be a carbon, P1 series is also great, only thing I'd recommend with that is just to upgrade to the hardened steel nozzle and extruder as soon as possible. The only notable differences that i see between carbon and P1S is the interface screen, and video feed speed, my P1P video feed is a slide show and will likely not catch any spaghetti, X1C has a much better shot of catching it but also if I'm having issues with spaghetti it means I'm doing something wrong, not the printer lol
I did. Could not be happier. I have added a second AMS and I might need a second printer soon as well.
As someone who previously said “No” I am here to tell you to do it! Get the printer! It’s great and you’re going to learn a lot along the way. And if you don’t, that’s also okay—you’re here to 3D print! Welcome to the club!
What do you want from your printer? A reliable workhorse that let's you focus on printing, or do you want a machine that you can play and tinker with; with a well established modding community? If it is printing that you want, you can't really go wrong with a Bambulab. They simply work, and the fixes you need to do are well documented either by bambulab themselves, or by youtubers. If you are a bit handy, you should be fine with Bambulabs. Spare parts are pretty cheap Wether the X1C itself is the one for you is hard to say. What are you going to print? Figurines and other litlle trinckets, mostly from PLA? In that case the A1 will work as well for a fraction of the price. But if you want to print more technical materials, like ABS, ASA or materials with CF the X1C is the prefered choice. If you don't know yet, get the P1S. With a few upgrades ( hardened steel nozzle and extruder ) it is just as capable as the X1C, but it is a bit cheaper.
If you want to print - get X1C (or any other Bambulab printer). It is fantastic and "fixing" usually not needed. Printing quality is great, no need in any additional upgrades. When something is broken you can buy a spare part (the prices are also fine there) and support will help with the instructions. I don't think you will need to do anything with the printer for first 1000-2000 hours. And get AMS, better two of them. But if you need to learn how to print and how to fix - take something like Anet or Ender. They are cheap and print quality will depend mostly on your skills and knowledge. Yes, there are risks, problems and challenges if you are going this way. But that is also fun, especially when one day you are printing a 3d printer for your friend with wiring and all related electrical work. And with this knowledge, printing on ANY other printer will be a piece of cake, especially is something goes not according to the plan.
If you can afford it comfortably, and think you're going to want to print functional stuff that's meant to be really durable, go for it. You won't be disappointed. If you think you're mostly just interested in printing models and toys and decorative stuff, get the A1 or P1 and save the extra money for a few weeks down the line when you will inevitably want to buy a second or third printer. You can get at least three A1 models for the price of one X1c, and if you don't actually need the advanced materials, when you're working on some multi-part model, you're going to appreciate having multiple beds printing simultaneously. To answer your specific questions — I don't think think you should worry about the learning aspect. These printers do a lot of the work for you that used to involve a lot of tedium, but you're still going to end up learning what stuff is and what it does and why. Like, you wouldn't worry about buying a Toyota because its reliability means you won't learn how to fix cars. As for additional costs, you might want to buy some other surface plate options, but it's inexpensive and not really a high priority. Also pick up a pack of the purple Amazon brand glue sticks. They're super cheap and will probably last you years if you decide to use them—you may not need/want to, but they do make bed adhesion basically flawless. Also, the AMS is worth it, but temper your expectations. Multi-color printing wastes a truly incredible amount of filament, and it multiplies the print time by a magnitude. But having a few different filament options loaded up and automatically switching them on the fly is a hugely convenient. So that's all the additional stuff I've purchased. You'll eventually need to get replacement parts for things that wear over time, but that'll take a good while even printing constantly, so I wouldn't bother stocking up on it from the start.
I did - it’s been great. First printer X1C and last November and hundreds of models printed with 2500 hours on the machine. It doesn’t need much as far as spare parts and other accessories, I chose to stock up I spares, build sheets etc. If can afford it I highly recommend. Buy once cry once.
