I've been looking at either the Elegoo Cantauri Carbon or the Bambu Lab A-1 as a first time 3 D printer purchase. Both seem to have similar package deals with various supplies/accessories for comparable prices.

Anyone willing to relate first hand experiences with either of these printers would be greatly appreciated, especially if it was a first time purchase. Thanks!

No direct experience, was looking at the Crealty Ender printers for a while before hearing of Bambu Labs.

I've seen multiple glowing recommendations for the Bambu printers.
A P1S is on my wishlist

Haven't heard of Elegoo

I bought a Centauri Carbon in August. It's been an awesome single color printer. I mostly print PETG and PETG-CF. I had an Ender3 that I spent more time 'tuning' than successfully printing. The CC simply worked right out of the box. I'm approaching 500 hours of print time and over a dozen kgs of filament through it. I've mostly printed functional items (although it's now printing 24/7 for the IC3D Toys for Tots program). I've learned some basic 3d design (tinker cad) and have made some nice items for the boat and for camping. For less than $300 it's tough to beat.

There is no multi-color/multi-filament option yet. Rumor is that one is coming, but current systems waste a LOT of filament when purging between colors. I'm planning to buy a multi-toolhead printer in the new year (likely a snapmaker U1 after the first batch is out and those initial bugs are resolved).

Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Shawn

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I've seen multiple glowing recommendations for the Bambu printers.
A P1S is on my wishlist

It looks like Bambu is replacing that model with a P2S but I haven't seen a price on it yet.

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I've mostly printed functional items

That will be my primary use for the printer. With over 500 hours on yours, it would seem to be a good choice. Now I'll have to do some research on all the different types of filaments. Several things would end up being used outdoors so UV resistance would be important.

I just bought the CC and I like it a lot. I have no other past experience to compare it to though. There is supposed to be an AMS unit coming out for it as well. It was supposed to be out Q3 this year but obviously it hasn't yet. The also just announced the CC2 which does have AMS but some people are questioning the potential build quality on it.

I’ve got six of the Bambu models in use at work — four of P1S, an X1 Carbon, and one new H2D.

We’ve left our Fusion machines in the corner gathering dust, running the tar out of these Bambu units instead.

Bonus: they’re surprisingly easy to work on when necessary, too.

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ETA: OP, are you in Virginia?


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Edit2: thank you, onegeek, for the model number reminder.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: vthoky,

I’ve had a BambuLabs A1 for a couple years now without any issues. I finally pulled it out of the box yesterday from the move, cleaned the plate and it’s printing right now. Great printer in my inexperienced opinion. The P1S and the A1 are currently on sale. I’m tempted to grab a P1S because most people say bedslingers are no good but mines been problem free. PLA and PETG are probably all I need to print anyway. The enclosed box of the core XY machines will give you more filament options.

P1S Combo (AMS1) on sale for $550 as of 10/28-Black friday.

I was hoping for a better sale on the x1c, but I'm about to hit go before all the print farmers buy them out.

Dan, you're not helping my willpower

I’ve got a Samurai here for you, too, mister!

Heck, I’ve got an Ender5 here, too. Email me if you’re interested.

A friend has the Bambu Labs H2S combo with the AMS 2 Pro. It prints stupidly detailed and smooth.

The AMS Pro loads different spools so you can make multi-color prints, and has a filament dryer built in.

Down side is Bambu is a Phone Home To China product. If you don’t care that they know you are printing articulated dragons, no problem.

And he just told me:

They have a few new printers about to be released. The P2S and the H2C. The P2 is a little smaller and is passively heated (less ability for fiber reinforced filaments) the H2C is a whole different animal that uses multiple print heads to reduce waste in multicolor printing. Depending on what your focus is, you might consider the P2S which likely will come in about $500 less than the H2S. I’m guessing it will be around $800 and probably around $1000 as a combo with the AMS pro. The H2C is likely going to push towards $3k.

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ETA: OP, are you in Virginia?

No, I'm in MO.

I bought my A1 as a combo with the AMS Lite but I haven’t yet done any multicolor printing. From what I read on the Facebook group, multicolor prints take a long time and produce a lot of waste due to purging the hotend between colors. Something to look into before springing for a combo unit with a single toolhead. When I purchased I figured for an extra hundred I’d get the capability but knowing what I know now I think I’d save the money.

I have the Bambu P1S and AMS setup. I RARELY use it, however when I do, it turns on and works fine, and the software is easy enough to use that I don't have to re-learn it every couple of months.

The Bambu AMS is awesome for large prints, overnight jobs, or “oh, man, this spool is almost empty” events. Just make sure you have materials you want to use loaded into the AMS before you send the print job — it’s our experience that the AMS won’t recognize a spool added after the print job has started.

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Originally posted by vthoky:


I’ve got a Samurai here for you, too, mister!

Heck, I’ve got an Ender5 here, too. Email me if you’re interested.

You're a bad man

It ended up being a choice between the Centauri Carbon and the P1S. I chose the Centauri Carbon. It seems to be a great value at $279 for a first-timer.

Thanks to all who responded.

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Originally posted by vthoky:
Heck, I’ve got an Ender5 here, too. Email me if you’re interested.

I'll probably regret it, but email sent

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Originally posted by P250UA5:

quote:

Originally posted by vthoky:
Heck, I’ve got an Ender5 here, too. Email me if you’re interested.

I'll probably regret it, but email sent

I've got an ender3 that I never could get to run consistently - if anyone needs more frustration in their lives they're welcome to it!