Oh man oh man oh man.
I've been reading so much about 3D printers over the last three years. My journey started when I created an original model and ordered a print on Shapeways to replace my car's front emblem that mysteriously went missing (presumed stolen). Apparently Shapeways has changed its system since I made it 3.5 years ago and I can't direct link to it, but trust me when I say it's pretty dope.
I've grown much more interested in terms of supporting plain old creative projects and things like props and cosplay, and I have come
really close to purchasing my own 3D printer on more than one occasion, but my resolve has held firm and my wallet full.
So, I speak strictly as an armchair enthusiast, not an owner.
I know a lot more about filament-based (FDM) printers, but I know a bit about resin-based (DLP) style printers as well. Your first decision will be which of those two you want. They implement very different printing technologies, each with their trade-offs:
filament (FDM) printers:
+ can print much larger volumes
+ much more affordable in the consumer space
+ relatively mature technology
+ most printers can be heavily modded and upgraded
+ excellent variety of filament materials (including pretty much all colors, transparent, glow-in-the-dark, semi-wood, metallic)
+ can operate a various quality vs. speed settings (think like an inkjet printer's "fast" vs "photo" settings)
- even at the slowest, highest-quality settings, prints may have noticeable horizontal lines/ridges along the Z axis; faster prints have more pronounced lines
- tend to need lots tweaking and adjusting to get the perfect print
- generate a lot of heat to melt the filaments and work best in a small, enclosed space to keep that temperature consistent
- tend to be open and could be dangerous if small animals are nearby
- some filaments need to be kept in low-humidity storage when not in use
resin-based (DLP) printers:
+ do not produce high heat to make prints
+ tend to be much quieter than FDM printers
+ prints can have incredibly buttery-smooth surfaces
+ tend to work more perfectly out of the box with far less calibration
- tend to have few if any user-serviceable parts
- print volume is very small
- much more expensive than similarly sized FDM printers
- print medium is liquid and may be prone to spills
Most consumers getting into 3D printing for the first time go for FDM printers because they're affordable, widely available, and have big print volumes. I even see miniature FDM "3D pen" printers on the shelves of my neighborhood Target and Michaels!
The gold standard for FDM has been
Prusa, and when I say
standard I mean it because the creator open-sourced his designs. Many Chinese FDM printers are just cheap Prusa clones, some taking shortcuts and some adding features. All 3D printers have learning curves, require fine-tuning, trial and error, purchasing or making replacement parts, etc. However, Prusas have an excellent reputation for just working well right out of the box. They tend to be some of the more expensive options for their size, and sometimes there's a backlog waiting list to get your order, but that's all because you're generally paying for a higher quality product.
There are probably a dozen next-level manufacturers. Without digging through a bunch of my old sources, I can say that I've seen
LulzBot,
Creality, and
some of the
Monoprice rise to the top of reviews.