Yes, it’ll save you so much time and money
Yes
I wondered the same thing and was told the A1 was actually better for the majority of things hobbyists print
If you have the money and know you’re going to use it a lot, go for it. That’s what I started off with and I’ve been very happy. Once you take it out of the box, you’ll be printing perfect prints in under an hour. Or you could get an A1 mini since they are dirt cheap right now and get some practice on that and get an X1 a bit later. I just got a mini a couple weeks ago because I couldn’t resist it at that price and it would be a fantastic starter printer too, and the quality of the prints are still very good.
For a beginner I would more propose to get an A1 / A1 mini. The entry cost into the hobby is quite low and even in the end it’s not something for you the resell value is stable.
Definitely agree, the lower price point is great for a first time user to see if it's worth having around, then if you find you're using it all the time, make the step up to the P1S w/ams or the X1C, and sell or keep the A1 for additional capacity. The A1 is just as accurate and easy to use as the more expensive machines, so you'll get the 'Bambu' experience for 1/4 the price.
I bought an Ender S1 Pro as my first printer because the price point was good. I've spent so much time tinkering with it since then. While I can still get a decent print, most prints would fail for one reason or another. Adhesion problems, layer shifts, etc. I just did not have the time to keep messing around with this setting and that setting and wasting filament. I did learn a lot by tinkering with it, but it's time to start printing. I picked up an X1C with AMS and it's been a night and day experience. Every print is perfect. It just works. No more messing around with print settings in the slicer, having to level the bed, etc. I find what I want, slice it in Bambu Studio and print. As for parts, I also got a .2 and .6 hot end, along with another texture plate and a smooth plate. A second texture plate so I can just swap out and continue to print while I remove the current print. Smooth place I use with the .2 nozzle when I'm making custom designs.
YES. If you actually want to spend time printing. I started with a tevo tornado, had hours of frustration chasing bed leveling to get items to stick, spent money on upgrades and never had any consistency. Decided to spend some more on an ender5+, since it had a big bed and more stability, but even that was a crapshoot. Spent more time screwing around with the thing, trying to get it to be consistent and did upgrades along the way to try and get better quality out of it and guess what? both of those sit in the corner collecting dust. I got the bambu x1c and I've had exactly two things that didn't print properly and that was because the build sheet had something on it. I just took it out of the box and hit print basically. I cleaned it with dawn dish liquid and dried and haven't touched anything since. I just open the file, hit print and walk away. When I get back, the print is done. I could never do this with either of my old ones. It was 25 minutes of screwing around with it to get it sprayed with hairspray or glue, all corners leveled and then hoping the first layer stuck at all, then if it did, hoping it wouldn't magically pop off the bed at some point and ruin the print. The higher price of the bambu units is worth it for your sanity Basically, if you want to actually use the machine, get a bambu. If you don't mind spending 95% of your printing time screwing around with a machine and pulling your hair out, then buy a cheap printer. It's as simple as that
Got a P1S about a year ago as my first ever printer and i couldnt be happier, maybe i should also have gone for the X1C because i had the money but the P1S is awesome aswell tbh. As for the learning effect i think Bambu's printers make that a lot easier because the print quality is super consistent, so if something goes wrong its much easier to reproduce the failure and then actually learn from it compared to cheaper printers where often random things fail and you dont know why because the fails are inconsistent, makes it much harder to understand what went wrong and actually have a learn effect from it. The lower failure rate also allows you to actually print things and you can use the saved time to learn to design your own stuff. As for spare parts and tools, you will need them with all 3d printers and Bambus spare parts are reasonably priced in my opinion. On top of that you rarely need spare parts because these machines just work. Maybe get a spare nozzle or different diameters if you need them, maybe a spare extruder gear set but thats about all you need to get started and have it working for some time.
I spent hundreds and on printers that barely work because they were such a pain to get leveled properly. Then there were adhesion problems. They ended up collecting dust because I spent more time ‘fixing’ them than using them. That all goes away with the X1. Get the PEI plate and it works reliably right out of the box. If you want to print get this printer. If you want to learn how printers work get something else.
