Prusa MK3S+ vs Bambu Lab X1 carbon  

RE: Prusa MK3S+ vs Bambu Lab X1 carbon

Yesterday I ordered the MK3S+. I watched 20+ videos on the Bambu carbon. The functionality of the BL1C is impressive. Not hating on it at all. Below are my reasons for choosing the MK3:

- I need a quiet printer. The BL is loud; too loud for my office. Many of the reviews have the sound muted when it is printing. Found one review that had a decimal meter and it was 68 Db’s if I recall correctly.

- The BL has been sent to many reviewers to create a buzz about their product. All reviewers say they were told to tell their honest impressions. I’m not questioning integrity - but they haven’t paid for the BL. I don’t value their reviews as much as a result.

- I wanted an open system, nuff said

- Years ago I worked for a .com business that unleashed a global hype campaign on their services. The word of mouth was unbelievable. They went down in flames 12 months later. Bankrupt.

- The Prusa community is amazing. Everyone is quick to offer help. Great advice that I don’t take lightly.

- Prusa customer service is top notch. I have chatted with them 4 times, the last time was because I screwed up my order. My issue not theirs. They quickly addressed the issue

- I value sustained performance over time. The latest and greatest has little appeal to me. My hope is Prusa won’t be the blackberry of the past.

This isn’t meant to discount the features of the BL. Just a recap of some of my reasoning.

RE:

All reasons very valid. 

I have a Prusa Mini that works great and actually is my first printer. Im planning in upgrading some time later. (6 months, 1 year perhaps)

Who knows what the future will bring forth? 

What we know is that a technology gap has been built and after Bambu X1 Carbon Prusa just can't keep iterating mindlessly on old designs 

RE: Prusa MK3S+ vs Bambu Lab X1 carbon

I have both a MK3S and a Carbon X1. The MK3S was a great printer but the X1 is an exceptional printer straight out the box. 

RE: Prusa MK3S+ vs Bambu Lab X1 carbon

Wow!  Didn’t see that coming. So have rethought the X1C. Am ordering an MK4 kit if I can get one. Looks very impressive although Prusa doesn’t have a great track record with the firmware development for Ethernet. Hopefully will be better than mini. But I think they are very smart about getting one electronic platform across all devices and then focusing on one dev team. Really looks nice. The quick change nozzle also a huge plus as is the new extruder. Well done Prusa. 

RE: Prusa MK3S+ vs Bambu Lab X1 carbon

They kept that quiet! This is an excellent bit of news but I think I'll wait to see what the true speed and quality is as the only reference is a Benchy in Draft Mode and nothing about the nozzle size used. Like the XL, this could be a 0.6 in draft which isn't a good comparison to a 0.4 in fine 0.16 layer height on an X1C.  And when you add the enclosure it also gets a bit expensive when compared to the X1C. 

Lets hope Prusa have produced something great here.   

RE: Prusa MK3S+ vs Bambu Lab X1 carbon

Well this has me pissed off! My MK3S+ is arriving today, was shipped on Monday. I would have cancelled my order and waited for the MK4 if I had known this. I know this happens, but releasing a new model while they are shipping an older model is underhanded.

RE: Prusa MK3S+ vs Bambu Lab X1 carbon

Posted by: @nobodyfrmnowhere

Well this has me pissed off! My MK3S+ is arriving today, was shipped on Monday. I would have cancelled my order and waited for the MK4 if I had known this. I know this happens, but releasing a new model while they are shipping an older model is underhanded.

You can always return the MK3 and ask for a refund or refuse the delivery.

RE: Prusa MK3S+ vs Bambu Lab X1 carbon

What problems have you had with your mini?  

Posted by: @crab

Wow!  Didn’t see that coming. So have rethought the X1C. Am ordering an MK4 kit if I can get one. Looks very impressive although Prusa doesn’t have a great track record with the firmware development for Ethernet. Hopefully will be better than mini. But I think they are very smart about getting one electronic platform across all devices and then focusing on one dev team. Really looks nice. The quick change nozzle also a huge plus as is the new extruder. Well done Prusa. 

RE: Prusa MK3S+ vs Bambu Lab X1 carbon

Will probably be going with a MK4. The Carbon is impressive, but I want proven technology and I generally have more faith in Prusa and having zero issues with the MK3S+

Now need to get the MK3S+ sold - its been a perfect machine with absolutely no failed prints, but no need for me to keep two machines......

RE: Prusa MK3S+ vs Bambu Lab X1 carbon

Ethernet on the Mk4 is a great addition. I am still struggling with an X1C at school. I have to sneakernet files over. I got a County supplied Wi-Fi access point that had been loaned out during COVID. I can hook my phone and a computer to it along with the X1C but neither my phone nor the computer see the X1C. I'm not sure what needs to be changed on the access point. If an Android phone is used as the hotspot then everything works. My other printers have ethernet and everything just worked after plugging them into the network. The lack of an Ethernet port was a huge oversight by Bambu Lab. By the way, Bambu Lab seems to be like Tesla with small running changes. There are several tweaks on the newer machines compared to the Kickstarter ones. 

