so right now, 3d technology is sort of revolved around what materials can be printed,

for the materials that can be melted with relative low temperatures like thermoplastics, metal powders mixed with pastic aka faux metal like bronze fill, uh some edible materials, biodegradables, clays, etc etc. these more mallable materials are mainly printed with 'Fused deposition modelling" so the printer head extrudes and heats the material into a liquid form and deposits the material layer by layer onto the print bed.

since this is relative easy to achieve (low heat requirements), it is the cheapest and mostly available, and costs anywhere from 500$ to 2000$+

this is best used for making things without a concern for how high the resolution has to be. the models will come out with visible lines from the layers of printed, so the resolutions are medium, but does the job in terms of structurally, like if you want to replace parts of every day items you have, or to test concept ideas.