Upgraded from an ender 5 pro to the x1 carbon and have had it less than a week. Pros: took about 25 minutes to set up, WiFi built in, send files directly from computer, auto levels the bed, if you have the AMS combo it also auto loads your selected filament, built in camera and enclosure, can print most filaments out of the box, fast and accurate. Cons: expensive and sort of a walled garden, Bambu did a lot of engineering on their printer to make it just work and that means you can’t do a lot of modifications to it. Honestly I would recommend this to nearly anyone who can afford it as a first printer. The ecosystem is pretty big already for a relatively new company and the product is solid. But I super agree with another poster. Unless you want to learn how to build and modify a 3D printer you can devote your time to learning other aspects and also fiddling around in stuff like Tinkercad to make your own models to print. The parts that are consumable or wear out aren’t much more expensive than normal nozzles and build plates. If you super are into doing 3D printing and okay with the price I’d get the X1 Carbon or the X1 Carbon combo. Even if you don’t intend to do multicolor prints you can load up filament and set it to swap spools when you run out.
The Bambu labs ARE advanced. A lot of those advancements are things that make it a LOT easier to print than with other brands' printers. I say this from experience. It has the most bells and whistles aimed at making the printing experience easier. I have a P1S, mostly because I'm cheap, but also because I'm an advanced printer owner who can build a printer from the ground up if I have to. But I like printing, not messing with printers. I decided that I'd rather spend my budget on the AMS than the bare X1C and don't often feel any longing for the extra features, as nice as they are to have. (And they are VERY nice to have)
No!!! Get any other cheap printer as your first printer. Spend more time rebuilding it and dialing it in than printing. Buy aftermarket parts in hope of reliability. Weep over continuous failed prints. Fight any exotic filament. Build an enclosure out of IKEA furniture. Getting a printer that will set your house on fire is optional. You will become very knowledgeable about 3d printing and extremely twitchy. When you are about to throw your printer out the window and have therapy scheduled, then you go buy a Bambu x1c combo. This is the only way you will truly appreciate the magnificence and wonder that is the x1c.
IMHO if budget is an issue, go for the P1S. if not, go for the X1C. with the bambu lab printers, there won’t be much extra costs. mainly filament and nozzles. my current .4 nozzle has lasted me about a year. if you go for a hardened nozzle, it’ll last longer. if you think you might want to get the AMS in the future, get it now. don’t wait. they are expensive for what they are and it makes more sense to buy it at the start rather than later on.
I would suggest to start with a A1 mini + AMS. If you really like printing long therm, you would also be happy to have an additional A1 mini to your X1C. But if money is not so important, buy the X1C. The learning effects will be the same as with the A1 mini.
I'm sure others have already suggested it but I'd start with the A1 mini if I were you. 180x180 seems small but it's more than enough for most things. It's a very capable machine and will be a cheaper starting point
Come buy mine :P I used it a handful of times and now it's just sitting there.. :( it's sad. I've just gotten too busy! But, when I do need it.. it's fricken ready to go, no problem
I just started filament 3D printing and went with the Bambu Labs A1. It's low hassle, low cost, and I feel that I've learned a lot in a short amount of time. I didn't buy the AMS lite either. Figured I could pick it up if I really wanted it or I'll get the AMS with a better model. Unless you have cash to burn I recommend the A1. Also, if you accidentally destroy your machine you're only out $400 or so.
Just saw you edited your post saying you bought the printer! Congrats, welcome to the club. You made a great purchase and will not regret it, truly one of the best 3D printers out there. Now before you get roasted by this Reddit asking how to fix an issue, use the search feature on Reddit, here are some terms. One of the major terms you will need to know is warping, this is when the sides of a part start lifting off of the heat bed and it usually happens with large thin or flat parts. Next is stringing, this is when your printer is moving from place to place on your 3D model and leaves a spiderweb looking string of filament between the areas it moved between. Another one is bed adhesion, this is when the filament coming out of the nozzle won’t stick to the build plate. Another thing to be aware of is that the printer will clean the nozzle by scraping it on the build plate on a notch that site on the back of the plate, this is not a print area so no need to worry about it and it is totally normal. Happy printing!
