I mostly loved my K1 Max but could not get the x-axis dialed in properly, so any time I tried to print anything with a circle it would come out a bit lumpy. I’d sold my CR-10 and upgraded because I was tired of the constant tinkering and just wanted a tool that, while it will need maintenance and the like, would mostly just do what I wanted. Also my BIL got a P1S and I was hugely envious of the AMS system haha.
Luckily a buddy was looking to upgrade as well and is buying my K1M off me so I ordered a P1S and just got it set up today and…it’s just working and I’m so happy. Benchys between the two look about the same, although the textured build plate gives a nice bottom layer, but I printed a couple trinkets my wife likes to hand out at Disneyland and it’s just night and day better quality.
I’m sure I got a bit unlucky with the K1M and lucky with the P1S but it was amazing just printing stuff and it came out fine the first time.
I got a K1C a few months back and am buying but delighted with it. I came from a gen 1 Ender 3 with a warped bed. The only complaints that I’ve had are that the spool relocation included should include relocation of the runout sensor and the nozzle cleaner should not be part of the build plate (fixable with an easy mod).
Closed source firmware on a 3d printer is just a non-starter for me. Even if the printer were 10x or 100x better, I’m not dropping that kind of dough on something that will leave me screwed if the manufacturer decides to enshitify or goes bankrupt.
There is custom firmware for the bambu printers but bambu won’t support you if you install it. They won’t try to stop you from doing it either.
Not for now, thanks to some YouTubers getting them to reverse course slightly on some of their printers (to be fair, Creality took similar pressure). However, I have less trust in BambuLab at this time. That said, I’m not about to even try to claim that they’re bad printers. Plenty of data out there to say otherwise and their AMS is pretty slick.
Totally get it and that’s why I’d gone with Creality initially, but then I kept having issues and my BIL and coworker both picked up P1Ss and it just worked and that’s apparently the cutover point for my moral stance haha
Yeah. That’s absolutely fair. I would honestly recommend BambuLab for about anyone looking for a turnkey solution (supposing that they have the funds). For me, it’s a primarily philosophical/personal thing.
I will say though that this new gen of printers is pretty incredible and getting to the point of nearly practical for non-3d printer enthusiasts. Even the K1C is remarkably functional out of the box. It didn’t need any mods to print accurately and reliability. The nozzle brush relocation mod, spool relocation mod, and full-fledged Klipper are not necessary - I just prefer textured PEI (no glue stick needed), easy spool changes, and the Mainsail UI (and customizability).
Something that I’ll also give BambuLab, beyond their slick AMS, is their inspiration of more work on forks of PrusaSlicer. I switched to OrcaSlicer with the new printer, after being on Cura forever and the use experience is absolutely incredible.