Hello! I have been on the fence about getting a printer for years. Now my wife is getting interested too, and I feel that now it’s the time.
What are the recommendations nowadays? I am trying to steer clear of Bambi Labs due to their controversies (I’m also a supporter of open source software).
I’ve seen a few mentions of Prusa in this community. Would that be a good start? I don’t want to get in at an extremely basic level and then need to upgrade in half a year.
The origin of the hobby 3D printer is the RepRap project, a community open hardware project. Josef Prusa was actively involved. The first printer the company actively sold - the Prusa i3 - is still on the RepRap website.
They got a bit more restrictive with their licencing terms in the recent past which is both understandable and a bit of a slap in the face to where they came from, but they’re still the most open 3D printer manufacturer.
(Not the most open 3d printer though, that award has to go to DIY only models like the Voron)