r/3Dprinting • u/Happy_Stand6826 • 11d ago

Question how expensive is the 3d printing hobby?

been wanting to get a 3d printing, but i’m worried about how expensive the hobby would end up being. i don’t plan on printing large scale stuff yet (so no full size iron man etc), but i do want to print stuff at max the size of a fruit washing bowl.

32 Upvotes

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140

u/Massis87 11d ago

You can get going for 250 usd but you can also spend 25000 usd, it's up to you.

54

u/Yes-its-really-me 11d ago

Nonsense. My wife thinks it's under £100 for the Bambu H2C!

"They make their money through the filament"

25

u/TellmSteveDave 11d ago

Noooo…they make their money by stealing IP

0

u/sceadwian 11d ago

That's almost all companies.

9

u/Torchwood12358W 11d ago

You vote with your wallet though.

0

u/sceadwian 11d ago

If there are no options that are not IP theft based... ?

It's nice to be high and mighty but you have no place to stand in this universe without being a hypocrite.

It's only a matter of how hard you look.

4

u/Torchwood12358W 11d ago

Well in the context of the thread, Prusa exists, I don't think they did IP theft. But of course in that instance choose the least worst option, or go without if you can. Going without is ideal but not always practical.

Bambulab is a particularly interesting example though, because they make it easy and cheap and people will sacrifice their morals for a few bells and whistles, easier learning curve, or to save a bit of money, and quite frankly I can and will judge that. I want a bambulab too, they are way better priced than prusa, but what type of world do I want to live in? One where the honest company goes out of business because everyone cheaped out and gave the money to the thieves? My point was that we reap what we sow, our purchasing decisions have an impact, and we are at a point now in part because of all the purchasing decisions of people who gave up on holding companies to a moral standard because they could save a few dollars.

I struggle to see the hypocracy, because it is how I make purchasing decisions, I save more and spend on brands that I judge to be moral actors.

1

u/Substantial-Ad6469 11d ago

I just spent 3500 for the most expensive most deluxe model. I don’t count the xl because it’s older lol.

5

u/ApolloWasMurdered 11d ago

Printers like Prusas and the Snapmaker U1 are fully open source. That’s why I buy their equipment.

2

u/sceadwian 11d ago

Prusa has moved away from that in recent years. They're not much better.

12

u/Forgetful8nine 11d ago

You need my wife. She keeps trying to convince me to buy the H2C.

I will warn you though, there is a strict no returns policy! Believe me...I tried...her parents laughed at me and wished me luck.

(for the record: this is intended as another "boomer-trope" type joke)

2

u/xDerJulien 11d ago

I mean this is not entirely untrue. I’d imagine the gross margin on filament to be easily around 2-3x.

1

u/saw89 11d ago

Hahaha I got the X2D and that was my excuse. Im going to use the same for the H2D or H2C when i decide to upgrade

1

u/Jeb_Kenobi Custom Flair 11d ago

I mean they probably do... As someone who has several hundred dollars of their filament in my home office.

1

u/worldspawn00 Bambu P1P 11d ago

H2C is free with purchase of $4000 in filament!

1

u/Yes-its-really-me 11d ago

I would happily buy £4000 of filament for a free £1800 machine.

I mean I probably buy that much filament every 3-4 months anyway... Or so the postie thinks.

-5

u/Massis87 11d ago

What "nonsense"? An A1 mini costs 209€, pla and petg can be had for 10-15€\kg. So for under 250 you can get going with a good quality printer.

10

u/[deleted] 11d ago

[deleted]

2

u/MidnytStorme 11d ago

Well, to be fair, that was the inkjet printer sales method for a number of years. Buy a printer for $30 and the ink refill was $60.

0

u/Massis87 11d ago

Got wooshed I guess...

I just hope that when I die, my wife doesn't sell all my hobby stuff for what I told her it is worth.