3D Printer Gurus - Printer Recomendations

The construction firm I work for is looking to acquire a 3D printer for inhouse printing of architectural models. The requirements are for a 12 to 18" cubed building area with a multi color capability. Besides the architectural models, the printer would also be used for limited production of brackets, mounts, and enclosures for my part of the business (IOT deployments at construction sites). The printer would have to be "not hobby grade" that is intuitive to use, reasonably quick, and have good detail and resolution. We're looking at a 10 to 15K budget but I think we can find something for far less. I was looking at the Anker M5 for it's speed and AI error detection but it's build volume is to small.

Any suggestions?

Example of what we are looking to do.

 

That build volume will be hard with multi material support.
My Bambu X1C with an AMS is a great, well AMAZING printer. However it is only 256x256x256 (12” cube).
That said it is easy enough to partition prints.

 

With $15,000 to work with, I don't think you're going to get any reasonable advice from us mere mortals.

I'd start by looking at something like Raise3d Pro 3, but I've never seriously considered any printer above the $2000~ range so my actual knowledge of these models is very minimal other than "ooooooh shiney".

 

Thanks for the input guys. We are ordering an X1C with a second AMS to get our feet wet. If it works out well we'll probably get a second X1 or possibly look at a larger format printer.

 

Just got our Bambu X1C up and running. This is one fine piece of engineering.

 

With two AMS! Nice!

 

Now I have to build a shelf for the AMS's.

 

At work we use a Stratasys polyjet for that kind of printing, but I think it's outside your target price range.

 

The Stratasys looks very overkill for models that will be banged around out at the construction trailers. So far we're making good progress with the X1C. Bit of a learning curve to convert Revit files into something printable but were getting there.

 

Congrats on the X1C. I just got one as well. It is a total game changer in terms of quality, speed, and capability. I never thought the Automatic Material Changer would be important to me, but having the ability to quickly change materials for different jobs is amazing. Cheap PLA for simple things, Polycarbonate for things that need strength, PETG for stuff in between. I haven't set up a flexible filament yet because it isn't compatible with the material changer, but I intend to soon.

 

I got mine a couple months ago and have been running parts in PLA, PETG, and some Ultrafuse 316 Stainless and Ultrafuse Inconel 718 using the AMS with a good deal of success. Given I've printed a total of about 15kg from the metal filaments, I'm pleased to only be on a third hotend.

I still have a larger printer that started life as a TwoTrees SP-5 for the parts that are simply too big to fit on the X1C though.

 

So I've run a few large prints through my X1C and noticed the bottoms where never flat. Marked it up to a warping and cooling issues. Went and bought some carbon fiber PLA to see if that would improve things. It didn't. Finally stuck a ruler across the build plate and noticed that it was warped. Did some further research and apparently this is a very common issue with these printers. The manufacturer is aware of the issues and is slow/unresponsive to support requests and when they do send out replacement plates, they can be as warped. Supposedly a new "better" batch of plates is on the way. We were looking to add a second and third printer but that is on hold for now. If anybody is ready to pull the trigger on an X1C, I had recommend that you wait until they get this issue resolved.

 

That’s a shame. The x1c looks like a pretty nice unit.

 

If you put your ear to certain parts of the internet, behind the fanboyish praise of the Bambu printers, there are concerns/criticisms. Ultimately the slow/unresponsive support when paired with their proprietary components is why I don't own one.

 

What sold me on the X1C was the AMS system. With the exception of the build plate, I'm impressed with the rest of the engineering on the printer. I've placed two support requests since owning the printer. The first was resolved quickly. This current one.... lets see. If Bambu doesn't come through, there's already people working on an aftermarket plate to resolve the issue.

 

Update on the Bambu X1C. I received a replacement print bed without to much back and forth with tech support. Unfortunately, the new bed was not flat (though it was better than the original one). To work around this issue until a decent aftermarket bed is available, I glued a sheet of 1/8" Pyrex to the bed and now I have nice flat prints.