Cheapest 3D printer on the market NOW?

[dklassen]

Vote for the Printerbot Simple Metal. For the price I don't think you could do better.

[curious aardvark]

or buy second hand - it's no good constantly repeating: 'you have to spend $500'
If the guy doesn't have $500 - how are you helping him ?

@blackdavid - which country are you in ?
The printrbot are good for the money - but only if you live in the states. Elsewhere the postage and tax are murder.

[MK-X]

I find it hard to believe that a 3D printer is really "necessary", its a luxury hobby tool/toy at this point. If it's for business, then you should already have enough capital. If it's for a project design for class, then you can get the part printed and not use 300+ bucks. There's also maintenance that goes into a 3D printer, not to mention the cost of filament. I would advise you to save up for a Printrbot Simple which is what $350 bucks? If you can't save up $350 dollars, I highly suggest that you reconsider what is necessary at the moment because you will regret buying a cheap printer just like buying a $500 used car.

[KDog]

A 3d printer is really so much more than just something to print stuff on. It is an integral part of the maker movement and inspires people to think outside the box. I always advise to build a kit. It gives you a much better understanding of all that goes into these cool little machines and makes troubleshooting easier. If you do buy a kit, stick with a company that has a good reputation. Between $350 and $500 does seem to be a fairly consistent price point for "cheap" printers and there are several to choose from. Printrbot has a good reputation and great community forums. Makerfarm is another company recommended by the reprap community on this forum.

[Feign]

or buy second hand - it's no good constantly repeating: 'you have to spend $500'

You have a good point, though when looking for a second-hand printer you have to make sure you don't spend $100 or something and get a pile of rods somebody threw together and tried to call a Prusia.

If you're about to buy a used anything, make sure you know the seller's reason for getting rid of it and that it makes sense. When someone says "It's in perfect condition, I just don't want it." the hair on the back of my neck stands up and my money hides away for another occasion. Even when you're just looking for a used printer, narrow your search to ones with a flaw other than build quality that you can easily tolerate. For instance, the Printrbot printers generally have a very small build area, it's pretty easy to understand someone 'outgrowing' a printer with a 6"x6"x6" build envelope long before wearing it out. Or perhaps figure out which printers are notoriously slow (I can't think of one off the top of my head), as that's a likely candidate for getting sold long before actual mechanical problems start to be a factor.

Also, avoid used kit printers like the plague, people almost always run them till they're falling apart. Because when you make something yourself, you're less likely to let it go prematurely.

[curious aardvark]

All good points :-)

did have a quick look on ebay and second hand 'cubify' seem to go for around $300-350. Okay they've expensive locked down cartridges - but there are plenty youtube videos telling you how to get round that.
And it's a sound design and about as idiot proof as it gets.

The biggest issue you're probably going to have with a real low budget machine is that it'll be pla only. Well cold bed print filaments only.
Some of the more exotic filaments are cold bed printable.

But abs is out - and I love printing with abs. Thick bits are rigid, thin bits are flexible. And it's all seriously strong.

I highly suggest that you reconsider what is necessary at the moment because you will regret buying a cheap printer just like buying a $500 used car.

lmao - my first 4-5 cars were all around £400, they all ran for at least 12 months and did what I wanted a car to do. I couldn't afford anything more exoenbsive and only regretted one. Never take a car mechanic with you to buy a car. They just assume stuff can be fixed - I have no interest in fixing cars. But it still ran for 12 months after I changed the water pump, and I sold it for decent money.

So no he won't regret buying a cheap printer - because he'll be able to improve it quite quickly.
And learning the art of 3d printing can be done on ANY level machine.

Is it necessary ? Well if you were on any kind of design course, yeah this day and age I'd say it was.

[MK-X]

All good points :-)

did have a quick look on ebay and second hand 'cubify' seem to go for around $300-350. Okay they've expensive locked down cartridges - but there are plenty youtube videos telling you how to get round that.
And it's a sound design and about as idiot proof as it gets.

The biggest issue you're probably going to have with a real low budget machine is that it'll be pla only. Well cold bed print filaments only.
Some of the more exotic filaments are cold bed printable.

But abs is out - and I love printing with abs. Thick bits are rigid, thin bits are flexible. And it's all seriously strong.


lmao - my first 4-5 cars were all around £400, they all ran for at least 12 months and did what I wanted a car to do. I couldn't afford anything more exoenbsive and only regretted one. Never take a car mechanic with you to buy a car. They just assume stuff can be fixed - I have no interest in fixing cars. But it still ran for 12 months after I changed the water pump, and I sold it for decent money.

So no he won't regret buying a cheap printer - because he'll be able to improve it quite quickly.
And learning the art of 3d printing can be done on ANY level machine.

Is it necessary ? Well if you were on any kind of design course, yeah this day and age I'd say it was.

I am going to disagree with you here. If he gets a dirt cheap printer, a fake chinese hotend is going to give him a boatload of troubles. I have seen hotends literally just fall apart.

A car is sometimes a necessity. I have never seen a design curriculum where a 3D printer was in the syllabus, but if you can prove me wrong I would be definitely all ears.

I also never said he could not learn 3D printing on a cheap machine.

How much cheaper do you think he can go? 250? You still had to pay for gas all those years. If a 3D printer for him was truly a "necessity" he will be going to be going through rolls of filament, various colors and materials. Let's even lowball it and say 1 roll of filament is $30 dollars, and he gets 5 rolls. He would have to at least needed to save up $400 to purchase all of that. And if he can save up $400 to buy that, he can save up $350 to buy a printrbot.

I think you would agree with this. Would you have purchased the £400 car if you didnt have enough money for gas?

I am not telling him to just forget about 3D printing. I am advising him to make sure he can afford it, and that there should be a bottom line for you to venture into a new activity. 3D modeling is a difficult thing to learn on its own and will keep him plenty occupied until he can save up enough money to make a reasonable choice. I am not telling him to go out and buy an Ultimaker either. But if $50-100 dollars more is too much for you to purchase something in an activity where the consumables range between $30-50 a pop, I would hope you can see my point of view.

[Feign]

Well, there's cheap and then there's Chinese cheap. Both of these are made in China...

Yeah, working on a used Cubify or a used Makerbot Cupcake is a good idea. A "used" Phoenix 3D or OneUp? No. Run away from that deal, possibly screaming if you really want to.

[MK-X]

"OneUP" for the Makerbot Cupcake. It's a good basic machine.

[curious aardvark]

some good points MK-X.

But back in the days when i was buying $400 cars - petrol was so cheap it wasn't even considered a running cost. I'd look at filament now and in the next year or so the same way.

Filamentwise - so far I've paid £14 a kg or less (about $22) and it's all been good, and I suspect chinese :-)
And a kg of filament goes a helluva long way. So running costs, for material are minimal.

And a decent replacement hotend can be had for $40.

I'm not saying there are no ongoing costs. But once you've got a basic machine.
Improvements can be gradual and filament is just getting cheaper and cheaper.

I don't have issues with things of chinese manufacture. Way i look at it, the more things we buy from china - the more raw materials they have to buy from us. And, at the moment britain is doing quite well in exports to china stakes.
We need to accept that we live in the age of the global market, all big corporations are no longer mono-nationalitiy.

So whether it's legal or course required necessity - 3d printers are where it's at in the zeitgeist. Was it 'necessary' for me to buy a 3d printer. No, but do i consider it a personal necessity ?
Yes.
I've spent my life designing and inventing mad things. Now, with a little cad and a machine in my workshop - I can turn those designs into reality in a matter of hours.
It's much like a car, in that before you own one it's not a neccessity - but once you've owned one, you really can't do without :-)