Which 3D printer to buy: the cheapest, fast and innovative devices

3D printers are gradually becoming familiar-thanks to many ways to quickly and cheaply print their object or projects like The Buccaner, which reduce prices for devices several times. It is likely that soon everyone can get such a gadget. Look At Me continues to explore the 3D printing and understands which 3D printers are worth buying.

Ease of use

Makerbot Replicator 2

$ 2199

Unlike those market representatives who prefer to supply parts in parts, the Makerbot Replicator 2 does not require assembly and is ready to use it immediately after the buyer pulls it out of the box. However, one of the simplest in the use of the printers does it not only this, but also the active community of users, which with great enthusiasm is taken for solving any problems with the device, and a number of related products-from materials to 3D scanners. In this, Makerbot is close to the idea of ​​their close competitors - Cubife, however, the latter also sell the results of the press.

Ralph Van Bemel

co -founder MakerWise

Cubife is aimed at the consumer , while Makerbot 2 positions itself as a slightly more professional product. Cubife is cheaper, but materials (cartridges) are more expensive for it. Makerbot is more and stronger from the technical side. However, there are other 3D printers on the market that differ in price, quality, size, appearance, materials, software and so on. If you have not yet compared these two printers with others, it makes sense to start with this.

Price

Solidoodle

$ 499

It is logical that increased attention to 3D printing sooner or later should have brought to a significant reduction in price both for devices and materials-which is happening: projects like The Buccaner collect astronomical amounts on Kickstarter and promise not to set the price above $ 397. Unfortunately, you will have to wait until the production and start of sales will have to wait, but if you need a cheap 3D printer right now, you should pay attention to Solidoodle , which promises decent quality for only $ 499.

Two more:

Speed

Ultimaker

$ 2208

Ultimaker differs not only in speed, but also in the quality of the press (in 2012 it was recognized as the fastest and most accurate, according to Make magazine ), which, in conjunction with the average price, makes this 3D printer one of the most obvious purchases. Among other advantages - Ultimaker is delivered both in parts and in the assembly (the second version is a little more expensive), the printer itself takes up little space, but allows you to print quite large objects. In addition, Ultimaker uses open hardware.

Will Chang

Cubehero base

The speed of a 3D printer depends on how quickly the creation of layers (Print Speed) passes, and on how quickly the components move. Most of the 3D printerers work on Print Speed, improving the components responsible for printing-too high Travel Speed ​​can shake the printer due to the intermittent nature of the movement. However, although the Makerbot Replicator is claimed by the Print Speed ​​indicators of 40 mm/s, I dispersed it to 80 mm/s without falling print quality. Outstanding results are shown by Ultimaker and Trinity One, the speed of each is about 400 mm/s.

The best print quality

Type a Series 1

$ 1695

According to manufacturers of Type a Series 1 , the print resolution available to their printers is twice the average in the market. The printer resolution starts from 50 microons (0.05 mm), and the minimum layer thickness from 100. This became possible thanks to the use of more accurate components. Given the printer speed and ease of use, Type a Series 1 is quite suitable for perfectionists.

Two more:

Innovative

The Form 1

$ 3299

The loud success of The Form 1 on Kickstarter is explained by many reasons (appearance, competent campaign, etc.), but the main thing is that the founders of FormLabs managed to create one of the first 3D printers operating on the principle of laser stereolithography, which achieves significantly better print quality (the thickness of the layer is only 25 microns). Unlike most competitors, The Form 1 works on liquid plastic.

Maxim Lobovski

co -founder
Form Labs

To minimize The Form 1 , we used the latest laser technologies. Moreover, we were not going to simply reduce huge stereolithographic machines, but developed their printer from the very beginning. So we came to ideas that were more suitable for our task-to create a stereolithographic 3D printer that will fit on the desktop.