This thread changed from a potential turf war to a quite heartwarming exchange! We are lucky to have understanding and caring partners. But I do have to admit, that sometimes I wish I had MORE time to my own
This is very true. Some people make big plans waiting for retirement, finishing the renovations, getting the right salary, and so on. And then - when the house is finished, or retirement is reached - things change in an unforseen and sometimes very troubling way. The lesson is to live while you can. Spoiling all your savings on new stuff each month is perhaps taking it too far, but remembering to live while you are underway - that is the way.
Late to the party, but this right here is why I currently own 3 Ender 3s (2x pro, and on OG) that are heavily modded, and no Prusa printers. Not sure I agree that spending the money on a Prusa isn’t “reasonable” though.
See, while I was printing parts for my still-not-quite-finished Primo, it would have been really nice to have something that was a little more “start the print and walk away” capable. Part of my issue was using a matte filament that just didn’t seem to want to print without popping and gaps, but the reality is that while my Ender 3s are very well-tuned, and capable of really nice prints, even the one I have ABL on (BL-Touch) cannot be counted on to simply work on a day-in day-out basis without watching the first layer to be sure something hasn’t shifted or changed. That reliability is worth a premium, IMO.
If I ever decide to buy a Prusa printer, that’s the part I’ll be spending $8-1100 on. The ability to just start a print and know that print will almost certainly complete without worry or issue.
I love my Ender 3s, and I have had almost none of the issues others report with severely warped beds, etc. I also did my research and spent a good bit of time up-front with assembly and upgrading the major weak points (extruder assembly, bed springs, fan duct, bowden tube fittings, etc.), so that I would have a better experience from the start. But a sub-$200 printer is unlikely to ever be as reliable as an $800 printer.
Like you, Jeff, I’ve chosen so far to spend my money on other priorities. But I also won’t pretend that between money and time I’ve spent on upgrades that I can reasonably call any of my Ender 3s $200 printers. For me, it was worth the time and money because of what I learned in the process, and even with a Prusa kit, I don’t think I’d have learned as much. But I can’t blame someone who just wants to print stuff for spending more to do just that, whether they go Prusa or Bambu, or something similar.
That’s about the most balanced summary I’ve ever read!
It’s exactly why I’ll be upgrading my Mk3 and why I enjoy helping my grandson with his CR10 (because I can leave it and go home and print something, or go home to something that’s just been printed!).
Now if you could just explain why I’m so wary of the shiny new printers (Bambu, Anker etc) I’d appreciate it. I think it’s a bit like my wariness of buying an Italian car in the 60’s and 70’s, when FIAT was an anagram for “Fix It Again, Tony”. They were fast and exciting and highly desirable. When they were running. I think it gets back to being sensible and reliable and …
Yeah…as a kid I always wanted a Jaguar. But their reputation for spending more time in the shop than on the road definitely tamed that desire as I got older.
But I also drive a 20+ year old Toyota with a quarter million miles on it. As long as I can still get parts for it, and my mechanic is willing to fix the stuff I can’t, I don’t see a good reason to replace it. It’s one of two cars I’ve purchased new in my life, and unlike the other (a Hyundai I totalled while I still owed money on it), I can safely say I’ve more than gotten my money’s worth from this one.
If the Bambu printers prove to be as reliable as they are fast and easy to print with, then they’ll earn a place in many more people’s homes and shops. And depending on your needs, the price may be right for something that prints fast and without a lot of headaches, even if the long-term reliability isn’t as good as Prusa’s. But I think it’s completely rational to be wary about closed-source printers with little track record that leave you no recourse if the company folds and you want to keep it updated.
Well, that sorta tears it.
I had a blockage on the MK3 and looks like I have disturbed the heater cartridge and now its not heating.
Looks like I am being told by the gods to upgrade to the mk3.9 (dont really see the need in my use case for the new steppers).
Yeah i know it will be down for at least 2 months before i get the upgrade, but i really could not be arsed to pull it all apart to get to the heater cartridge and then put it all back together to only have to do a full tear down again later.
Yeah, pretty happy with the MK3, sure it had its share of first layer issues, like most. But overall i would have put at least a 100 rolls of filament through it over 4 years or so.
So with the upgrades to it i will be able to do more stuff, more reliably. I really want to start doing more stuff with Carbon Fiber Nylon and flexible’s.
As a printables star you could just ask them whether you can fetch it personally on your round trip. Or you can order one to my address and fetch it. Postage is 11€.
Living in AUS does have its down sides.
Reminds me back in the 90’s when with some software it was cheaper to fly to the USA, buy it and fly back that buy it in AUS.
SIGH.
I"m sitting here watching the first layer go down on the Mk3s and wondering why I get caught up in the hype!
I’m also wondering about all the “nylock and silicon mods” people do to get their beds flat, and whether just spending the time to get the build right would avoid all that, or have I just been lucky? I don’t think so.
No, I haven’t changed my mind, I will order the new one, but the old one just plugs away being consistently terrific and it can make plastic sheets too.
Shoot. I’ve ordered the MK4, and the payment is already withdrawn from my account. Not sure about shipping date. I feel a little short money these days, because of higher interest rates, prices and everything - you know the drill.
Well - it’s not like we’ll go bankrupt, but it feels very a little excessive to spend so much money on something I really don’t need these days. Especially when the MK3 is such a work horse already! Hmm, maybe I should cancel and wait for better days. Or just keep with the plan, sell the MK3 (father-in-law has given in and has accepted to buy it from me ) and let it roll!
I always use Credit cards for online payments 0 because I do get a month of leeway and it feels better! It costs the same.
Having lived in a time when we celebrated how smart we were locking in a cheap interest rate (16% for three years) on our house and paid 23% on one short term loan, I can’t get my head around today’s “high interest rates”, but I know what you are saying.
As Gato says, I think it’s a small price to pay to introduce your father in law to a wondrous new hobby in the ever diminishing years he has left!
The money has gone - so when the printer arrives it will seem as though it’s free!
Enjoy whatever decision you make, but I think it will be hard to enjoy cancelling your order!
It’s a prototype fishing rod (pole) chest attachment for a friend of a friend who has had a stroke and is paralysed on one side. We’ve been discussing how he can still have that tactile feel of a fish on the rod while reeling it in, and this should do the trick. A bit of hot water will mould it to his chest shape - I’ll adjust the angle of the strap attachments to suit, and we need to refine a clip to hold the rod in place, but for a first cut it looks OK.
Credit cards have not really existed in Germany, ever and now banks charge money monthly for you to be able to use a “real” credit card. They all changed to debit cards that work like “normal” accounts, so it does not matter which payment option you use (credit or debit), it will be deducted from your account immediately. I really like that change because I hate having debt.
I only got the credit card a few years back to be able to shop on Nerdyshirts in America in times before Paypal…
I really mean it though, order the kit, fetch it and get a coffee for free.
