This article shortly introduces 3D printers and provides some advice on selecting a printer. The original article, created many years ago, listed many printers, but I stopped upgrading systematically around 2016. The old version is still around. There are no endorsements, since I only owned a RapMan (2010), a fabbster (given away), a Creality (2015, given away), four different Felix printers (1.0, 2.2, Pro2 and Tec4.1 (I still use the latter two), a Fokoos Odin-5 F-3 (2022, bought for 200 Euros on sale) and a Creality K1 Max. I also use Prusa mini and I3 printers in our fablab.
According to Wikipedia, retrieved 11 April 2023, 3D printing or additive manufacturing is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model.[1] It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer control,[2] with material being added together (such as plastics, liquids or powder grains being fused), typically layer by layer.
See also:
3D printing technology
The most popular 3D printing techniques are:
Most hobby 3D printers use FDM, i.e. an extruder (i.e. a kind of gun) that heats up plastic filament which is then deposited layer by layer. They can print different sorts of Polymers. In the early years, the two following plastics were popular.
As of 2015 a much wider range of 3D printer filaments are available, including PET-G, PET, Nylon, TPU, TPEs, and various PLA-particle composites.
Type | FDM / FFF | SLA | SLS | Piston |
---|---|---|---|---|
Material | rolls of various types of plastic | Liquid resin | Various powder (only Nylon or similar for low end machines) | Anything that can be pushed down (e.g. chocolate or Epoxy resins or clay) |
Durability | OK (depending on type of plastic) | Low | High | depends on the material, very little for printed food :) |
Precision | 0.05 mm | high | good | |
Post-processing | Easy (except when dealing with support materials) | Treatment is required to improve solidity | Blasting is required to remove bits of loose powder | |
Freedom of forms | No.
Somewhat if soluble support is used in dual head printer. |
limited | yes | very limited |
Heat resistance | Depends on the plastic. E.g., popular PLA is starts weakening at 60 and melting at 160. PETG, and other popular plastic has a higher melting temperature. Some plastics like nylon are difficult to print but much more resistant | limited | good | |
Unit cost | very low (starting at 150, a good model is about 1000) | low | high | medium |
Material cost | very low to low (15-100 Euros/kg) | 30-250 Euros / litre | 100 - 1000 Euros / kg. |
The opposite of additive manufacturing is subtractive manufacturing that takes away material from an initial form. These alternative technologies include:
Must have features:
Nice to have features:
Comparisons
Comparing 3D printers is very very difficult for several reasons:
On of the first serious comparisons was done by Make Mag in nov 2012. One of my printers (the Felixprinter 1.0) came out ok. Nevertheless the author complained about assembly that was more difficult than expected and glitches with some delivered parts (like calibration of the stepper motors) and he is right to do that. However, why compare a non-assembled printer with assembled ones. I bought mine assembled (400 Euros extra) and it worked out of the box! In addition, the testers used default settings of the slicer software. Had they selected a different profile they would have obtained widely different results. I was able to print a test design that failed without problems. The Make Mag test was serious, but far from perfect. - Daniel K. Schneider 17:53, 22 November 2012 (CET)
Do not trust marketing hype. In any case, filament printers do have inherent flaws that no design can solve. Only trust reputable online sites (most receive something in exchange for rewiewing). Also, understand that some cheap printers start degrading after a few weeks and that others have poor quality assurance (i.e. some machines work fine but others need to repaired when you open the box).
I am looking into these models right now and may buy one. By the end of 2022 very fast "coreXY" FDM printers did appear on the market or were announce for Q2 or Q3 of 2023. An other options are IDEX printers where two extruders can work at the same time on copied or mirrored same objects. Since Summer 2023, fast "bed slingers" like the cheap Kobra 2 from Anycubic did appear.
Since I hate waiting a full day for a moderately large bag of LEGO or DUPLO compatible bricks I am interesting in getting one of these model and would print with a 0.6mm nozzle or larger.
Some of these printers may require minor modifications, e.g. better PEI print plates (e.g. read this for the Bambu) or better nozzles. All probably require verification and some tuning after the transport.
