I currently run a Voxelab Aquila I got for $120 three years ago. It largely replaced a Monoprice Mini, and the Aquila’s done some surprisingly good work for me, but I may look for something new to put on the ol’ birthday list. I would like a flat bed and some modern QoL improvements built in (he said, side-eyeing the BLTouch clone he never installed), but I’m still looking to play in the shallow-end, price-wise, and anyway Bambu just has “future enshittification” written all over it. I don’t do anything time-sensitive, and I’m not afraid to put the whole thing together, so who are the current leaders in the value space? Recent machines from Creality?
I disagree. It’s the reason why everyone else is scrambling soooo fucking hard to catch up with them. The A1 is absolutely a killer value for a machine. If anyone asks about multicolor, Bambu is the only one I’ve seen that’s as reliable as it needs to be. I cannot recommend anyone else for multicolor.
There are quite literally not any machines out on the market that even come close to Bambu with their multitude of sensors. They’ve got tangle sensors, they’ve got programming that will detect blobs or disconnects of prints from the bed – really - nobody comes close.
I suppose if a given machine can work in LAN or sneakernet mode, then it’s not THAT bad, but I was referring more to their heavy reliance on Cloud, closed source (possibly in violation of other projects’ licensing), and proprietary parts. If any 3D printer maker is going to start hiding features behind a paywall someday, it’s them.