Experience with budget 3D Printers? What to buy for ~$350?

[Fullmental]

It's been a hot minute since I've last used a 3D printer - think like old Prusa i3 knockoff from 8 years ago. Absolute trash, that unit was. Anyway, I'm looking to get a better experience this time around. Want something that's not too pricey, but focuses on ease of use and reliability where necessary.

My budget is about $350, I've been eyeing the Creality Ender 3 V2 Neo, but I'm wondering if it's worth it to push the budget a bit and go for something with an enclosure like the Flashforge Finder 3 or Monoprice MP Voxel? Any other suggestions? There's a lot of brands and models but I see these three get recommended frequently. Are there any features or brands I should seek out, or avoid? Lots of research is going to waste right now because of the reddit blackout, which is making finding actual user comments on these printers difficult.

[TVwazhere]

6 minutes ago, Fullmental said:

push the budget a bit and go for something with an enclosure like the Flashforge Finder 3 or Monoprice MP Voxel? 

It's not worth trying to get a more expensive printer simply because of an enclosure. Those are easily buildable via DIY or a kit online (My ender 3 S1 Pro is in a $40 canvas kit from amazon)

 

Enclosures aren't required unless you're doing a high temp filament or need to protect your printer from nosey kids or pets from getting at it. 

[Fullmental]

9 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

protect your printer from nosey kids or pets from getting at it. 

That would be the concern, yes. Two dogs, and infrequent kids visiting. One of the consistent issues I was getting many years ago was with prints peeling/shrinking on the bed as well. I've been told enclosures help with uniformity so to me that falls under the "ease of use" category.

[Needfuldoer]

I have an Ender 3 Pro with the metal feed kit. It's loud and kind of slow, but prints nicely. (For best results, build it on a completely flat surface. I used my stove's glass cooktop.)

 

Just about any sub-$500 printer is going to need periodic tinkering. I've been eyeing the X1C because it's more turn-key, but it costs a grand and I don't print all that much. (Though I'm not sure if that's because the Ender 3 Pro is sub-optimal.)

  

9 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

Enclosures aren't required unless you're doing a high temp filament or need to protect your printer from nosey kids or pets from getting at it. 

Or you're concerned with fumes.

[TVwazhere]

2 minutes ago, Fullmental said:

That would be the concern, yes. Two dogs, and infrequent kids visiting. One of the consistent issues I was getting many years ago was with prints peeling/shrinking on the bed as well. I've been told enclosures help with uniformity so to me that falls under the "ease of use" category.

https://www.amazon.com/Comgrow-Enclosure-Temperature-Protective-635x535x750mm/dp/B093H1J46W

 

This is the one I got for my E3 S1 Pro, and it fits very well (and would fit any other like sized printer)

 

The S1 series are direct drives which are very nice, but I know any cubic, Sovol and Artillery make similar printers to the Ender series that are either cheaper, or have bigger build volumes. 

Just now, Needfuldoer said:

Or you're concerned with fumes.

People who are concerned with fumes should invest in active ventilation, not just an enclosure. 

[Fullmental]

14 minutes ago, Needfuldoer said:

I've been eyeing the X1C because it's more turn-key, but it costs a grand and I don't print all that much. (Though I'm not sure if that's because the Ender 3 Pro is sub-optimal.)

I was eyeing the P1P, but uh, really can't justify $800 right now which is what it comes to after tax and shipping. Also not keen on the proprietary parts at that price point either. At least on a dirt cheap printer I won't feel so bad about having to upgrade if the company folds or parts dry up, or whatever, but to me it's a different story once you get above $500 or so.

 

15 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

https://www.amazon.com/Comgrow-Enclosure-Temperature-Protective-635x535x750mm/dp/B093H1J46W

 

This is the one I got for my E3 S1 Pro, and it fits very well (and would fit any other like sized printer)

 

The S1 series are direct drives which are very nice, but I know any cubic, Sovol and Artillery make similar printers to the Ender series that are either cheaper, or have bigger build volumes. 

