I currently run a Voxelab Aquila I got for $120 three years ago. It largely replaced a Monoprice Mini, and the Aquila’s done some surprisingly good work for me, but I may look for something new to put on the ol’ birthday list. I would like a flat bed and some modern QoL improvements built in (he said, side-eyeing the BLTouch clone he never installed), but I’m still looking to play in the shallow-end, price-wise, and anyway Bambu just has “future enshittification” written all over it. I don’t do anything time-sensitive, and I’m not afraid to put the whole thing together, so who are the current leaders in the value space? Recent machines from Creality?
I literally run a 3D printer repair shop. Every model. They’re one of the most frequently seen machines, despite being waaaaaay less popular than the Creality Ender 3. (And honestly, the 3v3 SE is a pretty solid machine now)
Their new line has gotten a lot better, but their support is still difficult to get the correct parts from when things go wrong. And I have to reiterate, their resin machines are amazing. I don’t know how they get FDM machines so wrong, because their resin machines are great.
Elegoo Neptune 3/4 are great and a great value though if you desire speed and reliability.
Yeah then it sounds like I was lucky with mine then. I only needed their support once when I just got the machine. I had a defective Y-stepper (working, but making weird noises), but they were quick and i had the correct replacement motor within a week. A friend of mine had the previous generation of mine, and he has basically no original parts left aside from the frame and belts.