Hello, Benchy

If you're unfamiliar with the world of 3d printing using filament, you may be unfamiliar with the convention that the first print one produces on a newly unboxed 3d printer, is a model of a tidy little tugboat named Benchy. The model is small enough to complete in a moderate amount of time with a modest amount of filament. More importantly, the model has just enough complexity that it serves as a good benchmark for whether or not one has correctly calibrated and configured their printer.

Hello, it me, Benchy

This particular print turned out well given that it was my first experience using a 3d printer. Despite 3d printing's growing popularity, I had avoided it given the number of anecdotes shared with me about how difficult it was to get consistent, reliable prints without an ongoing investment in spare parts, upgrades, maintenance, and troubleshooting. I loved the concept of being able to manufacture one's own designs, but the reality seemed to be more about tinkering than producing.

Over the past decade or so, I've listened and watched as friends, family, and hobbyists share their prints along with harrowing tales and triumphs. You don't need to be technical to recognize a failed print or catastrophic printer malfunction (just google "3d printer clog" and I'll bet you can spot the issue). This year, I learned about a relatively new entrant to 3d printer manufacturers, Bambu, and how their printers were so good, other well-known and long-established brands had been racing to catch-up. Intrigued, I began to read more about Bambu's printers, curious to learn whether 3d printers had finally reached a level of maturity approaching appliance-like reliability and polish.

What I learned after a few hours of reading is that Bambu was founded in 2020 and launched their X1 in 2022 after a very successful Kickstarter campaign. Their first model was a high-end, relatively large-format 3d printer in an enclosure that would print quickly, print in more materials, and do all of these things with a high degree of reliability without requiring a great deal of free-time. The printer I had seen was the newer generation, the X1C, boasting more features and improvements. The sticker price of $1,200 (or $1,400 if you wanted the filament changer) made me wonder about how far the established brands had come and what the price ranges looked like.

Many days later, I had learned about Creality's K1 Max, Prusa's CORE One, and Qidi's Plus 4. I was familiar with Creality and Prusa already. Prusa is often credited with making 3d printing accessible and growing it's popularity. They are well respected for keeping their hardware and software Open Source and allowing enthusiasts to customize and upgrade their printers. Unfortunately, I found Prusa's CORE One's smaller format and fewer features underwhelming stacked against Bambu while failing to be price-competitive. It didn't feel like the right fit given my priorities. Creality's K1 Max was interesting and price competitive at $899 but the number of corners they cut (they used glue to attach a handle to the front door!), reports of DOA printers, and terrible customer support made were anything but appealing. Finally, the Qidi Plus 4 was even more price competitive at $799, had a larger print format, and had been around long enough for the manufacturer to work out several quality issues.

I ended up going with the Qidi Plus 4 over the Bambu X1C for the following reasons:

1. print volume - of the printers I considered, the Qidi's build volume was the largest

2. filament materials - the nozzle, heated chamber, and heated bed are supposed to make printing with more demanding filament easier to get right

3. price point - $800 is not cheap, but it's far less than $1,200 +

4. firmware - Qidi doesn't currently have anything in this printer that would introduce ongoing fees or limitations

5. networking - Qidi also doesn't require me to pick between staying offline or uploading all my prints to a central service

6. build quality - I like that the Qidi comes with an exhaust fan and a carbon filter, the door and handle use proper hardware, and they've even put recessing handles into the top of the unit to make it easy to lift

I'm not suggesting I didn't find any concerning reports from folks who tried the Plus 4, especially early on. At the time I was reading about this, the consensus appeared to be that Qidi had resolved some early issues with the chamber heater and a few other minor fit and finish issues. I saw one or two extreme cases that honestly read like some one had not completed all the setup steps before trying to use the printer.

I've nearly had the printer for 2 weeks now and I've run 32 prints, over 160 hours using 1721.66 grams of Qidi's PLA Rapido filament. While I have not run the printer anywhere near to top speed, I do think it is probably capable of more. I plan to share more about specific projects as I go.