People who are concerned with fumes should invest in active ventilation, not just an enclosure. 

That's nice and all, but it basically winds up being basically the same price ($340 vs $380). At that point wouldn't it be a question of brand reliability/features? $40 won't make or break me here.

[LapsedMemory]

33 minutes ago, Fullmental said:

It's been a hot minute since I've last used a 3D printer - think like old Prusa i3 knockoff from 8 years ago. Absolute trash, that unit was. Anyway, I'm looking to get a better experience this time around. Want something that's not too pricey, but focuses on ease of use and reliability where necessary.

My budget is about $350, I've been eyeing the Creality Ender 3 V2 Neo, but I'm wondering if it's worth it to push the budget a bit and go for something with an enclosure like the Flashforge Finder 3 or Monoprice MP Voxel? Any other suggestions? There's a lot of brands and models but I see these three get recommended frequently. Are there any features or brands I should seek out, or avoid? Lots of research is going to waste right now because of the reddit blackout, which is making finding actual user comments on these printers difficult.

I love my Ender 3 v2, but I've put a lot of upgrades on it, too, so It's probably over the $500 mark at this point. 

 

If you're willing to go a bit higher on price, I've heard really good things about the Bamboo P1P.  It's ~$700, but has a SUPER fast print speed (500mm/s, or ~10x the traditional print speed).  Looks like Creality is coming out with their own version (Creality K1), which is supposed to be able to do 600mm/s at ~$600. 

[LapsedMemory]

If you're just looking for something to start with, and are OK with upgrading it later, The Ender 3 is probably your best bet.  Super cheap, descent printer, with an almost endless upgrade path.  

 

I've got:

-Meanwell Power Supply Upgrade

-Mobo Upgrade (SKR Mini V3)

-BLTouch bed level probe

-Glass bed

-DirectDrive motor mount

-Raspberri Pi running Klipper firmware on OctoPi.  

-Automatic power start/stop using PSUControl plugin and external relay. 

 

I've got a few accelerometers I'm working on putting in to try and cut down on resonance so I can start getting to the 4-500mm/s print speeds, too.  

[KaitouX]

I'm pretty happy with my Elegoo Neptune 3 Pro, relatively cheap, but comes with most nice to have feature you would expect from a modern 3D printer at that price point, like Direct drive, auto level, PEI bed, filament run-out detector, it does have some issues, like the filament detector position makes so it doesn't work when brittle filaments break close to the print head(it detects run-out fine), and the power resume feature is pretty bad as the layer shift was bigger than the Ender 3v2 i've used, it's also kinda loud, a bit louder than the Ender 3v2, but with way better cooling, it also lacks an all-metal hotend which while can be upgraded reasonably easily, still can be a downside. Elegoo support was pretty good when I needed it for a minor bed leveling issue. In the few months i've owned it, it required way less maintenance than the Ender 3v2 i was using.

 

The Neptune 4 may also be good, as it comes with some improvements over the 3 Pro, but it still in pre-order phase and has no reviews, maybe next month there will be some. Sovol has also some good options depending on your needs. I personally would avoid Creality, as their QC seems to be pretty bad, the Ender 3v2 i had was one issue after the other, on top of being significantly worse than the Elegoo and Sovol options specs wise, even the Neo lacks many improvements that come with those.

The Bamboo Labs options are really nice, but are expensive and proprietary parts could makes possible fixes in the future a lot more janky.

[Fullmental]

32 minutes ago, LapsedMemory said:

I love my Ender 3 v2, but I've put a lot of upgrades on it, too, so It's probably over the $500 mark at this point. 

 

If you're willing to go a bit higher on price, I've heard really good things about the Bamboo P1P.  It's ~$700, but has a SUPER fast print speed (500mm/s, or ~10x the traditional print speed).  Looks like Creality is coming out with their own version (Creality K1), which is supposed to be able to do 600mm/s at ~$600. 

Yes they are nice, but they're also twice the cost. Not to say I couldn't wait if it was really worth it, but I'm also hesitant to spend so much to start out.