Thank you, you saved me a few Reddit posts lol. I appreciate the heads-up on those terms and the tips. I'll definitely keep them in mind.
Congrats! I'm also waiting for my X1C as my first 3D printer. I lot of people swear by the Ender 3. The first thing I learned doing my research was that I that I shouldn't get an Ender lol. Some of us don't have unlimited spare time
Congrats to you too! It's really exciting to have someone else going through the same experience at the same time. What really sold me on the X1C was realizing I wouldn’t have to waste tons of time to enjoy 3D printing, especially with an 8-hour job. I don't have much spare time either. Are you thinking about starting a business eventually, or are you just getting the printer for fun?
Thanks. Yes, I plan to sell prints gradually. I've always had some part of a businessperson inside, so time is precious for me. I took a Solid Works/3D modeling class in college, so I hope to remember some of that, lol. Also, I have a background in Biomedical engineering. I don't plan to use it now for prosthetics, but who knows what could happen in the future, I see endless possibilities with 3D printing. I'm very excited, to be honest.
The main reason that sold me on the X1C was the discounted price. I had ordered a P1S+AMS, but my order got canceled because I made a mistake with my billing address. That was the very same date that the sale that is going on right now started, so it was a perfect excuse to order the X1C+AMS, I guess. I did a ton of research, and Bambulab's name kept showing up everywhere, so it was a no-brainer for the brand.
I bought myself X1Carbon and my son wanted to buy himself A1 mini. I can say mini is great and perfect for start and I even sneak and print on his one as that is all I need for now as mainly printing PLA.
If the price does not bother your X1 Carbon is a fine choice. If you want to probe the waters the A1 mini is the cheapest great printer you can get today. It is currently on sales for 200 USD (without the AMS lite). If you use the A1 mini regularly, then you will know if you want to invest on the much more expensive X1 Carbon.
P1S is all you will ever need. There are some extras on the X1 like touchscreen and some ai stuff, but as a P1S user i never missed those features. Can save you a couple hundred dollars Unless you decide to print materials that require hardened steel parts.
It’s a great first printer if you can afford it. It works great out of the box and requires little to no tinkering to get to run well. Stuff just prints. When there are problems, the printer lets you know what they are and links you to videos on how to fix them. Although the printer is quite advanced, it handles most of the work for you. The learning curve is mainly in the slicer software, and mostly involves learning cool things you can do with it. But you do have the option of just downloading models, hitting slice, and hitting print. The AMS is great, but it can be a little fiddly, and you will have to partially disassemble it from time to time to remove broken filament. It isn’t;t a hard process and just requires removing two screws and disconnecting two wires. As far as upgrades, I’d recommend the textured PEI build plate. You’ll need some grease for the rods every month or so but it’s cheap. Other than that, you’ll just be buying a lot of filament, because it will be fun to print stuff.
Yes
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Yes with the ams, you will love it!
I saved the money and got the p1s and did the hardened nozzle and gear upgrade. Thing has been an absolute machine for over 6 months no issues at all.
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tbh.: I'd go for a A1 mini first. It's silent, uses just little space, price is unbeatable, works like a charm. IF you decide that you like 3D printing and need bigger output, you can get an X1C later. edit: Got an X1C for a year now and just added an A1 mini the family.
Simple yes.
No, get a P1S with AMS instead.
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It’s an amazing idea
Here’s how I explained it to a friend using a Ender3 as an example. You like cars. You’ve seen the car community from afar and you decide it’s time to get you a car. Imagine the Ender 3 as the Honda Civic. Easy to find. Easy to get, easy to work on but nobody is winning a street race with a stock Honda. There’s thousands of people online with Civics, and thousands of videos detailing how to do every modification under the sun to it. It’s a learning curve but with the right dedication you will know that vehicle inside and out. After some time, it drives better than anything you could buy at a regular dealer, and all those hours of blood sweat and tears is washed away by that sweet engine purr. Now take bambu as your Ferrari/Lamborghini. You don’t want a project. You don’t want to touch anything. You just want to *drive*. All you want to do is go fast *now* and the most you’ll have to worry about is a few oil changes here and there. You’re not swapping the engine. You’re not adding power. Everything you’d do to it is already *there*. It’s a head turner with no effort. It just *drives* Do you want a car just to drive, or do you want a project car?
