People ask me all the time, “which 3D printer should I get?” Here’s the story and my recommendations.
I’ve been 3D printing stuff since 2015. My first printer was a kit. Well, I mean, it was a big pile of metal, computer boards, motors and wires. It took forever to build. Even then, it barely worked. I spent over a year tweaking & improving it until I finally got it to where I wanted. We all want a 3D printer that where you can click GO and it’ll print every time, right?
Thankfully, 3D printers have come a long way since then. You can still build from random parts you order online, you can buy fully assembled and tested printers, or pretty much anything in between.
Here are features I recommend in a 3D printer:
- Ability to print the common filament materials: PLA, ABS & PETG. Generally, PLA is the easiest to print. ABS & PETG are higher temperature materials that have great applications for many, many things. PETG is my favorite filament material – it’s about as easy to print as PLA and does much better than PLA in elevated temperature environments (e.g. inside your car in the summer).
- Heated, magnetic bed. A heated bed, along with the proper coating, helps your prints stick to the bed every time, avoid ugly edge curling and lets you use a wide variety of filaments. A magnetic bed lets you easily remove the bed and pop off your prints once they’re done. The days of prying prints off with a knife are gone.
- Bed auto-leveling sensor. This is a game changer. With an auto-leveling sensor, your printer can measure exactly where the printing surface is on every print. That lets your printer adjust itself for any movements/shifts/changes/bumps of your printer and means your prints are much more likely work every time. Seriously, you really want an auto-leveling sensor.
- Good online community & support. Even the best consumer 3D printers are things you’ll have to tinker with from time to time. It’s not the same as hitting print and sending a document to your laser printer. A good online community or other support network means you’ll have somewhere to turn when you need to figure something out – instead of being left out in the dark. (Still, if you pick a good printer, your odds of needing to bust out a wrench are much less – so pick a good printer!)
- If your primary goal is to print ABS, a good enclosure is also very helpful. That lets the air temperature around your print remain consistent and warm throughout the print cycle. This helps ABS from warping, especially bigger prints. You can still print ABS without an enclosure (as long as you have a heated bed), but results are usually better with one. Many people, including myself, print almost everything in PETG instead of ABS. PETG and PLA do not need an enclosure.
It’s go time. Here are my Fully Epic 3D Printer recommendations.
Best Beginner 3D Printer: Prusa Mini+ ($399)
The Prusa Mini+ is the recently upgraded version of the Prusa Mini. This printer has been selling like hot cakes since it was announced last year. The Mini+ has a heated bed, a Boden extruder, a nice LCD interface, can support a wide variety of filament materials AND it prints great with almost no setup time.
Setting up a new Prusa Mini+ is pretty much just you screwing in a few bolts and installing the software on your computer. Even if you look at all the pictures 5 times, it should still take you less than 30 mintues from opening the box until you hit go on your first print. It’s 180mm x 180mm x 180mm build volume is great and its easy of use is just plain awesome. Its easily-removable, magnetic build plate makes popping off your prints super easy.
I ordered a Prusa Mini shortly after they were announced and it’s been my go-to workhorse ever since. Great prints & super easy to use. My 9 year old kids love it too. I’m not kidding, if you’re looking for a beginner printer, quit looking. Get a Prusa Mini here: https://shop.prusa3d.com/en/3d-printers/994-original-prusa-mini.html#
Best All-Around 3D Printer: Prusa MK3S+ ($749 kit or $999 assembled)
The Prusa Mini’s big brother is the Prusa MK3S+. Compared to the Prusa Mini, it has a bigger build volume, a stiffer frame, an improved direct-drive extruder and more. It’s 250mm x 210mm x 210mm build volume expands the number of things you can print – or lets you print more things at once. The MK3S+ has a similar magnetic, removable build plate to the Prusa Mini (it’s bigger though, right?), so getting those prints off your bed are dead simple. All your friends with lesser printers will be envious of how your Prusa always works.
The Prusa MK3S+ is availble either assembled or in easy-to-build kit form. Get a Prusa MK3S+ here: https://shop.prusa3d.com/en/51-original-prusa-i3-mk3s
Best Budget 3D Printer: Ender 3 V2 (Approx $260 – $300, depending on the options you choose)
There are loads of cheap printers out there, but what Creality put together with the Ender 3 was an entry level printer that’s easy to put together and works pretty well without major modifications. The Ender 3 has become super popular. Is it perfect? No. Does it leave things to be desired? Yes. Will you eventually want to upgrade it and end up spending as much as the Prusa Mini? Probably. That said, if you want a bare bones & cheap printer that works and will let you learn, the Ender 3 is a good option. The latest version, as of the time of this writing, is the Ender 3 V2.
Check out Creality Ender 3 V2 here: https://www.creality3dofficial.com/products/ender-3-v2-3d-printer
Best High End DIY 3D Printer: Voron 2 (Approx $1200 – $1600, depending on the parts you choose)
Voron Design is a dedicated team of designers and testers. Their latest big-deal 3D Printer is the Voron 2.4. Thanks to its CoreXY design and top-notch part choices, its print speed and quality crush almost everything out there. You can choose how big to make your Voron printer with standard build volumes up to 350mm x 350mm x 330mm – or bigger if you decide to further customize your build.
Building a Voron 2 requires a good chunk of time, but you’ll be rewarded with an awesome printer that is very fast and produces great prints. Be warned though, your 3d printing friends will all drool over it.
Check out Voron Design’s Voron 2 series here: https://vorondesign.com
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