The Cheapest 3D Printers Compared

[bertiebeeeee]

So I am thinking the Micro 3D is the best place to start. Cheap and Easy.

[laird]

Most inexpensive printers are basically like the larger, more expensive printers but make smaller with lower quality parts.

What's more interesting to me is the companies that rethought 3d printing to drive down part count and assembly costs. Similar to how modern ink jet printers are fundamentally cheaper than the older, more complex and expensive printers.

I like what Micro3D is doing - instead of just using cheap parts, they designed a printer for cheap manufacturing costs by making it out of a few injection molded pieces. So it has a low part count and easy assembly. I think that's a winning combination for a cheap home printer, particularly for kids.

The other printer that genuinely is cheap to make is the Peachy Printer. That's a little weirder - resin and a laser - but it's genuinely a $99 printer, and if nothing else it's a cheap way to learn about resin printing.

The caveat, of course, is that it's not shipping yet, so we don't know how reality plays out.

[guyverlord3]

I am about to buy my first 3d printer. I have 300 dollars that I have saved up. I have been looking at 3d printers for about a month now. One of my friends just bought a Oneup(Still being processed) and I am looking around at the 300-350 price range. I am wanting a big bed so that I can make a fusion rifle, big into destiny game, among other things that I can make. I am tinker at heart so will pay around and make a few different things to play with....Anyways I am wanting a opinion on what to buy. I have look at your review and also looked at peoples complaints. Also some of the pricing has changed on the printers so that may need to be updated. But if anyone can tell me what they liked about the printers that would be great.

[micahhermanu33]

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[oklok]

Those printers are indeed cheap, how is the lead time?

[Sunhunter]

"Originally Posted" by sanders89
I just heard about one on kickstarted that is being developed right now, they are planning to sell it for only $250. It is not available yet though.


I think you mean Cobblebot Vanguard 3D Printer - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...ter-3d-printer
I ordered!

[smurfpuss]

I wouldent trust to mutch on the kick starter prices they say the item usaly ends up costing a lot more in the end

[laird]

Good point. Often the Kickstarter prices quoted are limited numbers of units for the earliest supporters, not the prices paid by later supporters, much less the normal (and sustainable) retail price.

[smurfpuss]

I would prob order a none kick starter printer at least there u know what u pay for an how mutch u need to pay to get it in the end and also the quality of the prints and what filament u can use and also forums whit current user for help and guidens

[sajad]

Hi all,
I have a question about these printers in the first post and their difference to Solidoodle printers.
Is there a problem if the printer doesn't have walls? for example Printbot Simple doesn't have walls but Micro3D have that. what is their effect?
Another question: what are the differences between Solidoodle4, Solidoodle Press (http://www.solidoodle.com/) and Micro3D?

thanks all

[ARKtest]

@sajad To start I want you to know that I own a Solidoodle Pro 2nd gen and I love it. That being said I feel like the 4th gen and the Press are a different direction that is not for me. If I had some kind of company loyalty I'd buy the Workbench, Solidoodle's best product that I can tell.

To answer your question about the case; An enclosure is utilized to maintain a heated build chamber and prevent air drafts from blowing onto your print. This is a common measure against the rapid cooling of newly printed parts thus causing warp, bed delamination, and generally undesirable results. Some printers even have temperature controlled build chambers. While it is not necessary to have one, it is generally accepted that it does assist in quality control, especially with print materials that require higher temperatures.

I'm going to compare the two Solidoodles and then compare the Press to the Micro, because I think you'll get a better idea of which might be more for you.

The Solidoodles (as well as the Micro) are no doubt good printers, but they are reaching for the same style of printing, which is plug and play walk away. The 4 is an older model that requires manual calibration and uses the Repetier-Host software. While these are not bad features at all, most printers are the same way, for the same price from the same company the Press offers auto calibration and higher end design features as well as purpose built software from the company. They have the same build volume and resolution. If I where to choose one at the same price I'd pick the Press. If the 4 dropped in price, I'd probably go with that instead because I'm ok with manual calibrations for a hundred or more dollars less.

Now comparing the Press to the Micro is more of stacking pro cons and you deciding what is more important to you. The Press has a larger build volume and an enclosed build chamber. The Micro has a position chip in the print head (while I have not seen this before, I'd imagine it very well might be a good feature). The Press is already developed and has a large community testing and figuring out solutions to problems so you can have answers right away. The Micro is in a preorder Kickstarter phase, so it is less expensive. They both seem to be good printers that with a little maker effort could have their negative aspects and any issues easily overcome.

