This time, FDM 3D printers were tested and evaluated by three major platforms with different experts: AII3DP, CNET, and Toms's Hardware. Why are their evaluations trustworthy? Let's introduce them one by one below!
All3DP is the number one digital manufacturer magazine, providing professional and exciting content on 3D printing, 3D scanning, CAD, laser cutting/engraving, CNC, SBC, etc., and frequently publishes authoritative global product reviews.
CNET is the number one technology media outlet, a trusted digital media publication with 73 million monthly US page views, providing expert information, reviews, and analysis on consumer technology, services, and trends, helping consumers make informed decisions.
Tom's Hardware is the go-to destination for tech enthusiasts of all skill levels. It is more than just a website for PC manufacturers and is known for its benchmarks, thorough testing and review of components with a rigorous set of quantifiable tests, and has expanded its coverage to cater to a wider range of enthusiasts with different needs and experience levels. Tom's Hardware has received a perfect score of 100 out of 100 from NewsGuard, a service that rates news media based on journalistic standards.
Based on the evaluations of the three tested platforms, the P1S is the best overall 3D printer. In terms of performance, price, quality, and other aspects, it generally outperforms other machines. This is an upgraded version of the previous CNET Best 3D Printer winner, the P1P. Every update, including the plastic side panels, glass top cover and door, camera, partial fans, and LED lights, makes the P1S the top choice for major platforms. The model quality and printing speed are astonishing, with CNET stating that few printers can achieve both at nearly the same price!
Overall Choice
Bambu Lab P1S
+Enclosed build volume with temperature control
+Fast, high-quality prints and effective cooling
+Simple automatic bed leveling
+All-metal hotend
+Optional 4-color AMS
Today's 3D printers are all about speed, and Bambu Lab's P1S printer has a maximum print speed of up to 500 mm/s and an acceleration of 20,000 mm/s². How fast is that? Let's just say it has a "Ludicrous Mode" button. It can print a high-quality Speed Benchy in 17 minutes, with normal print speeds about 5 times faster than older print beds. While it's not the most affordable printer, beginners can get great results with just a little knowledge. For experienced makers, it has all the advanced features you're looking for, making it a reliable machine for quickly achieving high-quality prints.
It provides everything needed for very good, very fast printing, and can handle temperature-sensitive materials like ABS and ASA. It is one of the few "plug-and-play" 3D printers on the market, with an assembly rate of up to 99.5%. You simply open the box, unpack the printer, and it can even auto-calibrate.
If you're looking for a machine that simply works, allowing you to focus on the creative or business aspects of 3D printing, then the P1S is your best bet! If you want to print in a rainbow of colors, the optional Automatic Material System (AMS) is definitely a plus, something only Bambu Lab printers can do.
The latest updates to the Bambu Lab software ecosystem mean that you can now print directly on the machine via the company's smartphone app, without needing a computer. In short, the whole process is very convenient, and it's the closest thing to a household appliance among 3D printers.
👉 Related Article: Learn How to Use Multi-Color Printing on Bambu Lab 3D Printer in One Minute!
Affordable Entry-Level Choice
BAMBU LAB A1 Mini
+Fast speed, with automatic calibration
+High print uniformity
+Direct drive
+Automatic bed leveling
+Low-cost AMS (optional)
+Suitable for beginners
-AMS takes up a lot of space
The Bambu Lab A1 Mini with linear rails is small, measuring only 180 x 180 x 180 mm, but don't be fooled by its size into thinking it's compromised in any way — it comes equipped with a variety of smart features, including noise cancellation technology, fully automatic calibration, and self-diagnosis, and it's also very fast, delivering impressive print quality during testing.
If you want to squeeze as much printing capability as possible into a small space (and a tight budget), then Bambu Lab's A1 Mini has everything you need. It's a mini 3D printer with the option to add a "lightweight" AMS (Automatic Material System), and it's the fastest sliding bed Tom's Hardware has ever seen, almost as fast as Bambu's larger Core XY machines.
