I’m considering a new printer this winter. I’m looking to replace my trusted Prusa Mk3S. And I’ve whittled it down to 2.
First is the Qidi Q2. I’ve been eyeing Qidi printers for a couple of years now. I like the enclosure and the high temp printing ability. The heated chamber works well for engineering filaments by all accounts. And it comes with MET certified filtration system already installed. I would buy it without the Qidi box because my A1 Mini has taught me that I just don’t do a ton of color prints much beyond some signage. And I’m unsure of just how much I would be using high temp filaments beyond PETG and ABS/ASA due to the costs.
The contender is the Elegoo Centauri Carbon 2. I like the price, even with their Canvas 4 color printing, it’s still $100US cheaper than the Qidi. But it doesn’t have a dedicated chamber heater or air filer system as standard installed either. Both can be worked around as dyi add-ons though with extra effort and money required.
While things like how much and what filaments I would use that require heated chambers and fancy air filters is something only I can decide, there is the matter of reliability and repair ability.
As someone who had to design and build machines and then often needing to be the one that has to fix things when it all goes bad, I value reliability and repairability very highly.
So which printer can be relied upon to just work and is easiest to maintain and repair when needed in your opinion. How is manufacturer support? Is the Carbon 2 really as quiet as advertised?
I can’t recommend the Snapmaker U1 enough. Incredible prints, fast, doesn’t waste filament and with the lid has full filtering and can do high temp materials as well
I had it BIQU and an Anycubic, and both developed issues. So far my U1 is just printing like a beast with no issues at all.
I have an Anycubic Kobra 3 max as well and I concur, it’s got the worst extruder design ever. If I don’t use the highest of quality filament it clogs like a toilet at Taco Bell.
+1 from me. I bought a few months ago as first printer and total beginner. Love it.
But if the choice is just between the centauri and qidi, what are the must haves that would differentiate the buying @[email protected] ?
Check also info on the support on the region you are located in. Check their webpages for how errors in printers are solved etc, how open they are in terms of connections , cloud independence and slicers!
I’ve already used those thoughts to get my choices down to 2 printers. So, now it gets to be more about user experiences with each machine.
But your reminders of what to think about is great. And the fact that you like your machine even as a beginner is what I want to know.