Hello all,

First post, looks like a great forum

I'm sure this question has been asked a few times so if it has please just point me in the direction of the thread.

The company i work for has an Objet Connex 350 which is a high end printer. The problem is, the high price of material to print using this machine is ridiculously high and of course, only available directly through the seller of the printer. Because of this, i cannot justify doing any "guilt free" prints for fun, for experimentation or for parts to use in our workshop. The high material costs also get reflected when quoting parts for customers and often scares people away.

So, we are making the decision to purchase a more low end machine which uses far cheaper material.

This is our main prorities which we are looking for:


  • Cheap material
  • Reliable - Able to print very often with as little problems as possible
  • PLA/ABS compatible
  • Commercial/Industry quality - Well made.


Our secondary list of priorities are:


  • Price of printer - Under $10,000 - I do not have a minimum price because if a $500 printer meets our requirements then so be it. I understand that printer price doesn't necessarily dictate print quality in the 3d printer world.


  • Quality printed parts - Reasonable dimensional accuracy, smooth surfaces/low layer thickness
  • Build Volume - The bigger the better as long as it can still hold reasonable dimensional accuracy and quality.


We looked into and had a demonstration of the makerbot Z18 however it didnt wow us. The main attraction was obviously the huge build volume but the models presented to us for viewing left us feeling like the $12k pirce tag wanst justified.

If someone/anyone could throw some suggestions at which printer(s) might be best suitable for my above notes i would be extremely appreciate. Thanks in advance everyone.