Elegoo Neptune 3 Pro

Released in 2022, the Elegoo Neptune 3 Pro is still one of the most widely owned budget FDM printers: a 225×225×280 mm build volume, a dual-gear steel direct drive with 3:1 reduction, 36-point auto leveling via an inductive probe, a magnetic PEI sheet and a detachable 4.3-inch touchscreen. A PTFE-lined hotend caps it at 260 °C, the 250 W bed reaches 100 °C, and the board is a ZNP Robin Nano DW V2.2 built on an STM32F401.

What owners run into most: the Z-offset is never saved and drifts between prints, the nozzle dives into the bed when leveling without the PEI sheet, a firmware update wipes every setting, the filament runout sensor is compiled out of 1.1.5.1b and 1.1.5.1c, and the official firmware itself has not moved since 30 July 2023. A separate theme is the bed bolted to rigid plastic spacers, whose warp cannot be dialled out with stock hardware.

Related sections: Elegoo Neptune 4, the next generation with Klipper out of the box, and the Elegoo Neptune 3 Pro product page with prices and spare parts.