So, you've recently fallen down the rabbit hole of fascinating world of 3d printing and have decided to take the next step of getting your first printer. Congratulations! But, there are so many options, where do you begin? Well, before you dive too far into the abyss, check out our post on How to start 3d Printing to get a general idea on the know-how and material you might need! Next comes the fun part...
First you must ask yourself, "What do I want out of 3d printing?" Are you looking to make small things to use around the house and show off to your friends? Are you looking into creating a fortune in the additive manufacturing industry? Well either way, there is a printer just for you!
Let's talk about printers geared more towards hobbyists and we'll work towards some of the more spicy printers created more for professional manufacturing!
1. Haosegd K1
Let's start with one of the cheapest 3d printers you can easily find on the market! The Haosegd K1.
Pros
- Fairly priced between $59.00 - $89.00
- Very user friendly with an extremely simple setup
- Great for beginners and younger individuals looking to learn about 3d printing
- Decent print quality after proper setup
Cons
- Uses 1.75mm Filament, so material is a tad harder to come by
- Small Printer = Small Print Volume
- Due to it's cheap price, this printer isn't very durable and parts can be difficult to replace
Overall, a decent printer to start off with if you're just getting into the hobby! So small it can fit right on your desk. Perfect for creating small objects to show off for friends and small around-the-house creations!
Up next is one of the best beginner level 3d printers on the market! The Creality Ender 3. This printer is often the go-to-choice for people looking for a reliable printer that can push out quality products! So good in fact, that even some of our creations came from this same printer!
Pros
- You can get this printer in several places for UNDER $100.Though brand new Ender 3 will run you between $160-$190.
- Upgrades for this printer come in heaps. Many of which you can print yourself directly off the stock printer! Many of these upgrades allow you to print using different materials to further increase the quality of you projects.
- This printer sports a decent sized printer bed. Allowing users to create larger prints.
- The basic version of the Ender 3 sports a very simple user interface for users who are simply wanting to click-and-drag prints from their laptop or PC to the printer. No complicated interfaces that take hours to figure out!
- The bed takes some time to level. Fortunately, there is a Plethora of content available for newcomers on how to easily and quickly level the printing bed!
- Many users are not very fond of the magnetic bed the printer comes stock with out of the box. Though an interesting concept, the magnetic beds usually wear much faster than glass counterparts.
- Dual Extruders! This printer utilizes two extruders to create pieces with two different types or color of filaments. Which can create some beautiful creations.
- This printer also allows us to create using SEVERAL different types of filaments, ranging from normal PLA, to PLA+, Nylon, Wood, and more!
- Enclosed print area keeps our print bed clean, our extruders dust-free, and our print area a consistent temperature to push out high quality projects!
- Simple user interface with complex options allows us to go as far as changing part temperatures mid-print to adjust for any issues we may be seeing during process.
- Extremely simple out-of-the-box assembly! With less than 20 screws to turn, you'll be leveling your bed and test printing in minutes.
- This beauty is Loud. Flashforge has stayed current in keeping their printers relevant in the 3d printing scene, but have failed where other companies have invested money. Turning down the volume.
- Similar to the Ender 3, the print bed must be manually leveled. The Creator Pro is a tad more complex to level compared to some of it's competitors, but there is an ocean of content on how-to videos on this precise subject!
- Non-Adjustable printing bed. Another feature many competitors have that the Creator Pro lacks. Likely due to price reasons and trying to keep the cost down to stay in a decent price range while still delivering quality.
Lastly, we delve into the industrial market with the Creality3D CR-5 Pro. Note, this printer is massive. Coming in at a WHOPPIN' 80 pounds. This printer is large enough to tackle about any project you want to throw at it. All while living up to it's creators name in delivering quality products with top-of-the-line features. But with the quality, with this printer you will be reaching into your wallet, with this monster hitting around $1250.
Pros
- Giant. This printer comes with a large enclosed build area. Perfect for projects that require pushing large pieces!
- Quiet. As expected coming from a printer with this pricetag.
- BLtouch Auto-leveling. Using sensors that detect even the slightest tilt, this thing auto levels it's bed for you. Pretty cool, right?
- Sensor suite that can detect when it's filament runs dry.
- Printing straight from the cloud.
Cons
- WEIGHT. This demon weighs in at 80 pounds. This isn't a printer that you can throw on your desk.
- Cable management. Creality did drop the ball on some of the finer touches here. If you look into a CR5, be prepared with materials on hand to protect some of the wiring that plunges out out the case into sharp corners.
Well. These are just 4 printers in a market with hundreds of options. Ranging from cheap printers to devices that edge into the 5 digits range. Your options for a printer you want that meets your standards are far and vast. Finding one can be as easy as searching for 3d printers on any major search engine! Get out there and start looking for one that catches your eye!
Stay tuned! And I'll see y'all next month!
- Jonah