I will say thank you for bringing up the Micro, its a beautiful machine. I don't think I'd buy any of the three, mostly because I already have a printer, but I just like the ascetics of the Micro. I've included screenshots of the stats for all the current Solidoodle offerings and the Micro's tech specs.

I hope this helps.

[g_poo]

Hi everybody! Complete newbie here. I would love to get into 3D printing and have a working understanding of how things work.
It still means a serious investment (at least to me). But I just found out about the Elecfreaks Freaks 3D printer. $299 + shipping seems really cool.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/f...printer#/story
http://www.elecfreaks.com/estore/


It's not listed here and I would really love to hear what you guys think about it. To my inexperienced eyes it seems like a good bang for the buck.
Any ideas what I might be missing?
I've been reading around but it seems that no one is talking about it, so I'm worried that people with deeper understanding take it as now worth taking seriously and I am missing something. Quality issues, printing technology, size of prints....I guess what I'm trying to say, is there any caveat to this?

Thanks! I appreciate any help...

[TheNeck]

Hi everybody! Complete newbie here. I would love to get into 3D printing and have a working understanding of how things work.
It still means a serious investment (at least to me). But I just found out about the Elecfreaks Freaks 3D printer. $299 + shipping seems really cool.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/f...printer#/story
http://www.elecfreaks.com/estore/


It's not listed here and I would really love to hear what you guys think about it. To my inexperienced eyes it seems like a good bang for the buck.
Any ideas what I might be missing?
I've been reading around but it seems that no one is talking about it, so I'm worried that people with deeper understanding take it as now worth taking seriously and I am missing something. Quality issues, printing technology, size of prints....I guess what I'm trying to say, is there any caveat to this?

Thanks! I appreciate any help...

instead of the elecfreaks freaks 3d printer, if you want to build a 3d printer start with printrbot play kit for only $399. Or if you want a pre-built 3d printer, i highly recommend the da vinci 1.0, which has been on sale for the past months for $350 at newegg, even went down to $300 brand new. I almost have 500+ hours with mine and im tempted to get another xyzprinting 3d printer, like the da vinci jr or da vinci 1.0 all in one myself.

[blix38]

Hi everyone!

I would like to join the discussion as a "normal" person. I'm an architect, so I'm good with 3D modeling, but when it goes to experimenting with hardware then... well, I'm able to do as much as nothing at all by myself! As somebody mentioned: is the Micro3D the best choide for people like me? I'm not planning to get into 3D-Printing that much to be able to experiment with the hardware and repair it by myself. I would like to print my architectural models and some small gadgets from time to time, for fun, presents... It would be awesome to see some rating of printers where the main facotr of reviewing would be failure-free working of the printers. I was wondering if a printer like Micro3D would be ok for my needs, or should I look for some more expensive printers, in hope, that the money spend at the beginning will be saved on lack of reparation later? Thanks for any feedback!

[tallslenderguy]

Let me know of any other printers below $350 that should be on this list. Also, let me know if you see any errors or have any suggestions.

Hi, just joined and realize this thread was started over a year ago, but I just bought a Geeetech Prusa i3 X for $308 (with free shipping). It features 200x200x170mm print size, 50 micron resolution, 100 to 400mm/sec print speed, heated bed, supports several filaments.

[livandshane]

I own the Geeetech Prusa i3 you are referring to. I have upgraded it to the dual extruder also. The printer itself, mechanically, servos, electronics are all good. Where you will see it fall short is in the hot end. I am assuming yours will come with the same MK8 extruder I have, and everythign associated with it is ok, except the hot end. I have modified it to make it work better (adding nuts up the throat to dissipate heat), which has helped. It looks fairly easy to upgrade the hot end to an E3D, which I plan on doing at some point. Also, you will need a fan blowing onto the print itself, you can download that modification on Thingiverse. In summary, not a bad printer, upgrade the hot end, install a fan blowing on the print and you will be happy with it.

[tallslenderguy]

I own the Geeetech Prusa i3 you are referring to. I have upgraded it to the dual extruder also. The printer itself, mechanically, servos, electronics are all good. Where you will see it fall short is in the hot end. I am assuming yours will come with the same MK8 extruder I have, and everythign associated with it is ok, except the hot end. I have modified it to make it work better (adding nuts up the throat to dissipate heat), which has helped. It looks fairly easy to upgrade the hot end to an E3D, which I plan on doing at some point. Also, you will need a fan blowing onto the print itself, you can download that modification on Thingiverse. In summary, not a bad printer, upgrade the hot end, install a fan blowing on the print and you will be happy with it.

