Hi, I am totally new to 3D printing and want to have a printer. Budget is 400€. My background is computer science and programming and I want to be able to hack the device if I want but it should work fine OOTB (or with minimal effort). Which device would you guys suggest to me?
What are you looking to do with your printer?
I think primary use case really should drive the decision.
The “Best bang-for-the-buck” really changes if you want to do functional parts vs. mini’s for example.
I’ve run FDM printers for years, and I love them for functional parts (which is most of my prints). My prints are plenty strong, and weather resistant (as needed).
That said… I’ve got a buddy who’s just starting and went resin because he’s all about mini’s. It doesn’t matter how I tune, my poor FDM printer just won’t keep pace for those crazy fine details.
I am definitely interested in printing useful functional parts rather than going into too much detail.
My personal experience is with Prusa, so I’m sure that will color my answers.
Knowing what I know now, if I had to start again the things I wouldn’t compromise on would be:
For me, having those changes the hobby from “making the printer go” to “my printer enables me to make things” by ensuring the print process is convenient and reliable.
A WiFi / octoprint is also a nice to have that changes the experience
The prusa mini+ checks the boxes, but if you’re leaning in another direction, hopefully the extra commentary helps.