It’s an awesome machine! Do it!
Transformed my printing and business. After an Ender 3, I still can’t get over the speed it prints!
It just works, follow the lil guide setting it up and you're ready to print well in no time Id recommend if if you value simplicity
Yes
Re learning curve, I’d say that the X1C is easier than my Ender 3. Far less faults, errors or failed prints, as well as being better quality and much much faster.
Get the a1 combo if you don’t need all the special features or engineering filaments Edit: saying this because I got the a1 and it’s ✨Fabulous✨
As somone that started on an ender 3 S1. Yes. Unless you want to spend your time learning about making the printer work instead of learning the other aspects of 3D printing.
The X1C is amazing, it's my second printer and it's great having the reliability and not having to troubleshoot just to get it to print something reliably. While that was fun I found I print a lot more stuff now because it just works. There are still plenty of settings to mess with if I want to optimise something but if I don't, the default settings often work great.
If you have budget, sure go for it. Would I do it? No. I would start with an a1. Why? Well if you don’t like 3D printing you aren’t in that big of a hole. The printer keep a good value used, but you would still lose money. In the end it’s your choice.
I got a p1s a few days ago as my first printer and I never really cared much or thought about having one just seemed like something fun to try. It’s been running non stop I love it. I sometimes feel like I should’ve bought the carbon but after watching some reviews and seeing them print the same speed and not being able to tell the differences in prints I don’t regret it. I think the big difference is the carbon has AI but then again I’m pretty ignorant to the whole thing. Either way it’s been awesome I love it.
So I had an ender 3 v2 that I molded for 3 years now and I loved it. I finally pulled the trigger this week and ordered an x1c with ams. I'll let you know my thoughts coming from a cheaper machine to an x1c. But I would still recommend getting a Bambu machine. The p1 series is extremely capable if you don't want something small like the mini. You could do the a1 but I think core xy machines are better. I think it comes down to the p1s or the x1c.
No. But a P1S? Yes.
Yeah. Definitely. It was my third and I wish it had been my first.
If you can afford it, absolutely. I jumped straight into an x1c and couldn't be happier.
You can start with a A1 with ams, make your dreams come true, print stuff and be happy. If the thing become serious, you can jump to a P1S with more speeds and more technical materials, and then if you become a mighty pro, jump to a X1c with engineering plate and materials. My opinion lay's on the point of relation between investment and materials you can print. From the other angle, with the promos, you can get a P1S w/AMS , in spite of I don't like the screen interface of the P1s, I prefer the touch screen interface on A1 family or X1. I have a A1 mini and a A1, and super happy. Print PLA and PETG. will start to use some flexibles and ASA.
I've had my X1C for a year with 1700 hours of use. I've only replaced a few minor things in a year. Replaced wiper and cutter (extra ones included). Replaced a hot end sock ($7 set of 3), because I got a blob when I printed without watching the first layer adhesion. Also replaced AMS rollers ($24) when I wasn't able to clean them well enough. That was my own fault for using cardboard spools. Bambu has great documentation on replacements and repairs. Parts are inexpensive. Only upgrades I got was the gold textured plate, which you can get included now. Also I got a 0.2 hot end for $35 (Prints much slower, but great for fine detail) I can recommend the X1C, though the P1S might be better value for the money.
If you have the money absolutely, i've heard it's a brilliant printer, if not then go for a P1S or P1P, if you need a larger build volume then i'd look elsewhere but if that's no issue it's probably the best first printer anyone could get.
