Entina is operated under MINGAO LIMITED, based out of Hong Kong, and the brand has released several lower-price point 3D print options in recent years. For what it is (and what it does not pretend to be) the Tina2 is a worthy contender alongside Entina's line of other products.
Bottom line, the Tina2 isn't optimized for top-of-the-line print quality, receiving a below-average score relative to the rest of our lineup. It's not necessarily designed to be the best of the best, however. Delving deeper, tester Graham Faulknor admits, “There are no glaring holes or weak points.” It hits the mark for its intended audience.
[chartid=Print Quality] - ERROR: ]Running test prints like our Calibration Cube and Z Tower reveal acceptably sharp corners and surface quality, with the main distortion seen on the bottom face against the bed.
Our main concerns throughout our test prints and beyond tend to be related to extrusion accuracy — specifically, we saw inconsistencies with wall thicknesses, pin holes between layers, some wavy qualities on flat surfaces, and rough surfaces along overhangs. Bridging was also a concern, which can be due to lower print head speeds relatively common in budget products. In our standard Bridging and Overhang Test, issues were seen at the shortest distance tested (20mm) and did not improve from there.
Our beloved Benchy also came out just okay, but not great. Surprisingly, the surface quality was decent, but we saw some issues in the overhangs in the windows and on the steep front of the hull.
Moving into better territory, the Tina2 is wonderfully easy to set up; it comes nearly fully assembled with no bolts to add and no tools needed. If you want to get your kid involved, setup alone would be a good learning experience for ages ~6 and up. Remove a few braces and some tape, pop on the filament holder and tube, and plug it in!
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Control of the unit is done via the small LCD screen on top paired with a physical dial and button combo, which is more than enough for this little guy. Running prints can be done via an included MicroSD card or direct USB cable connection. One other major note, though, is that Wiibuilder, the included slicer software recommended by Entina, is nigh unusable. It's basic, which makes sense given the intended audience, but also buggy, and we can't, in good faith, recommend using it even for simple designs.
A new user's time would be better spent learning the industry standard Cura slicing software (A 'slicer' is the program that takes a 3D file and turns it into code the printer can read and run), which is also easy to use and offers tons more tools to tweak printer settings.
A 3rd-party slicer is going to allow you to make corrections that, frankly, the Tina2 is going to need if you want to get quality prints. For example, the Tina2 is one of the only hobbyist-level printers we've seen without a heated bed — something so common we almost consider it a baseline feature. To be fair, we did not have more than the occasional issue with bed adhesion or print warping that non-heated beds and enclosures can lead to, and we think this is because the Tina2 is so tiny. The housing is partially enclosed, which does inherently give some temperature control, and at sizes this small, that seems to be enough.
Did we mention the Tina2 is tiny? Well, it is, but it's perfect for making toys and figurines. Its dimensions of 100mm x 120mm x 100mm (3.9 x 4.7 x 3.9 in.) is by far the smallest print volume in our tested lineup.
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The Tina2 also has the dubious distinction of having one of the lowest Maximum Extruder Temps (245 degrees Celsius) we've seen, which, again, isn't the worst thing in the world given their target market. Luckily, the most common filament type — PLA — typically runs at 230C. However, should you be interested in running any specialty or exotic filament types, know that the Tina2 won't be the best fit.
It's not surprising at this point, but we'll also note that no onboard camera is included to remotely monitor progress or make time lapses. However, the Tina2 does have a self-leveling bed program and a flexible removable bed that helps with print removal. Neither of these is a given, even in options at higher price points.
The main troubleshooting and support contact for Entina is through email and out of Hong Kong, so depending on your location, expect a day between communications. That said, a fairly complete wiki and set of instructions and guides are available online through the PoloPrint community, which appears to be run by their parent company.
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We personally contacted Entina through their support email and received a response in under 24 hours. A limited return policy of up to 30 days is included, as is a 2-year warranty and a claimed 'lifetime technical support.'
To break into the 3D printer world for cheap, you could hardly find a better option than the Tina2. It's undeniably a stripped-down option that will need time to dial in, but for young ones just learning, or for a first foray into the community, the Tina2 is a great choice. However, for the true print enthusiast with any sort of experience, there are better options.
For FDM printers (click here for further reading into the two main printer types, FDM and Resin), there are a plethora of ostensibly better options, you'll likely have to shell out some more dollars to get your hands on them though. We like options from Bambu Labs (another compact option, but with tons of features is the A1 mini) and AnkerMake (can't go wrong with the M5 for beginner usability) are great options. Resin printers will give more resolution at the cost of more mess, but there are good consumer-level options out there like the Elegoo Mars 4 and Anycubic Photon Mono 2.
