I am looking to buy a 3D printer which will be used in my small business size of about 20 people. We sometimes need little parts made for holding littles pieces of equipment and after seeing a similar lab to us use 3D Printing to make little holders for their antennas, we are looking at buying one ourselves.
What can you guys recommend? So far I have seen this video which suggests the Bambulab P1P, or the Prusa mk3S+ Kit.
I think we will most likely buy the Bambulab P1P as this guy suggests. However he did say that its not great for fixing. “Fixing or replacing parts does not appear to be anywhere near as user friendly or even possible in some cases”
How hard is it to build the Prusa mk3S+ Kit yourself in case we decide we want to have the Prusa given it is more easily fixable? We would prefer the Bambulab as it prints faster and is slightly larger, but might not get it due to the fact its not as easy to fix stuff.
Bambulab might depend on proprietary/custom parts if you need to repair it, but as far as I’ve seen these are fairly priced. There’s of course no guarantee that prices won’t go up in the future. Hopefully you won’t have to fix it very often though. Unless you have a cheap 3d printer that self-destructs, I think the most common thing you have to “fix” is replacing the nozzle when those wear out. But it sounds like you’re only going to use the printer occasionally so this shouldn’t happen very often unless you’re printing abrasive filaments. Based on what I’ve seen it appears to be somewhat of an advanced procedure to swap nozzles on the P1P so maybe it’s more cost effective for you to replace the entire hotend when it’s time for that.
Prusa has exceptionally good support, with 24/7 chat available in multiple languages, which might be extra valuable to a business. I believe the MK3S uses standard nozzles which are easy to change, though it is possible to screw it up and clog the printer so don’t let untrained employees do it :)
Any particular reason you’re looking at MK3S+ rather than an MK4 btw? And since I mentioned nozzles for the other options, the MK4 is using non-standard nozzles just like the P1P. The Prusa nozzles are almost as expensive but look easier to change, and unlike the standard nozzles the MK3 (and most other printers) use they should be close to idiot proof.
I would go with an Ender 3 variant as they are very popular and community support for them will be plentiful. Also, spare parts will be easy to get. Then once you get past the beginner stage you can spring for a P1P or Prusa.