Hello, I’m a total beginner in 3d printing and I want to get into 3d printing for the sake of building small engineering projects. Considering this I probably won’t need a printer with alot of fine detail like for example small sized textures (I think). So would it make sense for me to just go for the cheapest one that somehow prints ok (I thought of an ender 3 or something like that) or should I spend some more money on a Presa mini (+) or a somewhat similar model. What experiences do you have with low budget printers (250€-400€) for my specific although not very unique use case? I’m very thankful for every answer I get.

  • EmilieEvansEnglish
    41·
    1 year ago

    Gone through half a dozen of printers: The ender 3 and the like are great value but they aren’t foolproof for a beginner. At the other end of the spectrum ($1000+) printer work out of the box and the factory bed leveling is spot on. To answer your question: Buying used has it’s own risks. Comparing a used (300€) Prusa Mk3 or mini with a new Ender 3 I probably would recommend the used Prusa.

    Other printers you might see on the used market:

    Prusa MK3 clones (e.g. fystec): Don’t. The reason Prusa works so well is because they are tested and the QC. Those clones might look like the original but might have QC issues.

    Bambulab: early units had QC issues so it’s a don’t.

    Creality K1: Same issue: Bad QC.