RE: Asked about opinion for bambu vs Prusa Core
One thing i have to say here too. I use an lot x1c from bambu and i am about to switch to prusa. Why ? The x1c is an good printer. But the ams isnt for Business use. Most of fails are Based on the ams. Next point: spareparts. I had oftem problems there with bambulab. Print quality. The quality of my xl is an bit better then the x1c quality. The company itself. In my option, prusa has the better Reputation especially in rhe point ethics round about the 3d printing Theme and they are Basedow in Europe. The support. At least i can Phone with somebody, if i can speak an bit english. At Bambus side i can write Tickets. And wait. Wait an long time. Get basic answers about Things i already checked - and wait again. And again. This is not usefull if you need your machines for Business. And the last small thing gives the switch for me - all New bambu printers get more and more complicated, away from simple switching parts Towards to an complete locked System.
RE:
A business model that goes back to the first safety razor. Gillette: "Give the handles away for free but charge a lot for the blades". After all the money is in consumables. The reason I can buy a 2D printer for almost the same price I pay for the ink cartridge. The only reason I can use 3rd party cartridges in my HP printer is that they are forced to provide this by the state of California. Of course the print firmware does everything it can to make my experience miserable with that 3rd party cartridge like make me recalibrate the printer every time I turn it on or create poorer quality prints (but not if I use an HP cartridge).Â
Arguably though, why wouldn't Bambu follow that same path? The filament, nozzles and print beds are consumables. Don't have to necessarily lock them down but as in the HP example you can degrade the user experience enough that they'd be willing to pay additional for branded consumables. Bambu can then keep the printers at below cost of your competitor for comparable features.Â