3D Printing & You!

This is an ongoing blog post series covering tools in the makerspace one can purchase for their at-home making needs.

Laser Cutters | Vinyl Cutters

This is an educational post and I have not been sponsored by any of these companies in any way.

So maybe you’re thinking about making at home. Or just curious about what else is out there. Either way, you’re valid. Unfortunately, I cannot say it is a cheap endeavor– however I will be sharing many different brands with varied price points to jumpstart your research.

Today’s post is focusing on 3D printers! There is going to be more of a focus on FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) over SLA (Sterolithography) or DLP (Digital Light Processing) printers due to FDM printers being more readily available and affordable than SLA printers. Some of the companies listed make both!

In case you don’t know what each one does, here’s a simple breakdown:

I will also add that this is by no means a comprehensive list! These are printers either a friend, colleague have used, or passed by me by way of internet research or other groups. Consider this just a stepping stone on your journey into looking into a 3D printer. There are also many other kinds of 3D printer as well, which are not covered here that you may come across in your your exploration. Be aware the prices I list are their starting price, meaning addons, peripherals, upgrades, and shipping  will add on the price.

Research is key! I can only share my own personal opinion and experience, but it’s always a good thing to check customer reviews and sites regarding your machine. I actually found the 3D printing community on Reddit to be a great resource for your research! I will have plenty of links at the bottom of your post to check out.

Without further ado, on to printers!

Expensive Tier:

Some of these printers were some of the first prosumer printers out for hobbyist and non-industrial use out there. Most makerspaces may have these machines for use as well (I know we do!)

You can buy older models at a lower cost, though for some that’s still pretty steep. You may not have the support, or may need to look tho third party shops for replacement parts. 

Ultimaker: The newest models, the S5 and S5 Pro go for $6000 and $9100 USD respectively. You can still purchase older models (Like our 2+/2- Extended) for about $2500 to $3000, but still pretty y i k e s.

For personal experience, price point aside, these are not fun printers to work with. They need constant manual bed recalibration and just are a pain to open up and repair. More power to those who use them, but I wouldn’t recommend these.

Formlabs: Special mention here because they are the most known  prosumer SLA printer company. Their recent model, the Form 3 starts at $3500 UD and their lard scale printer goes for a whopping $11000 USD! (That’s the most expensive non-industrial printer I know.) There’s also accessories for the SLA printing process such as washing and curing machines, etc. 

I’ve never done any SLA printing but I’ve had colleagues who used them and they seemed to be pleased with the print quality, but warned they are machines that need frequent care and maintenance. 

Makerbot: Like the Ulitmakers, Makerbot has been around since the hobbyist 3D printing movement started. Gotta respect that, but the Replicator + starts at $2000 USD and  their Replicator X18 starts at $5500 USD.

Many colleagues have voiced their dislike of the Makerbot machines, apparently having similar concerns as with the Ultimaker, they aren’t really great to work on and maintain, but other people seem to like them.

Mid Cost Tier:

These are printers that are under $5000 for their higher end models. Only one I know has fast becoming fairly popular in the 3D printing industry, likely due to its balance of relative affordability and quality of prints.

Prusa: This is the company mentioned above, Prusa has been quickly becoming a staple in the 3D printing community. The Prusa i3 MK3S starts at $750 USD as a kit– meaning you’ll have to put it apart together. Never fear, for $1000 you can get a pre-built MK3S shipped to you ready to go. Prusa also has a miniature printer for $350 USD, and their SLA printer starts at $1400.

Prusas are usually my go-to when people ask me about printers. I have found their printing quality to be great, the magnetic PEI bed means no more spatula, the MK3 has an infrared sensor to help calibrate the bed with each print (and live Z-axis adjustment during printing), can support multicolor prints either through switching the filament manually or upgrading to the MMU2S upgrade. It is also open frame, so repairs and maintenance is way easier. Also, their customer support is fantastic, and they send you a bag of Haribos with every printer.