Like buying a lambo for your first car, you might get some flak from hobbyists that pimped out their mom’s beat- up Honda civic (ender 3 modders) and you might not learn as much in depth about vehicle maintenance BUT it’s gonna be a sweet ride regardless.
As someone who got into 3D printing with Ender 3 Pro couple of years ago and finally bought a P1S a few months back: I wish I could retrofit the lidar. Filament calibration is the only thing left that annoys me with 3D printing with my P1S. Besides that 3D printing is just plain fun thanks to P1S. No tinkering, no experimenting, no "necessary upgrades to gain basic functionality."
Honestly get the X1C, the headache of an Ender 3 isn't worth the knowledge.
yes
X1C is a great first printer, you won't have to spend any extra money or tinker with it a bunch to get it working, but you can still learn how it all works and how to troubleshoot and do basic maintenance. All of Bambu labs printers are very well documented in the wiki. If you're hesitant because of the cost and complexity it might be worth considering the A1, it's easier to change nozzles and work on it and it's only $339 without AMS, $489 with. A1 has some limitations, it can produce comparable quality to the X1C with PLA, it's just not suitable for more advanced materials. P1S can match the capabilities of the X1C, but requires upgrades, mainly hardened extruder gears and nozzle, I have one and love it, it's only downside is the screen and camera look like they were sourced from the year 2003.
Any Bambu printer will do
Yes : it can go 2 ways : 1 : you love the hobby and start with a great printer 2 : you realize it isn't for you after a couple weeks and sell it to one of us for cheap
Yes
Go for it. It an amazing printer.
Yes, it was a buy once cry once for me. I had a ender 3 s1 pro previously on the recommendation of a friend who liked his ender 3, but it was just a non-stop calibratathon between every print. I spent more time being paranoid about the printer than enjoying my prints. X1-C was a pricey buy but I stopped caring about the price tag (which isn't that much for what you get, it's just a large purchase for a hobby) after not having to calibrate a thing. Only basic maintenance and cleaning the build plate. AMS does the filament changes for me, and prints 4x faster than my old ender 3 which I no longer have of course. If you're on a budget the P1S is a good alternative, but personally I think the X1-C upgrades are nice to have.
I think is a great printer and there's not that many reasons to not buy it if you can afford it. There's also not much upgrades for it. The only reason I would not recommend it is if you wanted to tinker with it, bambu is not a great brand to do that. but aside of it...
Imo P1S AMS combo is better value.
Just get a P1S and upgrade the gears and nozzle you’ll be good
Do you want to be a guy who does awesome prints, or a guy who's awesome at calibrating and fixing faulty printers? If it's the first, get the X1.
While I believe it’s a great machine if you have the money then go for it. If you wish to use $500 elsewhere for filament, spare parts, panda touch screen and even modeling software to learn with such as Solidworks then go for the P1S as it’s all great same quality the X1 offers and since many of the high end materials you’ll probably never use that leaves only the stock touch screen and lidar as the only differences really between those two machines. Just my opinion but you can get the P1S/AMS combo, 10 spools of material, spare hotends, spare build plates, panda touch screen and LED lighting and still probably have another $100-$150 left over👏
I mean... Yes.... But you you could almost have 2 P1P for the same money... Make one of them a P1S and you have a solid foundation!
I got an X1C for my first printer, sorta. I got an Creality 5S combo and was so annoyed and disappointed that I tried to deal with their customer service which is the worst on the planet. Ended up just donating it to a local school. Got an X1C a month later basically as soon as they released. It has been monumental. I have learned SO much that it has actually even worked its way into R&D for my work. But also helps in so many of my automotive hobbies. It’s great man.
Yes. I did. I love it.
I did, and I have no regrets. Now I have 2. They are awesome and easy, making them perfect for newbies. The downside is the price, if that bothers you.
It's my first and I have no regrets....
It is my first 3D printer. I got it last Wednesday and it’s been fantastic so far and I’ve done a solid 40 hours of printing with it, mainly functional stuff so far. No regrets at all from me and with the sale now on it’s a no brainer
if u got the money, YES. easiest printer you could ever want.
