When 3D printers was first introduced, it was a marvel everyone wanted a piece of. The problem was, not everyone could afford the hefty price tag it came with. 3D printing is new and still pretty expensive, but when you leave it to great minds to pull together power of crowdsourcing and passionate people, there are always alternative solutions.
We have put together here 10 affordable 3D printers that you can own for less than $1000. Some of them are on a preorder status (it’s a few weeks’ wait) while others need until next year to come into fruition, due to the high demand and precision it takes to build these intricate machines. The wait time might be worth it though to turn your 3D creations to reality.
Recommended Reading: 20 Amazing Creations You Can Make With 3D Printing
[Note that the manufacturers may have more than one 3D printer model to their name. Prices vary according to models.]
1. Peachy Printer
If you’ve seen how a 3D printer works, get ready for a whole new different approach with Peachy Printer. It creates things with a liquid light-sensitive resin that solidifies when introduced to light from a laser beam. As the liquid drips slowly while being cured and solidified by the laser, it’s turns into a solid object.
This new method is also inexpensive which explains why the Kickstarter project went over 13 times its initial goal.
Price: $100 â€" Visit website
2. MakiBox
The MakiBox is designed to be an affordable and dependable 3D printer. This printer would be good for someone who wants to try out 3D printing for the first time. There is one limitation to put up with though, it only has a printing dimension of 150mm wide x 110mm deep x 90mm tall aka it only prints small things.
It comes partially assembled but with very few parts and minor configuration, you could get it running in no time.
Price: $200 â€" $300 â€" Visit Website
3. Printrbot
If size is a problem then Printrbot is the solution. It has 4 different variants of 3D printers of different sizes and features. There are kits you can DIY which can help you save about $150. They’ve made their printers very customizable to your needs as you can buy add-on parts where necessary.
It works with both ABS and PLA filaments to print your 3D creations.
Price: $259 â€" $999 â€" Visit Website
4. Phoenix 3D Printer
The people behind the Phoenix 3D printer want to offer users a fully functional basic printer if you purchase their unique 3D printing software. One good thing about their software is that it allows you to ‘pause’ in the middle of a print if anything goes wrong. You can then ‘rewind’ the software to the correct point and continue from there, reducing wasteage of print material (which can be really expensive).
Price: $375 â€" $500 â€" Visit Website
5. Romscraj
Romscraj is a relatively new company based in Singapore which builds and sell 3D printers. At the point of this writing they have 2 printers of different scales for sale: one a portable printer, called Portabee Go, which is foldable for convenient transport or storage.
The other is a desktop printer (pictured below), made from aluminum and stainless steel.
Price: $375 â€" $500 â€" Visit Website
6. The Buccaneer
The Buccaneer is a fully assembled 3D printer that works out of the box. What’s great about this printer is that it’s Wi-Fi enabled, allowing you to communicate with it via an iOS/Android app. The app allows you to browse for things to print based on category. You can customize the size and adjust its shape on the app before sending the blueprints to the printer.
The plastic material that it uses is food safe, so you can print bowls or plates with it.
Price: $399 â€" $999 â€" Visit Website
7. Solidoodle
This is another 3D printer you can use out of the box. Solidoodle offers a no-fuss printer at a reasonable price. There are currently 2 models that they offer: 2nd Generation at $499 and the 3rd Generation Solidoodle at $799. They only differ in size: 2nd Generation has a dimension of 6" x 6" x 6" while the 3rd Generation model has a 8" x 8" x 8" dimension, allowing you to print larger objects.
Price: $499 â€" $799 â€" Visit Website
8. RigidBot
RigidBot is another company that sells its 3D printer as a kit or fully assembled. The kit not only saves you some money but also allows you to customize your printer to your needs. This customizability lets hardcore users expand the printing space too since all they have to do is buy longer X, Y and Z axis metal rods that are available at most DIY stores.
Price: $499 â€" $959 â€" Visit Website
9. RoBo
The RoBo printer prides itself for being open sourced. This means that all the details of the RoBo can be found online. You can even build your own RoBo from 3D printed parts. Because of this, this relatively professional and precise 3D printer is sold at a reasonable price so long as you can wait for it. Backers of their Kickstarter project will only get theirs by April 2014.
Price: $599 â€" $699 â€" Visit Website
10. Deezmaker Bukito Mini
Deezmaker made the Bukito Mini very light and portable. It’s roughly 6 pounds. Although it is light and small with a 5" x 6" x 5" printing area, the printer has been shown to be very steady yet accurate. There’s a video of it printing an object without error even when moved around or flipped upside down. Deezmaker has other printers at higher prices, but their Bukito Mini makes it to our list at only $699.
Price: $699 â€" Visit Website
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