Brand | Model | Cost (Euros) | Print volume & (machine volume size) | Propriety | Extruder(s) and AMS | Resolution & hot ends | Max speed and flow | Plate and Levelling | Trouble detection & recovery | Filaments | Other | Evaluations |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AnkorMake | M5 | 850 | 235x235x250 mm | ? | Ultradirect extruder | 0.4mm nozzle, 0.1-0.35mm, 260 deg.
|
250mm/s standard speed. | PEI-Coated Soft Magnetic Steel | Camera with AI | ABS, PETG, PLA, TPU | Noisy,
app to view camera and pilot |
Good budget printer. Not coreXY |
Anycubic | Kobra 2 | 309 | 250x220x220mm | Direct extruder | 0.4 nozzle (replaceable) 260 deg. | 250 mm/s (150 recommended). Benchy in 30 minutes. | Magnetic Flex plate, Auto-levelling | PLA/ABS/PETG/TPU | New as of June 2023 | |||
Bambu | P1P | 660 | 256 × 256 × 256 mm
(size = 386*389*458 mm) |
yes | Direct extruder | 0.05 - 0.35 mm, all metal 0.4mm nozzle (300deg) |
|
PEI-coated flex plate, Lidar levelling | Simple version of X1. Medium noisy,
app to view camera and pilot |
Was developed as low cost version of X1. Mixed reviews | ||
X1 Carbon | 1130 (1370 AMS) | 256 × 256 × 256 mm
(size=389 x 389 x 457 mm) |
yes | Direct extruder
Optional (wasteful and not TPU compatible) automatic materialsystem (AMS), 90 sec to change color |
0.05mm, all metal 0.4mm hotend (300deg). Larger nozzles can be added with extra work only. | 500 mm/s max, 250mm/s default. 32mm3/S throughput. Benchy in 16min30s | PEI-coated flex plate,
Lidar leveling, 120 deg. |
Spaghetti detection through camera | PLA, PETG, TPU, ABS, ASA, PVA, PET Ideal for PA, PC, Carbon/ Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer | Noise level: about 50 (sometimes more).
App to view camera and pilot |
Mostly good reviews some negative because of various problems. All proprietary is also criticized.Very (!) wasteful AMS. | |
Creality | K1 (May 2023) | 650 (without options?) | 220*220*250mm
(size = 355*355*480mm, 12.5kg) |
? | Dual gear light-weight direct extruder (190g) | 600mm/s,
flow=32mm3/s |
Auto-leveling. Optional Lidar | Filament sensor. Optional camera | ABS, PLA, PETG, PET, TPU, PA, ABS, ASA, PC, PLA-CF, PA-CF, PET-CF | none so far | ||
K1 MAX (summer 2023) | 1000 | 300x300x300
(size=435x462x526mm, 18kg) |
? | Dual gear direct extruder | 0.1 to 0.35 mm with a 0.4mm nozzle. | 600mm/s. 300mm/s typical (correct
Benchy in 13min) |
Flexible build plate, leveling with
Lidar |
AI camera, filament sensor, power-loss recovery | most | WIFI/USB/Ethernet | none so far | |
Prusa | MK4 | 900 Kit
1200 assembled (incl VAT) |
250x210x220 mm
(size=500×550×400), 7 kg. Optional enclosure for 350+ |
no | Direct drive extruder. Optional MMU | quickswap 0.4mm nozzle (others on option)
0.05-0.30 mm 300 deg. |
20 min benchy in test for future upgrades. | PEI spring steel sheets, Mesh bed levelling with load cell censor | Filament sensor, power panic. | PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA, Flex, HIPS, PA, PVA, PC, PP, CPE, PVB, NGEN | WIFI/Ethernet
medium noisy, silent with enclosure |
none so far |
XL | 2500 ? (1 extruder) | 360x360x360 mm
(size=800×800×900mm) |
no | Direct extruder (5 optional).
Hot swappable noozzles |
0.05mm
(300 deg) |
Mesh bed levelling | Good support. Excellent reliability. Input shaping for speed printing is not available as of April 2023. | |||||
Makerbot | Method | 4000 to 6000 | 190x190x196mm.
152 x 190 x 196 (double extrusion) |
yes | 1-2 extruders | 300deg | ? | ? | PLA, TOUCH, NYLON, PETG. Method X supports ABS and more | Expensive, Various models | ||
Snapmaker | J1 | 1600 | 300x200x200
160x200x200 (copy) 150x200x200 (mirror) 30kg (size=490x445x443) |
Independent dual extruder (IDEX).
20 seconds to change color |
0.4 nozzle (300 deg) | 350mm/s for 0.1 layers. 200m/s for normal layers.
(22 min for 2 mirrored benchys). |
Double-sided PEI Glass Plate. | no camera | Most, including TPU and nylon. | slient, | Good quality parts. Default slicer not very good. Not as fast or large as competition. Only IDEX machine in this range. | |
Vivedino / Formbot | Troodon | 1000 | 300x300x400 mm (or 400x400x500 large)
(size= 600x680x610 mm, 28kg) |
no | Direct extruder | 0.4mm easy swap nozzle (0.2. to 0.8 on option), 0.05 to 0.3mm.
270 deg |
max: 500mm/s | PEI coated flex bed.
