I currently run a Voxelab Aquila I got for $120 three years ago. It largely replaced a Monoprice Mini, and the Aquila’s done some surprisingly good work for me, but I may look for something new to put on the ol’ birthday list. I would like a flat bed and some modern QoL improvements built in (he said, side-eyeing the BLTouch clone he never installed), but I’m still looking to play in the shallow-end, price-wise, and anyway Bambu just has “future enshittification” written all over it. I don’t do anything time-sensitive, and I’m not afraid to put the whole thing together, so who are the current leaders in the value space? Recent machines from Creality?

  • @[email protected]English
    11•1 month ago

    For me I was looking for reliability, so I ended up with Prusa. But I ended up with them thanks to a few simple rules I followed.

    1. Can the machine and it’s parts be replaced with off shelf components?

    2. Does it use, or is the platform compatible with open source slicers (Prusaslicer/Cura)?

    3. Does the community support the device with mods on 3D model repositories (Thingiverse/Printables)?

    4. Does the manufacturer have a track record for support (or the lack thereof)?

    Before I got my Prusa, the Creality Ender 3 was the goto, and it was a really reliable machine. For my printing needs I need a direct drive print head, and a better auto bed leveling routine. But the Ender 3 s1 looks pretty good as an alternative.