While it offers great value for money, it also has its drawbacks. AII3DP found that it's not as refined as other Bambu Lab products: the interface is a bit laggy, and there are some minor bugs in the user interface. However, overall, these flaws are minor, and the machine comes with a variety of features that are worth a try for cost savings and improved quality of life.
Compared to other Bambu Lab printers, the A1 Mini's printing capabilities are slightly narrower (more or less limited to PLA, PETG, and TPU types), but the A1 Mini's compatibility with Bambu Lab's AMS lite (a four-color filament system for multi-color and multi-material printing) broadens its horizons, enabling fast, clean prints. The A1 Mini can level its print bed and set its Z-height with the push of a button.
The A1 Mini's AMS slightly detracts from its compact footprint, as it must be mounted next to the printer rather than on top, but it compensates for this inconvenience better than a full-size AMS. Its sensors can detect tangles, and each spool has a spindle that can accommodate oddly shaped or cardboard spools.
In short, the A1 Mini is simple and easy to use. On top of that, Bambu Lab's new MakerWorld 3D model library enables one-click printing for the A1 Mini. Overall, the Bambu Lab A1 Mini is an ideal 3D printer for beginners.
👉 Related Article: Bambu Lab A1 Mini Combo: A highly cost-effective multi-color 3D printer!
Best Professional/Advanced 3D Printer
The Bambu Lab X1-Carbon with AMS system is a powerful machine, and its price is at the higher end of consumer market printers. While the X1-Carbon is not cheap, AII3DP was impressed by every detail during the review process. It is likely to continue to be a popular choice for high-speed multi-material desktop FFF 3D printing!
Bambu Lab X1 Carbon
+Excellent design and build quality
+Fast print speeds
+Simple, smooth, and user-friendly experience
+Robust steel frame, aluminum casing, and CoreXY motion system
+Lidar-assisted auto-calibration and detection
+High-speed multi-color printing with AMS
+Enclosed build volume
Excellent hardware quality and quality assurance, coupled with an overall experience that inspires confidence in printing and reduces user burden, this is what premium 3D printing means to AII3DP. And right now, the Bambu Lab X1 Carbon is the best example.
Just one look at the Bambu Lab X1-Carbon's polished aluminum casing with AMS, and you immediately realize that this printer stands out from the competition. With a build volume of 256mm x 256mm x 256mm, a 300°C hotend, and a four-color AMS, the X1-Carbon brings a new level of refinement to the consumer market. The first layer detection feature alone justifies the value of this printer for professional users, and the other features are just icing on the cake. If anything suspicious is detected, it sends an alert directly to your computer or via the Bambu Handy app, so you can resolve the issue before wasting time and filament!
In addition to using carbon fiber rods in its CoreXY motion system for extreme lightness, the X1 Carbon also features an all-metal hotend up to 300°C, as well as wear-resistant nozzles and extruders, allowing it to handle carbon fiber and glass-filled filaments with confidence.
Furthermore, the X1 Carbon also boasts stable Wi-Fi connectivity (albeit only 2.4 GHz), a vibrant and responsive touchscreen, and thoughtful extras such as the "filament drying" menu option, which guides you through using the X1 Carbon printer's print bed and enclosure to dry your selected filament spool.
👉 Related Article:Bambu Lab 3D Printer Comparison: Introduction to Features of 5 Models!
The optional AMS (Automatic Material System) adds multi-material capabilities, supporting four different filaments. Multiple AMS units can also be chained together for sixteen-color printing.
In summary, the Bambu Lab X1-Carbon's lidar flow calibration, automatic bed leveling, and first-layer detection features all deserve to be included in the "Best" category. With these features, plus the four-color AMS system for automatic material changes during printing, the fully enclosed build volume, and intuitive slicer application, a powerful and intuitive machine is born, hence it was rated as a "premium" 3D printer by AII3DP and the "best professional-grade" 3D printer by Tom's Hardware.
👉 Click here to download the Bambu Lab Five-Printer Comparison Chart
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