Edit: wow I'm overwhelmed by all the help I received in this thread, I was gonna reply to everyone but it's gotten to a lot. You've all given me a lot to think about, thank you so much.
Hello there, hope everyone is doing well. I could use a bit of help/wisdom choosing my first FDM machine.
I get it, the technology has advanced a lot and I'm so lucky to be getting into this when I am, spoiled for choice with great options which is kind of the problem.
Realistically, my main goal is building functional, engineering style parts for my work as a cinematographer, think things like custom viewfinders, cable ties, precision rollers, and general parts and accessories for my rigs.
I do have a kid and family home too so I'll definitely want some toys for him and knick-knacks for the house but that's secondary.
So I know I need an enclosed core-XY with high temp hardened steel nozzles/heated bed for these special abrasive engineering materials.
I don't want 3D printing itself to be my hobby, but I definitely know how to tinker, I'm also not half bad with CAD/3D modelling.
Folks recommend Bambu but I'm also conscious of much cheaper options available that would do what I need.
I think I'm almost settled on the elegoo Centauri Carbon, but I'm worried about regretting not having multi-color right away (they're supposedly bringing an AMS style add-on but it's not there yet), and even when it does, it'll have the massive waste issue all these systems have.
So then there's the brand new options that are just coming out like the Snap maker U1 which sounds amazing but I dunno about getting something so new and apparently they don't have great track record.
Also looked at creality, flash forge, Audi Q2.... It seems I discover a new brand/option every day even after a month of research, lmao.
So, what are your opinions? What would you get as someone in my situation? I'd rather not spend too much on the printer (hence not listing Prusa) but I also don't want buyer's remorse and wanting to upgrade in a few months, ideally I get a work-horse that'll serve me for years to come right away and skip the upgrade paths...
Thanks in advance for your thoughts 🙏
I wouldn't let multicolor be a barrier for entry for you. It's something that can technically be added later*, but it is much more difficult to convert a printer to be able to work with engineering materials. Personally speaking, I also wouldn't mix multicolor and engineering materials ABS is pretty cheap but anything that would need a hardened nozzle (like glass or carbon fiber reinforced filaments) is almost too expensive to waste purging. Plus, if I'm remembering correctly, color swapped prints aren't quite as strong structurally as monofilament prints.
* technically speaking as long as your printer can run Klipper, there are community projects like Box Turtle or Enraged Rabbit that are meant for more general use (if you're okay tinkering with things) if Elegoo never gets around to releasing their multicolor unit.