Thanks livandshane,
I appreciate the info. For some reason I guess I always assumed the extruder and hot end were to parts of the same piece (i.e., I thought the MK8 is an extruder and hot end). It can be confusing because it seems you can find good and bad reviews about everything. I'm a little confused about the fan blowing onto the print itself? I thought an issue with an open printer is keeping the print surface hot enough so it seems a fan would cool that? Confused.

[livandshane]

Yes, the extruder and hot end are connected together on the MK8, but the hot end is threaded into an aluminum plate the extruder (servo) feeds. The extruder consists of a servo, hot end, and a mechanical gear (mounted on the shaft of the servo) and spring load idler to apply tension against the filament to feed into the hotend. Everything about the MK8 is good (in my opinion) but the hot end (which is OK). The fan I am referring to is to cool the filament immediately after it is extruded for better resolution prints. Here is a link on Thingiverse that visually shows what I am talking about. http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:862851 You are correct on the heated bed as well. I have not been able to get anything to stick without heating the bed, or using blue painters tape. I have tried a few prints on just the glass surface, but they have all curled up a little.

[tallslenderguy]

Yes, the extruder and hot end are connected together on the MK8, but the hot end is threaded into an aluminum plate the extruder (servo) feeds. The extruder consists of a servo, hot end, and a mechanical gear (mounted on the shaft of the servo) and spring load idler to apply tension against the filament to feed into the hotend. Everything about the MK8 is good (in my opinion) but the hot end (which is OK). The fan I am referring to is to cool the filament immediately after it is extruded for better resolution prints. Here is a link on Thingiverse that visually shows what I am talking about. http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:862851 You are correct on the heated bed as well. I have not been able to get anything to stick without heating the bed, or using blue painters tape. I have tried a few prints on just the glass surface, but they have all curled up a little.

I see, I appreciate the explanation, I think I understand. Re the print sticking, I just read a review by applekeith about a product that may help with that (I plan on trying it as it sounds better to me than tape, hairspray or glue gun). His review is here http://www.3dprintingforum.org/threa...te-Film-Review

[Marchie]

I was going to buy the Malayan M180 from HobbyKing.
http://www.hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking...r_US_Plug.html
but then found the CTC 3D on EBay which is almost identical. Both have dual MK7+ extruder and are based on the Makebot Mighty. The CTC was over £100 cheaper so have gone for this.
Has anyone got one of these? If so, how does it perform?

[ireneheart]

i have many recommendations, as below
http://www.wercan.com/acrylicgeeetec...it-p-6659.htmlhttp://www.wercan.com/xyz-printing-d...er-p-6141.htmlhttp://www.wercan.com/assembled-werc...er-p-6657.htmlhttp://www.wercan.com/delta-rostock-...ng-p-6649.html
wish to help you.

[Dman]

Hi I am new Here after looking on the wed lately. I saw A printer being sold by HOBBY KING. After a bit of poking around I found the main site for the printer http://www.colido.com. The printer i was looking at is called CoLiDo DIY. They say you can put it together in about 20 MIN.

After looking for more info they say it is all common parts.After reading all the info i can find. It looks like the control boards and the like are clones.

So my next 2 Questions would be how easy would it be to add a heated bed. And how hard to update the print Head and hot end.

Thanks Dman

[3Dex]

Hi Dman,

Yes Hobbyking sell a range of 3D printers that seem to work very well for the money you pay. We have experienced their Mini Fabrikator and we think it gives great results for only £120. Furthermore, all of our filament is compatible with Hobbyking Printers.

Adding a headed bed and updating the hot end shouldn't be too difficult for you. Most 3D printers come apart quite easily allowing you to reach all of the internals. However, there is no set way, or a kit you can buy, that can achieve the results you want which means you're going to have to do all of the thinking and "engineering" yourself.

However, don't let this put you off. Certainly go with a Hobbyking Printer to learn the ropes of 3D printing and then, once you are more knowledgable, you'll find buying your next printer so much easier.

I hope this helps,

Cheers,
www.3dexfilament.co.uk

[Nu23D]

Oh, this is cool!
In the market for a less expensive one for my kids as well as a bigger one for me. Great post.

[charlie1]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding the 'cheapest 3D printers' qualification... But there are just tons and tons of prusa style Chinese printer kits in the $200 to $300 USD range. I bought one, and have been chronicling my adventures - and misadventures - in the 'Results from $300 Chinese 3D printer' thread.

If what we're looking for is cheap 3D printers, we should give these kits a shout out. There's a lot of value there.

>Charlie1