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.
Here’s my take on buying a cheap printer:
FDM 3D printers are high precision machinery, and there are many parts where a very minor flaw can have negative effects on print quality, or cause issues with first layer adhesion, clogs, etc. So when we’re looking at products made by various Chinese companies competing to make the cheapest product, one shouldn’t assume they’re all good enough. I mean it’s not like buying a hammer, which is difficult to screw up either during design, manufacture, or assembly :) There are definitely good stuff made in China, but you have to know what to look for and not pick randomly.
When it comes to printer designs, there is no company that consistently makes good printers. Most brands have a few good/decent models, and several bad/flawed ones. I.e. try to find a good printer model, not a good brand.
When it comes to quality assurance and support, there are definitely worse and better companies. For example Flashforge, Creality, Tevo and Geeetech are known to be lacking in both. This changes all the time, Creality used to be a good brand a few years ago and they largely live on their reputation. Likewise companies that make good printers right now might lower quality in the future in an attempt to increase profits.
With that said, most flawed printers can be fixed if you spend enough time and money on them, but if it’s your first printer it might be very difficult to know if you’re doing something wrong, or if something is wrong with the printer itself.
It’s also possible to got a flawed printer from any cheap Chinese brand, but you reduce the risk if avoiding the companies known for bad QA. It’s also a good idea to avoid Amazon if possible, because people return the flawed printers which are then repackaged to look like new and sold to some other unsuspecting customer.
If buying from Aliexpress, only buy from stores that have the brand name in the store name. Most brands have multiple stores but as long as they actually contain the name of the brand and have existed for a longer time they should be legit.
Since you mention Ender 3, afaik currently the only good one is the S1. Other models are kind of outdated, and all of them are overpriced compared to competitors, and as I mentioned previously it’s a bit of a gamble with quality assurance when you buy Creality.
I like this list of 3d printers for buying advice. It is maintained by people on the 3D Printing discord who have first hand experience with a lot of different models, and to my knowledge are less biased than for example youtubers that will often skew reviews in exchange for new printers, or even money, from manufacturers.