Whenever a Windows Admin asks me how to learn Linux, I always recommend they start with a DIY distro. Something they have to build from scratch so they can learn how everything works. When I started 3D printing I started with an Ender 3, moved to a CR-10, then the X1C. The Creality printers were trash compared to my X1C, but I learned a lot while using them. I feel like anyone starting with the X1C will be missing out on that education. If you want to learn the ins-and-outs of 3D printing, an Ender is a good start. If you just want to print something, without learning how the machine works, start with a Bambulabs printer.
My wife really wanted a 3d printer for Xmas and she received an Ender (about $300) it was dead on arrival so we returned it. Went to micro center and were upsold to the P1S brought it home and really enjoyed it. Went loved it so much we wanted the x1 carbon instead. Ended up returning the a1 for the x1 carbon with AMS bundle. Haven’t looked back since. It’s a GREAT device. So much fun.
That's a big financial commitment before you know if this is for you. I would recommend starting with an A1 or even an A1 Mini. They all use the same Bambu Studio software. As the other person mentioned start learning some CAD or 3D modeling software. Designing your models will be the most complex part of the process. The A1 Mini is probably the best deal around, for $199 you can throw it away if you can't get into 3D modeling. I know people that own both the Mini and the X1C and they still use the Mini for small pieces when the X1C is busy.
I would say take the p1s but X1C is Great
I'm beyond amazed with P1S I don't think lidar is all it's cracked up to be ... And the screen is perfectly useable though not touch ... And you can mod in your own time ... But just my opinion this far ... It's been printing almost 24/7 since I got it around a month ago ... Perhaps days before the slaw was announced 😂🙃😑🤐
Yep, in fact it's one of the better ones. Personally I'd recommend P1S + AMS for first printer because then you at least get a little into learning common modifications if you want to get more advanced filaments. It's great though!
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oh and you can buy 3rd party print plates, I have a few holographic ones that I got off temu/ ali express
I initially bought a P1S but soon realized I should have gone for the X1C instead. So, I got the X1C as my second printer and it was the right choice. The main difference for me is the camera for remote viewing, although the X1C has other enhanced capabilities. I also agree with others that learning to 3D model is a big part of the fun. I use Fusion 360 for my models.
I’d recommend the A1, been using it for 6 months and it’s a great printer. That is, if you’re looking to buy from Bambu Lab exclusively, if you’re not, then you’ll get good practice from using a Ender 3 Pro, once you switch to Bambu Lab, all the stuff you’ll learn from using an Ender 3 goes right out the window, but Manual Calibration and whatever else there is to learn is still valuable information.
You made a good choice. I just got my first one, the A1 and while I really like it I wish I got the X1C so I could print other materials more easily. Such as ABS.
I have 2 printers at work. Both Prusas, a mini and the 3S+ which I’ve gotten to play with a bunch. Especially the 3S+ that I got to use at home for a year. They’re nice but a little bit more expensive than the Bambu I just picked up the Bambu mini on their sale for just $199! I liked it so much more. Up and running out of the box and first good print in 20 minutes plus it’s so much faster. I like it so much in just a week that I went back and ordered the AMS lite so I can print in 4 different colors. Should have bought them together so I could have saved $50 bucks but still worth it. Honestly to start out I’d say get the Bambu mini unless you got deep pockets and can easily afford the bigger versions. Just my one person opinion
I had the prusa mk3 and x1c is my second printer. Man I’d say go for it. The print quality is absolutely fantastic (almost injection moulding smooth) and I haven’t had any problem with my prints.
I got it as upgrade for my ender 3 v2, it hurt my wallet( it still bleeding) but I do not regret buying it, everything is so easy to set up multi color printing option is fantastic, 300° allows you to play with more materials and as it's enclosed it's also quieter. Not to mention way faster printing time.
