Time to unveil "Project Blackstone"
Is this printer where you would suggest someone started if they were looking at doing some 3D printing and didn't have a machine?
This summer has further illustrated that I "need" AC in my Duster. I've been planning to run a heat/AC box out of a '98 Ram or similar and grabbed one out of the wrecking yard to mess with. My plan is to mount it and then duct the original air intake to the box, thus keeping the option to run outside air or recirc. I also plan to try and duct the dash vents to the stock A-Body underdash vents. In both cases, I could see a 3D printed piece being the cleanest method to make the connection.
I looked at MakerBot and love the idea of doing the parts in carbon fiber. Both because it seems like the most durable option and it would just be cool. But a Method X CF Edition is a real investment. :eek:
While I don't have first hand experience with the Bambu X1, the reviews are mostly very good. There are three main reason I'm buying one: 1)speed...you can't get this kind of speed in a printer without spending a lot of time and money upgrading one. 2)multi material system...some really good advantages to having this, but not totally necessary for a beginner printer, it's more something that comes into play when you start using soluble supports. 3)the advanced features...auto bed leveling, flow compensation, wifi access, built in camera...all things you can add to a printer, but again...money and time.
I learned on my Ender 6, and have upgraded it along the way, which has been a great learning experience. But I'm looking for something that out of the box has the features I want, and there's nothing else like that at the price. The Prusa XL is coming out soon, and will be $1K more expensive. What Bambu did is basically look at all the ways really talented people are modifying their printers, and put it in a turnkey package at a great price. It's a game changer. If you don't need MMS, you could get the X1 Carbon when it's released that should be $1,000-$1,200. MMS can always be added down the road. Or you could get the base model and upgrade it with their parts like the carbon hotend and camera.
Markerbot made a big name for themselves and have been riding that brand name and it's a part of their pricing. But their tech just doesn't compare to what Bambu is making. But going the Bambu route you're taking a chance, since it's a new product. There will be bugs and quirks. So far they have been extremely responsive to the community feedback which is a sign this isn't just another chinese product with no support. The founders are the team behind DJI, makers of the famous Mavic drone and others, so there's some caché there and experience. It all comes down to how much you value what Bambu can offer vs others. You may not need something ultrafast, I have projects in the pipeline that are big and will be iterative, so I need the speed. Printing a big part in 5 hours vs 12 is huge for me.
