Prusa is top of the line for open source and very much falls into “works out of the box”. The other bed-slinger style printers like Ender are cheap but tend to have issues and are a money-sink for upgrades to get them working (lots of mods there). If you’re into hacking and modding stuff though, look into Voron printers. I’m not sure if any of the Voron versions fall into your budget, but you can buy a kit or do open-source. They’re self-built, extremely fast, customizable, and really meant for the people in the printing community who like to program and mod things.

I was in a similar position recently, but also valued OpenSource (see meel being here ;) )

I went with the Prusa Mini+ semi assembled kit.
it’s been chugging through filament for a few months.

I got a Prusa (MK2s) six years ago and it’s been really, really great. Unfortunately, your budget restriction rules out the current model.

If you can get access to a printer at a friend’s house, a library, a school, a workplace, a makerspace, etc., I would suggest not buying a printer while totally new to 3D printing. Do some 3D printing for awhile. Then, on the basis of that experience, decide if you want to commit to having a good printer at a slightly higher price point.

400€ is really very restrictive. Commercial 3D printers are 10,000€ to 100,000€. Prusa’s printers are extremely good for their modest ~900€ price.

If you do decide to get a Prusa, I recommend the kit over the assembled option. It’s cheaper, and the familiarity you get with its components and construction during assembly gives you the power of fearless repair and tinkering – you’ve already assembled it once, so disassembling it and reassembling it for repair or upgrade is no big deal.

If you want something that just works out of the box, consider increasing your budget and look at the Bambu P1P.

https://bambulab.com/en/p1

I recently picked up its big brother, the X1C, as my first foray into 3D Printing, and I’m very glad I spent the extra money after first looking at the offerings in the $300 range.

Edit: I see you want to hack it. Bambu probably isn’t for you, then - it’s closed-source, and commonly compared to the Apple of 3D printing. But it also “just works.” 🤷‍♂️

There are plenty of good budget printers these days. Most will work just fine out of the box (other than minor assembly) assuming you have done some reading and are ready to do some bed leveling. Even with fancier printers, you’ve got to be ready to trouble shoot and tinker. I have a couple Ender 3s that worked just fine out of the box, so I have no problem recommending them (though your mileage may vary). They’ve been modified since with auto levers and filament runout sensors for ease of use, but they worked fine to start with. If you go into it with appropriate expectations you’ll probably be fine with whatever printer you choose. Don’t go into 3D printing with 2D printer expectations. Tinkering will be necessary at some point.

I’d save up a bit and get a bamboo p1p for a printer that just works out of the box and is crazy fast.

I’ve only got the one printer, an Ender 3 V2, so I don’t really have any standard of comparison. But every time I’ve had a question, this site has turned out to have the answers I needed, so it seems like a good source for YOUR question. Here’s their Best of 2023 roundup, should give you at least some starting points for further research. https://all3dp.com/1/best-3d-printer-reviews-top-3d-printers-home-3-d-printer-3d/

But your very first question should be - filament, or resin?

I’ve had an Elegoo Neptune 2S running reliably for over a year now. Great machine but there are newer better options. I’m saving up / biding my time to build a Voron. Seems like it might be a fit for you with your background. Hoping we see a c/vorondesign community here soon.

There is the Sovol SV07 for about 300€-ish. It comes with Klipper and should check all your boxes. I bought the SV06 Plus two months ago it works OK. You have to tighten all the screws and actually read the manual, but that’s it. If you want a guaranteed problem free OOTB experience, you have to buy Prusa (top quality control and software) or Bambulab (not really hackable but runs well) for 600-800€.

I would also recommend the Prusa Mini+. Get the semi-assembled version and you’ll be printing within an hour of unboxing. I’ve had my for 6 months and had no issues related to the printer. The machine is open source and tinkerable so you can go crazy. Just remember to be careful as the printhead gets hot and you can potentially cause a fire hazard if tinkering with the wrong stuff.

I actually had a pretty good experience with my Ender 3 V2. A lot of the cheap printers (including the Enders) work just fine out of the box, but you have to temper your expectations as a beginner. Don’t expect a 2D printer experience from a 3D printer. Even the more expensive machines require some maintenance and tuning from time to time. Most printers are going to require at minimum some bed leveling and minor calibration to be running the way they should (tweaking flow rates, calculating e-steps, etc). The Bambu printers look to be some of the most ready out-of-the-box printers, but even they are going to need some maintenance from time to time. There are a lot of consumable parts in 3D printers that need changing out from time to time (nozzles, thermistors, heater cartridges, etc). Some printers make that easier, but it’s not fool proof. As a beginner, I’d honestly recommend getting a cheaper bed slinger to learn the ropes. Learning to troubleshoot on a cheaper printer with inexpensive replacement parts can be a good thing Make sure to get something that’s new and not used starting out (unless you are into some major troubleshooting). You also probably stand to benefit from one of the more popular printers with a strong online support community as most problems will have been encountered by someone already. Hopefully that’s helpful. Good luck if you decide to jump in!

I bought an Artillery 3d Genius, after owning an Ender 3 for 4 years. It has worked flawlessly out of the box, while I needed to tinker with the Ender endlessly.

There is a 3d printing discord, that has an often updated flow chart. Assuming you dont want resin, the choice is mostly based on how big you want to print + budget:

• <200m^3: Kingroon KP3S ($170) or Prusa mini+ ($460)
• <300m^3: Artillery Hornet ($170), Sovol SV06 ($300), Prusa MK3S ($800-$1100)
• 300m^3+: Sovol SV03 ($400), Ultimaker S3 ($5k)

€400 and under, you’re in creality’s bread and butter zone. I will say that if you go with creality that half of your hobby will be tinkering and not necessarily the things you are printing–but maybe that’s a positive?

I recently went from creality to a bambu lab x1c (way above your budget) and the difference is astounding. It’s the closest thing to set it and forget it I’ve seen so far. Also the first time I’ve felt like I’m truly living in the future lol.

I’ve heard positive things about Bambu’s P1P–their current entry level printer (roughly $600 plus tax and shipping). However, hacking and tinkering is out of the question as the firmware is closed source.

I picked up an Ender 3 S1 Pro a month ago for what would be about 350 Euros. I hear about all the problems people have with Enders (now that I bought it) but so far it’s been a good unit. Been using it most days since I put it together, with no real issues with the unit itself. Any problems I have dealt with are just me learning to use it properly or figuring out settings for the slicer software. The Pro comes with all the upgrades already installed that people with earlier versions seem to be trying to add onto theirs. It lacks WiFi, but I started running Octoprint off an old cell phone about 2 weeks in. Can upload gcode files, start prints, and monitor the system using the phone’s camera from my pc upstairs. In time I may start running into issues, but for now I’m happy with this printer.

Sorry I don’t have a suggestion but I am looking for the same thing. I’m looking at the Creality Ender 5 S1 if anyone has any experience with that?