Even though affordable 3D printers have been around for many years, they’re still very far from mainstream.
There are many reasons this could be. First, many people don’t feel the need for a 3D printer. Unless you’re going to set up a side hustle 3D printing things to sell, you’ll probably struggle to think of half a dozen things you can usefully print.
The other is that they’re not exactly automatic. The 3D printer requires some configuration before it can print any material. This is in contrast to an inkjet printer, which you can plug into and instantly print a photo.
There’s a third reason: consumer 3D printers are single-colour devices. They can only print one color at a time and have one nozzle. You can stop a print, load a different colour and continue, but because of the way that they print one layer on top of the previous one, colours can only change throughout the height of the thing you’re printing.
Printers with multiple nozzles exist, but they’re too expensive for most consumers to justify buying.
Then there’s the speed. Printing small objects can take hours, while large ones may take a few days.
Finally, until you’ve spent time getting to grips with a 3D modelling app such as Adobe Fusion, you’ll be limited to printing objects that other people have designed. There are lots of them, but if you want something bespoke, you’ll have to create it yourself, and that has its own steep learning curve.
As long as you’re prepared for this and don’t have sky-high expectations of being able to print intricate, articulated models from the off, 3D printing can be extremely rewarding.
We’re focusing mainly on FDM (fused deposition modelling) printers here, as this is the most popular type, but there are also resin 3D printers. Resin printers operate in a very different way and are intended for printing intricate, small models.
1. Anycubic Viper
Pros
- Auto levelling
- Touchscreen
- Dual-gear filament feeding
3D printers are expensive, so the Vyper fits right in that sweet spot. It comes with a touchscreen, an auto-levelling touchscreen, a PEI Sheet, and a decent build volume at 240x240x265mm.
It’s easy to assemble, prints reliably and offers good quality with minimal tweaking.
You’ll get better quality from Creality’s Ender 3 S1 Pro, but that’s more expensive, and you’ll forego fully automatic bed levelling.
The Vyper is a good choice for most people. It offers high-quality at a reasonable price and reliable first layers every single time.
Please read our entire article
Review Anycubic Viper
2. Creality 3D Ender Pro 3 S1
Pros
- Fantastic print quality
- All the features you’d want
Cons
- Auto-levelling requires manual input
- The touchscreen interface could be improved
The S1 Pro might not be the budget 3D printer you’d expect from an Ender 3, but that’s because it has had all the bells and whistles thrown at it.
Please read our entire article
Review Creality 3D Extension 3 S1 Pro
3. Voxelab Aquila S2
Pros
- Nozzle goes up to 300°C
- Affordable
- PEI Sheet
Cons
- Manual bed levelling
- No touchscreen
The Aquila S2 is a less expensive alternative to others here, but still has most of the features you’d want, including a PEI sheet that helps prints to stick while printing, but makes it simple to remove them afterwards.
You can print with a variety of materials, including PETG, thanks to the fact the hotend can reach 300°C and the bed 100°C.
Bed levelling, though, is manual, and there’s no touchscreen: the colour screen is operated using a knob.
When you’ve levelled it, though, prints are great: we had success with several print-in-place models, but like most of the printers here, you may find intricate models require a raft to succeed.
Please read our entire article
Review Voxelab Aquila S2
4. Creality Halot one Plus
Pros
- Easy to use & reliable
- Works with many slicers
- Great print quality
Cons
- Printing is a continuous process that involves fan running
- Like all resin printers, requires post-printing cleanup and curing
- Higher than some of its competitors
The Halot One Plus resin 3D printer is easy to use. It has a large build volume and prints consistently at high quality. It’s quite expensive compared to rivals, especially in the UK.
The Halot One Plus, a resin printer that is also available in other sizes, is quite different. Instead of printing with filament on a reel it uses liquid resin, which is then cured using UV light.
Build volume is smaller than the FDM printers here, but it’s still relatively large for a resin printer, and the screen’s high resolution means models have lots of fine detail.
In our tests, the Halot One Plus performed flawlessly. However, if you’re interested in a resin-printer, you will need to buy a separate cleaning and curing device. It looks very similar to a resin printer but takes up much of your desk space.
Please read our entire article
Review Creality Halot one Plus
5. Creality Sermoon Pro V1
Pros
- Attached
- It is very easy to use
- Auto levelling
Cons
- Volumetrically small
- Expensive
The majority of 3D printers are closed, but the Sermoon has a fully enclosed design. This, and the fact it has a touchscreen interface designed for beginners, means it’s well suited to kids.
There’s a safety feature that pauses printing when the door is opened, but the enclosure also means you should be able to print with warp-happy materials more easily.
However, that isn’t quite the case as the heated bed can reach only 80°C, but you really need 100°C for ABS.
The build volume of 175 x 175 x 165mm might put some off, but if you’re after a 3D printer that arrives fully built and is relatively simple to use – and you mainly want to print using the common PLA filament, it could be ideal.
The main issue is the high price, but if that’s not a hurdle, then it’s a decent choice.
Please read our entire article
Review Creality Sermoon Pro V1
3D printers: a buyer’s guide
Printers can all look identical at first glance, so here are some things to consider when selecting a printer.
Auto levelling
Unless the surface on which objects are printed is perfectly level, prints won’t stick to it and will fail sooner or later.
Manual levelling can be tedious, so you should opt for an auto-leveling printer. But be cautious. Although some printers claim to offer auto-levelling, they rely on the user to complete most of their work. This is why it’s important to read reviews and to know what to expect.
Heated bed
Almost all 3D printers have them, but a few still don’t. A heated bed will help prints to stick: don’t buy a printer without one.
PEI sheet
Prints that stick can be hard to get off the bed. The PEI (polyetherimide), sheet is a great help.
A flexible metal sheet is used instead of a glass sheet. It has a textured coating and is held in place by a magnet that is the same size as the print bed. Once the model is printed, simply lift the sheet and flex it until the model pops out.
Touchscreen
The cheapest, most basic 3D printers use a monochrome screen with a rotary dial. Go more up market and you might get a nicer colour LCD screen, but if you can, get a printer with a touchscreen as it’s so much quicker and easier to use.
Size
A printer’s build volume tells you how big an object it can print. You should assume that the actual volume is smaller than the specs. Therefore, you should choose one with slightly more volume than the largest object you intend to print.
It can be hard to know this, and remember that a bigger volume means a bigger printer, which you’ll need space for.
The largest models need to be printed in sections.
Temperatures
PLA is the most commonly used type of filament. All 3D printers have nozzles that go up to the 220°C or so that PLA requires. But if you want to print with ABS, PETG or another type of plastic, be sure to opt for a printer that can go up to around 300°C.
Also, be aware of heated bed temperatures. Some won’t go beyond 80°C, but you’ll need 100°C or more for successful ABS prints.
Sensor for run-out
With large models taking many hours to print and the fact that you can’t always know if there’s enough filament left on the reel to complete it, a run-out sensor can be a life saver. The sensor detects filament running out and stops printing. You can then load another reel to continue printing.
Without one, the filament could run out and the printer will carry on printing thin air, and you’d be none the wiser.