Post #2755950
2026-05-14 14:37 UTC
Replies (11)
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@ArgentRaven@lemmy.world 2026-05-14 15:26
You might check out the Consumer Rights Wiki, also started by Rossman. It’s crowd sourced, and lists anti-consumer BS like forced cloud subscriptions for a lot of companies. Just find a printer, look up the company there, and see how legit they are. There’s even a browser plugin that pops up on any website that has an entry on the wiki.
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@nyan@lemmy.cafe 2026-05-14 17:11
As the owner of a Snapmaker2 A150 (that is, one of their second-gen multifunction devices, fairly old now), I can say that my experience with it has been decent enough. It speaks a lightly modified Marlin dialect and can be run completely offline. New firmware requires user permission. They did release the source for the firmware and for their custom slicer (not worth it), and some of the more adventurous owners did manage to flash it with modified firmware. There were a few complaints at the time about the hardware not being as open as people had hoped, mostly because of custom connectors and the like. Hardware-quality-wise, it was kneecapped by needing to be solid enough for CNC, so it’s slower and heavier than a purpose-built printer would need to be, but the prints are of decent enough quality for a device of its age and type.
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@CapuccinoCoretto@lemmy.world 2026-05-14 14:40
Knowing what I know now, I' trade my Bambu P1S for a Prusa. Buy once, cry once.
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@fonix232@fedia.io 2026-05-14 15:40
Prusa is pricy because they make the de facto standards - including PrusaSlicer which is the base of OrcaSlicer/Bambu Studio. Bambu can sell cheaper for two reason: - limited research needed to make their own products - they're just copying open patents and software, tuning it a little, and selling the package at manufacturing cost + profit margins - the CCP pouring a shitton of money into companies to subsidise them and allow them to undercut western competition. Bambu makes a printer for $1000, CCP pays $600 of it, Bambu sells for $600 - $200 profit
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@FauxLiving@lemmy.world 2026-05-14 17:02
> I didn’t know Snapmaker had the same kind of mentality until now thanks to that move. Smart move by Snapmaker, for the price of one hardware unit they get a lot of exposure to exactly the kind of people that they're marketing towards.
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@zd9@lemmy.world 2026-05-14 15:05
I got the DIY kit Prusa MK3S+ a few years ago during covid, and it has been a workhorse. I love it, but I also don't have experience with many other 3d printers. I worked a bit with them in like the early 2010s but things have changed so much, so I don't know what to compare it to.
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@wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 2026-05-15 14:48
Another reason to avoid Bambu is that they use their own proprietary printer code file type (.bgcode instead of .gcode). Blatant attempt at userlocking/walled garden ecosystem. I have an Anycubic and I never connected it to the internet. It calibrates offline and prints fine from a USB. I don't use their official apps, just OrcaSlicer which is open source (and "stealth mode" disables telemetry). The printer works great though. The only functionality that seems to require internet (besides printing from the app or networking with the slicer) is the camera which is supposed to detect misprints and pause/cancel a project to avoid waste or skip an object so the spaghetti doesn't ruin the rest. But I don't use that feature and it's fine, just watch your first few prints so you know what tends to fail and what needs extra support, and watch any projects that might be iffy until you get a good idea of what doesn't adhere well. But keeping your print plate clean goes a long way for good adhesion (avoid touching the center where projects print, and use dish soap to wash it when projects stop sticking).
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@lime@feddit.nu 2026-05-14 15:09
snapmaker has been really nice about that sort of thing. they sent out review units of the u1 early, got roasted, and fixed most of the things people didn't like. i've run mine without any sort of account from the start. you can take it completely offline or run it in "lan mode", and the only things that get more annoying are firmware updates and remote control. you can still do them, there's just a bit more setup.
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@CIA_chatbot@lemmy.world 2026-05-14 15:47
The U1 is amazing by the way
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@Dettweiler42@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2026-05-14 17:20
I recently upgraded from an Ender 3 V3 to the Snapmaker U1. I absolutely love it. Making a lid for the top was very cheap, too
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@tpihkal@lemmy.world 2026-05-14 15:09
I knew about the problems with Bambu long before I bought my new printer back in December. I ended up going with an Elegoo Centauri Carbon. It works out of the box without ever requiring you to set up an account, install an app on your phone, or connect to a cloud service. I just use mine with a USB stick. I wanted to go with Prusa but the cost difference was too great for me at that time (I'm sure it still is).