RE:

Posted by: @iftibashir

Will probably be going with a MK4. The Carbon is impressive, but I want proven technology and I generally have more faith in Prusa and having zero issues with the MK3S+

Now need to get the MK3S+ sold - its been a perfect machine with absolutely no failed prints, but no need for me to keep two machines......

The Bambus are good machines.  I have 3 (2 X1s and 1 P1P).  They work but are not Prusas.  I had issues with the first layers for a few days, but it was just getting used to the build plate and settings.  It was truly me and not the machine.  It does have its downfalls, so research it in depth before buying.  

I bought one to tinker and compare to the Prusa.  I will keep them because I have a use for them.  If the Mk4 is a huge success, I might replace them.  As my Creality, Anycubic, and BIQUs are retired of stop working, I will not buy anymore.  I like having a uniform shop.  

RE:

I also love the MK3S+, I don't mind the higher price, I don't mind the 3D printed parts, I actually liked the assembly because it makes it easier to troubleshoot when in production, but after watching Prusa's MK4 video when they compare the performance MK3 to MK4 in their promo video they are comparing the MK3 in (what I assume is) normal mode to the MK4 in draft mode.  For me this was a great disappointment to me from a company I learned to love and trust.  I don't think it is quite bait and switch, but I don't consider this a comparison at all.  From what I read the MK4 has many, many advantages, why they had to do this, I feel is just plain stupid. I wouldn't care if the MK4 was only 20% faster or even the same speed,  it's worth it just for the rapid change nozzles and the better print quality. Prusa has always been rock solid in my books.  Was this just a slip-up from an outside marketing agency? Prusa should immediately update this video.  Am I missing something? 

RE:

This thread might be moot with the MK4, but spent about 10 hours over the long weekend with the X1C and AMS. So the AMS was a little finicky at the start.. We did have a problem loading in one slot, but that went away on its own. One print stopped because the out-of-filament sensor somehow triggered.. but they were one-of problems and didn't occur again. The AMS system is exceptional at multi-color-by-layer-height models. We were printing a lot of little boxes with labels to hold screws for an upcoming RC car build. Worked perfect on that. (BTW, was doing the same thing in Cura on S3 and Cura is absolutely dismal at this type of feature; and its performance was surprisingly slow when accessing some basic features like support boxes .. PS is an exceptional product) , Wireless system worked extremely well.. and you don't need the cloud. In fact, we were at a Community College whose firewall blocked cloud use.. But we could still do all firmware updates for AMS & printer and the Slicer connected fine to both th printer and the AMS and we could send prints locally, no issues (and we got feedback from printer, displayed on Studio (slicer) page. We never did any manual calibration.. just did everything automatically the first time, which took maybe 5-7 minutes.. then turned that off in slicer for the rest of the weekend. PLA in the chamber with door closed was no issue. Cool plate works really well. Now they recommend glue stick on both sides of the plate (one for PLA, other for PETG and such). On my MK3s, I regularly use glue stick at times for certain prints that need more adhesion (no, my Z is fine). I don't find the glue stick much of an issue. You just need to be a bit more careful to maintain your cool plate. They give extra stick on sheets. Not sure if I'll find this a PITA, but seems fine now. However, parts do not remove quite as easily as on Prusa PEI sheets. 

We have cardboard spools in AMS and used electrical tape on spool edges.. Worked fine now, but when the spool is nearly empty is the issue.. so we'll see. Beautiful looking unit and in the large room we were in, I was surprised that it wasn't as loud as I anticipated from comments I read. Might be loud in a house.. and certainly more fans.. but didn't seem terrible. 

We printed one chassis piece for an RC car (Badger) that took under 3 hours. I made the same model and that part took 6 hr and 38 minutes on my MK3S+. PLA Pro. Both at 0.2 layer and same infill. We used the stock X1C profile so I don't know if that could be actually faster if we checked another box. The quality of the X1C prints is at least as good as I see on my MK3S. (in fact some were just slightly smoother)

The MK4 is definitely a big plus. I think getting a good TCP connection system, auto Z & easier nozzle swaps, along with the better extruder is a big leap. Although Prusa says speed is not important, in 2 years Prusa will have to have a Core X/Y or equivalent, because the same quality is going to be achievable at 3 to 4 times the printing speeds of today and that just makes a huge difference when doing larger projects. 

Time will tell if the X1C will have reliability issues. And we've only done about 10 hours of printing on it.

