Last year I said I'd probably never recommend another Bambu Lab printer again.
I still use my P1S, but after Bambu Lab started pushing their always-connected cloud solution as the new default:
I blocked the printer from the Internet via my OPNsense Firewall I stopped updating the firmware I locked the printer into Developer mode I deleted Bambu Studio and started using OrcaSlicer I had to do that to keep it under my control, instead of Bambu's.
What are my options if I don’t want the printer itself to be the hobby, and I just want to print without fuss, but I also don’t want to deal with all that vertical integration crap?
Just about any modern printer “just works” these days.
Prusa is fantastic in terms of openness and self-repairability, but it is pretty expensive due to the fact that it’s all made in the EU, and not in sweatshops in China.
The Snapmaker U1 is a good alternative if you want something far less expensive, but it’s not going to be quite as open and repairable.
You go for a commercial-grade machine and spend thousands, honestly. Imo, none of the other consumer-grade machines really offer that out of the box experience. They all require something, and that something depends on the printer.
Well, the most open you can get is Prusa’s machines. Repairable, upgradeable, with great customer service to boot.
Other companies are more open than Bambu but few support the open-source movement like Prusa. Qidi, Elegoo, etc. all have great printers that I can recommend (Q2 and Centauri Carbon are fantastic options based on feature set) but they don’t use a very open firmware. They are compatible with OrcaSlicer and aren’t as bad as Bambu though.
Prussa has its own issues and are starting to close things down.
Only in the fact that they’re restricting commercial repurposing of their IP. They’re still just as open in terms of LAN only and using any software you want to interact with your printer directly, without going through their servers.
In terms of home users, they still provide every single part as a 3d model you can print at home.
I’m not sure what any home users would want beyond what they’re offering.