With Core One, Prusa's Open Source Hardware Dream Dies

> keep producing world class devices at reasonable prices

At the current price points can you really recommend a Core One over an X1 to someone with a tight budget? Without resorting to arguments about open platforms and the big picture?

I took a look at the price. They're almost comparable if X1/AMS combo wasn't (always?) on sale.

The better comparison is a Core One vs a P1S/P1P. You can almost buy two P1 printers for the price of a Core One.

Firstly, neither of these are "budget". I think if you need a budget, you a probably best sticking to a Prusa Mini, Bambu P1s or A1 Mini.

Without a doubt. An X1 is 1k USD. This is 1,199 USD.

Truly this is a competitor to the X1E though which costs 2.5k (!!!) with basically the only notable addition being the heated chamber (which the Core 1 comes with for free).

I have multiple Prusa Mark 3s, a Prusa XL and an X1 carbon, and frankly I only use the Prusa XL nowadays (and sometimes the Mark 3s).

Bambu makes a good printer, but it has lots of annoying issues and proprietary annoyances. I also don't like them as a company, but that wouldn't prevent me from buying another if I needed and used it.

In my experience Prusa printers "just work" more often than Bambu printers do.

Disagree. The better comparison is Core One vs X1E. As frankly the main selling point of the X1E is Active Chamber Heating.

With your logic you can also say you can just get 2 P1S printers instead of an X1C, but an X1C is still sells just fine.

The Core One doesn’t have chamber heating, it just has chamber exhaust. Not the same thing.

It's worth noting that the X1 is on sale today. Normally it's $1199 as well.

Frankly, the only advantage I see from a spec list for the Core One is a chamber exhaust (not heater, just exhaust).

Compared to a P1P it’s missing a camera.

Compared to the X1C it’s missing a camera, the LiDAR, and carbon rods.

Also, the AMS solution on Bambu printers is much better than the MMU by Prusa.

Why would I recommend anyone buy a printer that cannot be repaired? That’s just throwing money away and creating e-waste. Even a Prusa Mk4 makes more sense than the X1 when you consider repairability.

Thanks for the correction, it does not have a dedicated chamber heater. But I don't think simplifying it to "chamber exhaust" is correct.

It sounds like the real claim is the device can actively keep the chamber at 55C. Other than semantics, I don't understand how this is different from having a dedicated chamber heater. I can close my X1C, but it won't maintain any stable temperature. The bed and nozzle are heating the chamber. This is all assuming the time to get to 55C is reasonable, and that 55C is enough. I personally have a need for 55C chamber often, but never 100C (X1E can only get to 60C).

Again, feel free to correct if I'm wrong, but directly from Prusa: "The automatic ventilation system and active temperature control"

> Compared to a P1P it’s missing a camera.

Built in yes, and that's disappointing to see. Unsure why they aren't just including that at this point. Assuming its like the XL, you can use any camera you can find (phone, rpi, esp) and link it to the printer to get a "first party"

> Compared to the X1C it’s missing a camera, the LiDAR, and carbon rods.

I never use the LiDAR on my X1C. In my opinion is produces worse results then calibrating manually. Agree on the camera.

Regarding carbon rods, I would be surprised if it made any tangible difference to 99.99% of people.

> Also, the AMS solution on Bambu printers is much better than the MMU by Prusa.

Agreed. I never use AMS or MMU. For some its a dealbreaker to not have something as good as AMS. I never print multi material, other than using multiple heads on the XL.

The way they describe the active chamber management in their blog post is basically to say “the enclosure allows it to reach temps as high as 55C, but you can keep it enclosed and drop the temperature so you can print PLA and PETG”. There might be some insulation perhaps, but getting to 55C is not particularly hard on almost any printer. Uninsulated printers with enclosures that are reasonably tight will hit 55C no problem. Add some insulation and you can hit 70C pretty reasonably all without any chamber heating.

Bambu sells replacement parts for their printers. Very little of the printer is not repairable.

At some point the value proposition makes sense. People buy non repairable 2D printers all the time.

Also, as the other commenter noted, they actually are quite repairable. Bambu offers pretty much every part you could imagine and at prices that are extremely reasonable. Any wear component you’d expect is easy to replace.

The core one doesn't have a heated chamber. It has a fan at the top that regulates air leaving the chamberm hence "active chamber heating" rather than "heated chamber" in their marketing materials. The heating is done by the heatbed, making it comparable to a P1S rather than an X1 or X1E.

The P1S has the same heater (the heat bed) and the same concept of a variable speed fan that regulates how much air is drawn from the chamber. The only real difference here is that the core has a vent cut out, whereas the P1/X1 tell you to open the door for PLA to let it very slowly pull in cooler air (the fan still runs, just at a lower speed to prevent warping).

The Core One is technically not even comparable to the P1. It's not got a camera, nor an AMS system (the MMU is well known for being incredibly unreliable and finnicky to get working well vs a box that you plop on top and plug in).

The only real compelling thing about it is the upgrade path from the MK4, and the nice design cues like the integrated spool holders with potential for a dryer.

Have you looked at the parts shop? You absolutely can repair a Bambu printer, and as someone with a farm of the things can attest that it's no more complex than working on Prusa's. You still need to buy the parts from somewhere. Bambu's own pricing on parts is pretty reasonable in my opinion.

> At some point the value proposition makes sense. People buy non repairable 2D printers all the time.

Where can I buy a repairable 2D printer? I would prefer this if I could make a choice.

I rarely print multi material in the same print just because of the filament wastage, but damned if the AMS isn’t worth it for not having to mess around rethreading the filament for filament changes. I know that’s a luxury “nice to have”, but after years of fighting with an Ender 3 Titan extruder and the filament curling just enough to not make it through the PTFE coupling, the AMS is such a time saver. Pop in a roll, push it in an inch, then forget about it and pick it from a list when I print. Done. Love it.

I got my P1P pretty hesitant about the closed ecosystem, but having to never really think about my printer and whether a print is worth the time it’s going to take, which prevented me from printing a bunch of times on the Ender 3, I’m sold at this point.

I wish Prusa the best of luck with their new printer, and I’m sure it’s a solid piece of kit. I think they’ll do alright. Just like I feel as though Bambu have really changed the market in the last couple of years, they’re building in the footsteps of the paths carved by Prusa.

Not only does Bambu sell parts, but there’s a pretty healthy market of third party parts as well. Saying these printers are irreparable is plain false.

> Compared to a P1P it’s missing a camera.

The video showed a camera with an "optional" legend.