this post was submitted on 03 Feb 2025
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Is there a small printer with ease of use and quality comparable to the A1 mini?

I was gonna get that one but the drama with BL has got me looking for alternatives.

My priorities are ease of use (no tinkering) and small size

Thanks!

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 1 hour ago) (1 children)

The Qidi X-Smart 3 leaps to mind, if nobody is offended by my constant shilling of Qidi printers. (Not for any particular reason other than having owned two, and having no trouble with them in contrast with other machines.)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 hours ago

I'm here to shill with you. Qidi is looked over and is an amazing bang for your buck.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 hours ago (3 children)

The Prusa Mini is always worth recommending.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 hours ago

This. Had a mini since they were released and it’s been a low maintenance workhorse. Prusa adding input shaping, etc. via firmware was just icing on the cake.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

Sure it's similar size and kinematics, but if they're expecting similar UX and speed as the BL A1 from the Prusa mini they're in for a nasty disappointment.

IMO there are currently not really any direct replacement to BL printers, you'll have to sacrifice on speed, UX or both no matter which printer you get. I hope someone will pick up with the gap in the market since BL did their switcheroo.

Edit: maybe Qidi is pretty close to a direct replacement, but I haven't used those.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 hours ago

Noting that the ease of maintenance and speed will be much lower on the Prusa. But otherwise is a great machine.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 hours ago

I heard about the Creality Hi Combo from Frankly Built. It's a blatant copy of the A1 Mini but with a better AMS system.