[Fullmental]

17 minutes ago, KaitouX said:

I'm pretty happy with my Elegoo Neptune 3 Pro, relatively cheap, but comes with most nice to have feature you would expect from a modern 3D printer at that price point, like Direct drive, auto level, PEI bed, filament run-out detector, it does have some issues, like the filament detector position makes so it doesn't work when brittle filaments break close to the print head(it detects run-out fine), and the power resume feature is pretty bad as the layer shift was bigger than the Ender 3v2 i've used, it's also kinda loud, a bit louder than the Ender 3v2, but with way better cooling, it also lacks an all-metal hotend which while can be upgraded reasonably easily, still can be a downside. Elegoo support was pretty good when I needed it for a minor bed leveling issue. In the few months i've owned it, it required way less maintenance than the Ender 3v2 i was using.

 

The Neptune 4 may also be good, as it comes with some improvements over the 3 Pro, but it still in pre-order phase and has no reviews, maybe next month there will be some. Sovol has also some good options depending on your needs. I personally would avoid Creality, as their QC seems to be pretty bad, the Ender 3v2 i had was one issue after the other, on top of being significantly worse than the Elegoo and Sovol options specs wise, even the Neo lacks many improvements that come with those.

The Bamboo Labs options are really nice, but are expensive and proprietary parts could makes possible fixes in the future a lot more janky.

Could you please be more specific about the issues you've encountered? It would definitely help to know what sort of problems you had and what to watch out for.

[KaitouX]

1 hour ago, Fullmental said:

Could you please be more specific about the issues you've encountered? It would definitely help to know what sort of problems you had and what to watch out for.

For the Neptune 3 Pro the bed leveling issue was caused by a loose nut. Also this is a minor issue, but the filenames don't scroll, and are limited in length in the firmware i use, folders are also ignored by the printer so you can't organize the SD card that well.

For the Ender 3, i've had issues with pretty much the entire printer. The bowden tube wouldn't stay in place because the fitting wouldn't grip it properly, the hotend would leak all the time, the extruder arm cracked, the fan wasn't great, the Z rod wobble too much, prints would get completely stuck in the stock glass bed, the bed needed to be leveled every 2nd print.

[Fullmental]

3 hours ago, KaitouX said:

For the Neptune 3 Pro the bed leveling issue was caused by a loose nut. Also this is a minor issue, but the filenames don't scroll, and are limited in length in the firmware i use, folders are also ignored by the printer so you can't organize the SD card that well.

For the Ender 3, i've had issues with pretty much the entire printer. The bowden tube wouldn't stay in place because the fitting wouldn't grip it properly, the hotend would leak all the time, the extruder arm cracked, the fan wasn't great, the Z rod wobble too much, prints would get completely stuck in the stock glass bed, the bed needed to be leveled every 2nd print.

That's quite a list. This is all on ONE printer?

[KaitouX]

4 hours ago, Fullmental said:

That's quite a list. This is all on ONE printer?

Yes, that's why I personally started avoiding Creality, while it's obvious that I got a lemon due to the sheer amount of issues, Creality QC is pretty bad based on my experience and what I've seen from others.

[snowbell]

3 hours ago, KaitouX said:

Yes, that's why I personally started avoiding Creality, while it's obvious that I got a lemon due to the sheer amount of issues, Creality QC is pretty bad based on my experience and what I've seen from others.

I've had mostly similar issues and vow to avoid them in the future as well. Not sure what a good budget alternative is though, I just decided to get a Prusa as a replacement.

[KaitouX]

3 hours ago, snowbell said:

I've had mostly similar issues and vow to avoid them in the future as well. Not sure what a good budget alternative is though, I just decided to get a Prusa as a replacement.

The already mentioned Sovol, Artillery and Elegoo are probably the main ones you would look for budget printers currently.

[Fullmental]

Thank you all for the information. I've decided to expand my budget and get either a P1P or a Prusa Mk 4. I'll figure out exactly which one when it gets closer to time I am able to place the order, as I understand the Mk4 is a little behind in the software/firmware department right now.