Small cantilever 3D printers have always seemed an ideal entry point into 3D printing, bringing the benefit of tiny footprints and, typically, a low price. Kingroon’s KP3S series has been a champion here for some time, offering affordable, better-than-average hardware and easy upgradeability.

But that last bit, the upgradability, has been crucial. Upgrading machines has been, and still often is, a major draw to the 3D printing hobby, and machines that give users a working foundation to modify for little initial investment have held a fair amount of appeal there. But, for the KP3S series, low-cost competition has stiffened, and the value of Kingroon’s “higher-end” cantilever offering, the KP3S Pro V2, looks questionable – so where does it fit in today?

We admitted to sleeping on Kingroon’s cantilever series of 3D printers in our KP3S 3.0 review, and though we touched on the system’s variants, we didn’t spend much time exploring the value on offer at the series’ higher end. In the meantime, disruptors such as Bambu Lab have muscled in on the price point, with its recent A1 Mini 3D printer dropping in price to $250 – just $10 more than the KP3S Pro V2’s current MSRP.

On paper, the Kingroon KP3S Pro V2 has it all. It’s a stock wirelessly networkable Klipper-based system with an all-metal direct extruder, a built-in accelerometer for input shaping, an inductive sensor for ABL, and linear rails on every axis, all for under $250. A bargain by any measure. From the accounts we’ve heard, makers have generally been happy getting what they paid for: a finicky-at-first hardware foundation to tinker with.

Our own experiences with the stock KP3S Pro V2 have been mixed. It’s capable of superb and speedy prints, no doubt, but the direct extruder’s filament pathing has been atrocious, and its network connectivity (wired or directly connected) is unreliable enough to dismiss altogether. More often than not, it simply won’t get an IP to connect to.

Some semblance of support from Kingroon certainly exists, but it feels unorganized at best. Firmware updates for the KP3S Pro V2 are a mess, with a blog-format list of new versions for multiple systems and no indication of what each version might fix. Could flashing the eMMC fix our network troubles? Maybe. But without some indication that’s the case, that’s quite an ask of users.

It’s clear that this printer, like the much simpler KP3S 3.0 and Pro, necessitates more work. It’s a basic system that does work out of the box but isn’t reliable enough to be in its final form. But if the expectation going in is to replace the mainboard and extruder (at least), at what point should a tinkerer eat the higher upfront cost and just make a full DIY build?

Bambu Lab’s A1 Mini, on the other hand, is an appliance-like experience capable of multi-material printing for very little more money. But there’s no real tinkering to be had. Perfect if you just want to print, but there’s no room for the machine enthusiast. Bambu Lab has shown some willingness to open up to third-party firmware on its higher-end systems, but there’s no indication that will ever be possible in its lower range.

It could be that the V2 just needs a price adjustment. Its predecessor, the KP3S Pro, is a steal at just $125 right now, and it may actually be a better deal than the V2 given that users can bring their own solutions to add the latter’s more desirable features and save upfront.

If the V2 can drop close to the Pro’s price, its feature set, for all its quirks, may become tempting again. But how much cheaper can a metal-bodied 3D printer (the KP3S Pro V2 is hefty for its size) kitted out with linear rails and an SBC running Klipper get?

Clearly, today’s market for budget brands is more competitive than it once was. Having lots of features on paper is no longer enough; those features need to work reliably to compete with the streamlined machines squeezing them out.

You’ve read that; now read these:

• MakerWorld Introduces Boosts to Tackle Unfair Popularity-Based Points System
• Prusa MK4 Gets Touchscreen, Multi-Material Support in Expansive 6.0.0 Update
• Bambu Lab Says Self-Repaired A1s in the EU Must Be Certified Before Use