3D Printers 2018 - Which makes and models are recommended?

Soldato
Joined
17 Nov 2007
Posts
3,161
Hey All,

I have not looked into 3D printers for a couple of years and wondered how much things have changed or progressed, are Makerbot still one of the goto makes for off the shelf units?

Building your own printer with various kits was always an option but not something that I was interested in, although the cost saving could be quite good.

Are there any decent / reputable online stores for 3D printers, kits and accessories?


Thanks
 
Man of Honour
Joined
13 Oct 2006
Posts
90,805
If you don't want to do any construction out the box (or at most 2-3 bolts with some models) and great printing results then Monoprice 3D are hard to beat - they also use ARM controllers which makes them very capable the downside is they don't support some of the more exotic printing options or upgrade potential but you can pretty much print straight out the box with minimal if any work.

I've got two of the Select Mini V2 as they are great for prototyping stuff with minimal hands on.
 
Associate
Joined
30 Apr 2014
Posts
339
Location
The Matrix
If you don't want to do any construction out the box (or at most 2-3 bolts with some models) and great printing results then Monoprice 3D are hard to beat - they also use ARM controllers which makes them very capable the downside is they don't support some of the more exotic printing options or upgrade potential but you can pretty much print straight out the box with minimal if any work.

I've got two of the Select Mini V2 as they are great for prototyping stuff with minimal hands on.

Yes Monoprice seem to be an alternative trade name for Wanhao

I have a Wanhao I3 Duplicator V2.1, I have bought some extras for it but not installed them yet inc a flexion extruder that cost a lot but now i see them a lot cheaper... damn!
 
Man of Honour
Joined
13 Oct 2006
Posts
90,805
I'm not sure what the relationship is between those two - some stuff is obviously closely based on the same model some stuff is only loosely based and there seems to be some fairly significant firmware differences between them as well.

For instance the Wanhao Duplicator I3 Mini shares a lot of similarities with the Monoprice Select Mini but they have very different capabilities and a different layout.
 
Back
Top Bottom