BLT touch sensor (36 points) |
most, including abrasives | This is a kind of Voron architecture | 95% assembled, requires some skills. | |
Voron | 800 to 1500 | 350x350x350mm (version 2.4). Other options are 250x250x250 or 300x300x300 | no | Direct extruder | 0.4 nozzle, 285 deg | Automatic leveling with inductive probe. | Voron is a design and is sold in the form of various kits. | Good (best current kit), but requires expertise to assemble and get it working. |
If you looking for a popular cheap machine, you could check out:
You can find these in many online shops. Prices can vary greatly at times. If you are low on budget, watch out for 50% sales, e.g. around 150 to 200 Euros.
If you are looking for a reliable, a bit more costly machine (out of the Box and staying), check out:
Avoid expensive commercial brands that offer consumer machines with lesser functionality for higher prices, e.g. Makerbot Replicator.
Below, some consumer-grade 3D printers that made early history after 2005 where Adrian Bowyer launched the RepRap Project. Most links will be broken, since pages have been taken down or the companies went out of business.
RepRap, a British project, is short for Replicating Rapid-prototyper. They all can be assembled from parts bought in various places. In 2018, there were several different Reprap Designs. The classic ones plus some other earlier designs are the following:
All RepRap printers can built with spare parts available from many places. However, this requires good "bricolage" skills. For those who don't have these, there exist many commercial kits that are relatively easy to assemble and also fully assembled kits (see below).
Resources:
Candyfab was one of coolest projects in the beginning of DYI 3D printing. It did sugar sintering.
Bits from Bytes did produce and sell Reprap derivatives, in particular the RapMan v3.11 (£750 / CHF 1270) we acquired in January 2010. It was assembled by end of Feb 2010 Read the RapMan article. The company is now dead, i.e. it was absorbed by 3D systems.
The Rapman was one of the first commercial kits for the RepRap v1 and it's probably one of the most beautiful designs. Assembly was rather difficult, but very well documented. All you needed was good reading skills. It did work, but did need what we could call "RepRap printing skills". Some design elements could be improved, in particular: filament intake (extruder), portability (after transport the structure may need adjustment), heated platform.
Fab@Home, is marketed as "personal fabricator". As opposed to RepRap designs, Fab@Home used a syringe system and could print a large variety of materials, including silicone, cement, stainless steel, cake frosting, and cheese. Hardware designs and software on their website were open source. This printer also included a dual syringe tool for printing two materials simultaneously.
Hardware:
Resources:
MakerBot Industries sold other RepRap-inspired designs. Like other Reprap derivaties, their 3D printers included a plastruder and an Arduino-compatible microcontroller and worked with several kinds of plastic, e.g. ABS and HDPE (milk-jug like). The founder of this company was also involved in the RepRap research project.
Later, this company developed closed sourced systems that became popular with institutional buyers. The company still sells expensive rather high-end machines.
Makergear sold two kits as of oct. 2011. One is rather destinated to people who want to play with the Mendel Prusa design and maybe do creative modifications. The other, i.e. the Mosaic was more of an end-user product.
Probably was one of the most popular 3D printers as of summer/fall 2012. S
Documentation:
As of Oct. 2011, the Dutch Ultimaker was the favorite open source design kit. It was (comparatively) fast, could print big and was easy to assemble compared to a RapMan for example. Ultimaker focused on speedy PLA printing and contributed to make this somewhat ecological filament the most popular.
Hardware:
Resources:
There several companies who fabricate 3D objects from models created by the public. Typically, online 3D printing services also include a store where users can both upload and sell designs. Some sites also offer other manufacturing and commercial services and most also provide free resources for learning how to create things
Roughly speaking, the production pipeline looks like this:
File formats
The most popular file format was and still is the .STL file format: “An STL (“Stereolithography”) file is a triangular representation of a 3-dimensional surface geometry. The surface is tessellated or broken down logically into a series of small triangles (facets). Each facet is described by a perpendicular direction and three points representing the vertices (corners) of the triangle. These data are used by a slicing algorithm to determine the cross sections of the 3-dimensional shape to be built by the fabber” (The StL Format, retrieved 17:25, 24 June 2009 (UTC)). STL files can be created with most CAD programs. Alphaprototypes provides instructions for several popular CAD applications. More recent formats like 3MF are more versatile and can for example include color information.
3D Printing software
We distinguish between three kinds of "printing software"
Some software can do all of these.
See: Slicers and user interfaces for 3D printers
In EduTechWiki, we did provide a few overviews and/or beginner's tutorials. However, most of these are not up-to-date, since there exist many better alternatives since the late 2010s. See the category 3D printing. For example:
3D objects can be found in various repositories
Repositories
(needs updating, some links are over a decade old ....)