I haven’t tried the Prusa XL so I can’t say much about that and I’m a fan how Prusa supports OSHW. But let’s be real, Bambulabs printer are vastly superior. I don’t deny that a lot of “free” and open source work was used to make Bambulab printers today but their printers just work out of the box for less money. I’ve been 3D printing since the reprap days, had cheap printers like Enders, tried Prusa used upto the MKS2. The Bambulab printer feels like a product. All the previous printers I owned or used was more like a hobby. (Minus maybe the Ultimaker 3, that thing was amazing for its time).
Truly meant without offense, but I'd say if you haven't had a Prusa since the MK2S (which I think predates Bambulab entire existence?) your opinion is outdated and not really relevant anymore.
The out of the box experience between a Bambu printer and a modern Prusa is not noticably different. You'll be onto your first print in 10 minutes with either.
Prusa's product history simply goes back longer to when 3D printers were more hobbyist kit. But they've grown up just the same.
It's a bit like saying a 2025 Lexus is superior to a 2025 Maybach because Mercedes' first car in 1886 was a rickety afair.
I've been eyeing 3D printers and since a friend of mine is so happy with the A1 Mini, that's what I was leaning towards to. Is there a Prusa equivalent model of the Bambu A1 Mini?
The Prusa Mini+ is basically the same idea but a couple of generations behind. Mine's an absolute rock, just throw prints at it and forget. Had it for years.
I'd love for Prusa to do an updated Mini. I'd have a hard time justifying the price point on the original today, given the competition, but it's genuinely a great bit of kit.
You’re telling me that there was any meaningful update between the MK2 to MK4? Prusa printer goes back longer, sure. My first printer was actually a Prusa style i3 reprap kit from 2014 even before Prusa made his company. Are they decent printers for the time? Yes. But they got complacent and had no meaningful updates for almost a decade. They had interesting additions like PANDA leveling, cyloid drives and etc, but end of the day it was still a bed slinger. Their MMU was absolutely garbage. The fact that Bambulab ate so much of their market between the two years it took them to even to sell a core XY printer is a testament of that. The out of the box experience superior for less money and actually great multilateral support. I honestly don’t care too much h for the multimaterial part. Just being able to swap filaments without heating up the hot end is already a godsend.
Mind you, I used to promote Prusa the same way I do for bambulabs now for almost a decade. But once again, Prusa did too little too late. Their Core One response was not quite enough.
I'll counter: My Prusa mk2s I've upgraded to the point of Mk2.5s+. After ~10k hours, I'll call it as much of a 'product' as I need. I think the 'vastly superior' perception comes from people singularly want the print things without learning about 3dp. You know how Tesla fans and Soulcycle participants are like wildly enthusiastic about the things they enjoy despite some evidence that they should be a bit wary of supporting their favorite brands?
What does “without learning about 3DP” mean? Why should a user need to know the in and outs of a 3D printer to enjoy 3D printing? I never really understood that gate keeping. From a technical perspective, Bambulab printers are cheaper and better in my opinion. Prusa just did too little and too late sticking with their i3 bed slinger. Of course they have the Prusa XL and Prusa Core now but they were late by over two years. By then, a large chunk of the market was already lost and it’ll take a lot to get it back.
You are missing the subtext in discussions about 3D printing online. Many people who discuss 3D printing are doing it because they enjoy it as a hobby and skill. They value learning to tweak and upgrade the products, troubleshoot problems, and knowledge about brands and models. If you are just trying to make prototypes, enclosures, parts etc, you will get confused without this context.
This is the weird gate keeping I’m talking about. In another comment I mentioned about this, but I started 3D printing during the reprap ages. Chrome rods were cut yourself, LM8UU cost over $25 a pop from NSK, we use pololu A4988 (TMC wasn’t even a thing), and my hotend was a Jhead. I enjoy tinkering and sounds like you do too. But don’t get the factuation of 3D printers get confused with 3D printing . If new users can print right out of the box without needing to fix anything, that’s a net win for 3D printing and for them. The need for a user to know how to fix and tweak stuff to “truly” enjoy 3D printing is frankly full of shit.
Well, I'd love to be able to just download the atl, and literally _print_ it from my phone or laptop, the same way I print PDF.
I just don't have enough waking hours to tinker with everything hobbyists around expect me to tinker.
Yea same; switching from Crealty to Raise3D E2 was a game changer. "just works".
Same here. I got a Bambu X1C and have been very happy with it.