RE: Prusa MK3S+ vs Bambu Lab X1 carbon

With Creality introducing the K1 Max at $999, I think the winds of change are blowing. I suspect this is a rush reaction to the Bambu X1C since it is so similar. Time will tell how good of a job Creality has done. Bambu spent over 2 years on the X1C. Creality still lacks the equivalent of the AMS. I suspect they are working on one. 

On a different topic (sort of), people on Reddit gripe about filament waste using the AMS. For most of my prints, waste is small. Then again, I have been doing a lot of things with layered colors such as coasters. It is also great for labels on items like boxes and inset logos. Just be sure to make the logo horizontal and not vertical.

RE: Prusa MK3S+ vs Bambu Lab X1 carbon

Color change within a layer just doesn't make much sense .. if you are doing this, you really want a dual extruder.. But for printing 4 models in different colors and not having to reload filament, it is great.. You can print an object with 4 different colors if the colors change by layer and you it saves a ton of time and you don't have to babysit the print. So that is not a weakness of the AMS. It is that people's expectations are not realistic with that technology. Creality just seems to mimic products.. so I don't see them making wise engineering decisions.. Time will tell how well their system holds up. 

Posted by: @sr22pilot

With Creality introducing the K1 Max at $999, I think the winds of change are blowing. I suspect this is a rush reaction to the Bambu X1C since it is so similar. Time will tell how good of a job Creality has done. Bambu spent over 2 years on the X1C. Creality still lacks the equivalent of the AMS. I suspect they are working on one. 

On a different topic (sort of), people on Reddit gripe about filament waste using the AMS. For most of my prints, waste is small. Then again, I have been doing a lot of things with layered colors such as coasters. It is also great for labels on items like boxes and inset logos. Just be sure to make the logo horizontal and not vertical.

RE: Prusa MK3S+ vs Bambu Lab X1 carbon

I've got 2 mk3s+ and 1 mk3s with Mmu, 1 XL on order, always loved reliability however I just remove Mmu which should not be even sold by Prusa. This thing pissed me off so hard, not even sure their MMU évolution will solve problems. anyway, I'm going to buy à bambu, not to enjoy the speed but to get MMU unit reliable for my projets. My XL order was with 5 heads, I like to change it for the single head, just to receive something but no ETA... The com is disappointing. Same as MK4, no kits available,no convert kits from Mk3s to MK4 etc... and all the good features for fast printing are not included yet in the firmware. Prusa should do better, even if they tends to speed up everything. I personnaly feel it like a fiasco. Hope they wake up for good. In the mean time I order a Bambu lab to kill my frustration. 

RE: Prusa MK3S+ vs Bambu Lab X1 carbon

Well dual head is expensive. I have two dual head machines at work but really only find it a help for using dissolvable supports. If I knew how to post a picture from my iPad I would give an example. It is a coaster I designed for a friend. He went to North Carolina A&T and the coaster has their bulldog in the center. I also did on with the Florida gator for some other friends. In both cases a dual head printer wouldn’t cut it. The Florida coaster had some layers with blue, orange, green and white on the same layer. However, it’s not that many layers. 

RE: Prusa MK3S+ vs Bambu Lab X1 carbon

If you don't want to do color change within a layer then how do you do this? See attached file.

RE: Prusa MK3S+ vs Bambu Lab X1 carbon

Posted by: @tonton82

I've got 2 mk3s+ and 1 mk3s with Mmu, 1 XL on order, always loved reliability however I just remove Mmu which should not be even sold by Prusa. This thing pissed me off so hard, not even sure their MMU évolution will solve problems. anyway, I'm going to buy à bambu, not to enjoy the speed but to get MMU unit reliable for my projets. My XL order was with 5 heads, I like to change it for the single head, just to receive something but no ETA... The com is disappointing. Same as MK4, no kits available,no convert kits from Mk3s to MK4 etc... and all the good features for fast printing are not included yet in the firmware. Prusa should do better, even if they tends to speed up everything. I personnaly feel it like a fiasco. Hope they wake up for good. In the mean time I order a Bambu lab to kill my frustration. 

I disagree, the MMU is a perfectly justified product, the only issue is that its non-plug and print nature doesn't sit well with the rest of the company offer. I don't know if the AMS is really "plug and print" either. Anyhow, my MMU is working perfectly fine and reliably. If you want to print soluble support however, single nozzle filament changers just aren't the best choice for it, dual extruder is the way to go for that specific use case. 

Many customers don't seem to be aware of what multi-colour printing involves and especially that the MMU might need some dialing-in before it works reliably. This is not sufficiently communicated by Prusa. Many seem to give up before they get to that point because of those wrong expectations. What is a real issue with the MMU2s is that its user interface is extremely cryptic and error messages are largel light signals etc. This main issue is being addressed with the MMU3, as finally the thing can properly communicate with the printer. 

RE: Prusa MK3S+ vs Bambu Lab X1 carbon

Look closely all seperate layers.