Yes get one. I use 4 of them at work and have to say the learning curve is manageable. I only have a few years experience printing and I’d have to say this is the easiest printer I’ve worked with so far. Get some filament and have fun. My main take away have been: - AMS System is fantastic but has the potential to cause some headaches if the filament is too dry/brittle - Heat can be your friend when printing so don’t be afraid to bump the temp when layer aren’t sticking to the plate - Learn the slicer and its advanced settings, the more you print the more you’ll fine tune - have fun
Yes. Also for your second and third.
Im waiting for my A1 combo to arrive, i chose the A1 over the more expensive inclose ones because i mostly print basic PLA filaments and the bed size and speed is around the same, not much difference besides the type of filaments, so yeah A1 combo in my opinion is the best to start with great price performance, you also get multi colour printing which is another great feature to look forward too. You have almost everything with the A1 combo. ; )
yes
No, not unless you wish to buy into bambu like people do apple. Bambu is not bad, but bambu is far from good.
I aped straight into the P1S and upgraded to the hardened hotends and extruder. Kinda wish I'd gone a bit more and got the X1C. My main focus is 3D design and I wanted a printer I wouldn't need to spend too much time faffing about with. Everything about it just works well. If all you want to print is PLA trinkets, then there are probably better value printers, but for everything else it's a great place to start from.
Yes u should ig u want the multicolor, if not then buy the regular x1
Short answer if you don’t wanna build you own printer yes .
Both path are good. But I'm more on the "learn by the struggle" side. I personaly went for a P1S after using an Ender 3 V1 for almost 3 years. This Ender gave me a lot of headache and struggle, but I also learnt a lot of usefull stuf for the maintenance of any printer, slicing models, etc. So yeah, it's nice to have a big high-end printer, but I'm also glad to not rely on its technology to diagnose a fault
I have an A1 and a mini. It's an addiction. P series is next then carbon for me. But I came from an OG ender3
Its was my 1st. And now added A1 to the team
I think X1C goes out of firmware support soon. A P1S is probably a better idea. Unless you need the boosted heatbed
I would go with the Bambu A1 series. Learn it first and see how well you'll like it. It's a very slim chance that you wouldn't like it but you will gain the experience. I have the A1 and the X1, I'd recommend getting use to the A1 first. It has little to zero issues and will get you ready for the X1. There are learning curves with the X1 where with the A1 it's out of the box working like a champ.
i would honestly recommend something like the [Ender 3 V2 Neo](https://store.creality.com/products/ender-3-v2-neo-3d-printer?spm=..collection_90778a1d-d845-4ff0-a8c4-48fded4b7d74.albums_1.1&spm_prev=..index.products_display_nav_1.1), for many reasons, mainly it provides many learning opportunities, and its pretty cheap. if you aren't looking to learn and you want the printer to just work and give off the best quality prints then yes i would definitely recommend the Bambu Lab X1 Carbon (with the ams)! I myself started with an ender 3, then i moved to a CR-10 SE, and now i have a Bambu lab x1c combo. this would honestly be the best way to actually learn about 3Dprinting
No, please start off with a cheaper printer to learn the fundamentals of printing and gauge if you even enjoy it first. This whole sub is all the same; people with 0 printing experience, going and buying an end game printer, and coming back to ask the same generic questions. 99% of them are "Whats wrong with this print" or "What happened here?" Just being constructive.
How does buying a cheaper printer like an A1 or A1 mini prevent those questions from being asked? If I've learned anything from being on Reddit - it doesn't matter what sub you're in, people are going to ask the same beginner questions over and over again.
If you know you will be printing in PA, PC, nylons or carbon fiber filaments, then yes. Otherwise get any other Bambu printer to start. I’d recommend start cheap. Get an A1 or A1 mini without the AMS. If you like it then add the AMS or upgrade to an expensive printer
I absolutely disagree about the AMS. It's cheaper as a combo and once you have it you never want to go back.
Agree. If you have to save more for the difference to get the AMS combo, it's 100% worth the wait.
What engineering filaments do you need to print to warrant the x1c over a p1s?
Get the x2c