However, I don’t recommend the MMU2S upgrade. It is a very polarized item, some people love it or outright hate it, I am in the second camp. The 5 filament feeder is convenience at the cost of functionality. You need to maintain the machine more frequently with automatic filament feeder. There are some design flaws that lead to more print failures and cannot recommend. I do not know if the later models have addressed them, but purchase at your own risk. 

Dremel: Dremel Digilab is a series of digital fabrication tools, inculding desktop laser cutters as well as 3D printers. Their most basic model, the 3D20, starts at $680 USD and their most expensive is the 3D45 printer at $1900 USD.

Low Cost Tier:

Cheap doesn’t mean it has to be bad! These are beginner printers that are under $1000 USD, and great for getting your toes wet in 3D printing. The cons are they may not have as large a print space as some of the others, but starting out, you might not need that.

These companies also have more higher end models more fitting for Mid Tier pricing, such as SLAs, but our focus is on the FDM printers.

XYZ Printing: While not the largest printers, they are affordable and many of my colleagues in costuming started off with these machines. From the tiny $170 USD Nano, to their Da Vinci Pro series starting at $400 USD. For $800, they have a 3-in-1 3D scanner, printer and laser engraver.

On the higher end, their Noble SLA printer starts at $700, and their Color model (an inkjet color FDM printer) goes for $2500. Which compared to the price of an Ultimaker that doesn’t print in full color…it’s not that bad. 

Flashforge:  Their Finder line, which looks like a small printer, starts at $250-300 USD, while their large scale Creator Series goes for $1200-3200 USD.

Though they also have an educational model with a built in camera for $1000, which is neat, and their DLP printer starts at $4000, which is par for the course for SLA/DLP.

I don’t know anyone who owns one, but research shows it has favorable reviews and claims to be easy to pick up as a beginner, but cannot speak on its maintenance. 

Crealty: The Ender 5 starts at $320 to their CR-10S Pro V2 at $630, they are a good starter printer and a good price point, with favorable reviews. It does need to be assembled, which many open frame printers tend to be. The onboarding and setup is fairly easy from the experience of some colleagues who just started out themselves with the Ender series. 

A neat thing to note, though sold out at the time of this writing, they have a 3-in-1 3D printer, mini CNC, and Laser Engraver.

Which Brings me to…

3-in-1 Tier:

3-in-1s are a good option for those with limited space, or trying to make the best with a limited budget. Usually it’s a combination FDM printer, miniature CNC, and Laser Etching/Cutter. While there are some limitations to these (particularly in the laser area) compared to some other devices, it is an option to look into! 

The down side is you are limited to thinner woods, fabric, leather, and the like with these machines for laser cutting etching, and none seem to say anything about acrylic, so 3-in-1s may not be ideal if you plan on working in acrylic. 

(Never fear, I will be writing up  a post on prosumer laser cutters soon! Please keep an eye out!)

Snapmaker: This was the first of the 3-in-1s I’ve heard of, I saw the kickstarter for the 1.0 back when they started out and recently just released their version 2.0. At $800 USD, the Snapmaker 1.0 is quite an affordable option for a 3-in-1 set. The lager and improved 2.0 is set to $1800 full price– which compared to a higher end single use printer is still a value. 

Snapmaker also has had some favorable reviews online, unfortunately I know no one personally who has one to see their view on it. 

Zmorph: I honestly came across these during my research and collecting links of the other printers I knew of. I’ve never heard of it before but really liked its look. It also has different kinds of extruders, a laser engraver, and miniature CNC mill module. While favorable in reviews as well, the cons to the machine is it’s $4400 USD price point and limited filament options. 

Further Research:

As you can see there’s different types of printers from tiny micro printers to massive industrial ones, to multitool. And this is not the comprehensive list of every model out there either!  As you go into further research, you should keep in mind what you’re looking for, such as:

And to help with your research, below is a link of several sites dedicated to 3D printers who can help you compare and contrast and find the right printer for you!