A 3D printer has to be a revolution in the field of manufacturing. We are at an age where we could 3D-print actually functioning limbs and organs using this technology. While an ordinary everyday 3D printer might not actually give you the ability to print a heart or a leg; it can make a lot of other cool stuff.
Good quality 3D printers might burn a hole in your pocket, thus it is very important to choose a printer that is worth the money you spend. You can judge the quality of a printer based on 3 important aspects.
Apart from those three factors, there are a lot more that you need to consider. We have included all of those and some more in our 3-D printer Buying Guide at the end of this article along with some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). If you have any further questions, you can write to us in the comment section below.
Now let us jump right into the reviews without any further delay.
| 3D Printers | Manufacturer | Warranty | Buy Now |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3D Bazaar Printer | ELEGOO | 1 Year of Machine | CHECK ON AMAZON |
| Creality 3D Ender 3D Printer | Creality Ender 5 | 3 Months of Service | CHECK ON AMAZON |
| WOL3D 3D Printer | Creality Ender 3 | 1 Year of Manufacturer’s | CHECK ON AMAZON |
| Robocraze Creality 3D Printer | Creality Ender 3 | 3 Months of Service | CHECK ON AMAZON |
| 3 idea Imagine Create 3D Printer | Creality Ender-3 Pro | N/A | CHECK ON AMAZON |
| Anet A8 Printer | Creality Ender-3 | 1 Year Limited Warranty & Lifetime of technical | CHECK ON AMAZON |
| 3D Bazaar ELEGOO Printer | Anet A8 | N/A | CHECK ON AMAZON |
First on our list is the ELEGOO Mars UV photocuring 3D printer. This resin printer from Formlabs comes with a unique design in the shape of a box enclosure.
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Second, on our list is also a 3D Baazar product, the Creality Ender 5, a boiled-down version of the ELEGOO mars 3D printer.
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Yet another Creality Ender printer, this Ender 3 is being upgraded and distributed by the WOLD3D, one of the first distributors of Creality 3D printers in India.
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While the WOL3D has an inhouse upgraded version of the Ender-3 3D printer, the 3 idea is also a distributor of the up-gradation version of the Ender-3 by Creality.
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Yet another Creality Ender 3 Pro, this extruder 3D printer from Robocraze comes with a decent build volume of about 220 x 220 x 250mm and a lot of free tools and accessories.
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Directly from the house of Creality, the next printer is the unadulterated Creality Ender 3. This is the boiled down yet comes with a wonderful community.
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Finally, we have Anet A8, a licensed Ender 5 3D printer with a large build volume of 300x 220 x 220 mm. Andet A8 has an FDM moulding technology.
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Given that 3D printers are very expensive, it becomes very important for you to do proper research before finalizing on a product. Fortunately for you, we have done all the research you need to pick the right 3D Printer.
Now before we jump into listing out the factors that you need to look for before buying a printer, you need to understand that like a normal printer, 3D printers also come in various different types.
So there are basically 4 types of 3D printers and they are different from one another depending on the type of technology they use. You would be choosing one of these depending on why you and what you would be going to use it for.
1. Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM)
One of the most common types of 3D printing technologies available, the FDM printers use heating filaments and long tubes in order to create and print objects. Basically, FDM printers perform extrusion of shapes along the X, Y and Z axes while flowing the heated resins in through tubes.
But as is the case, these type of printers are known for their horizontal layer lines and cannot always be relied on for ultra-smooth output print models. Mostly, the output is more of a cartesian or delta style frame. Cartesian printers have their beds moving along the Y-Axis whereas individual motors move along X and Z axis. Delta construction, on the other hand, is not very common and it moves the extruder using 3 motors on evenly spaced rods.
But if you are a 3D printing hobbyist, this is perfect and you could go for a Cartesian FDM printer much like most people in the community do. This is because Cartesian FDM printers give you greater control and comparatively better results than Delta styled printers.
2. Stereolithography Printers (SLA):
As the name suggests, these type of printers uses a particular process by the name of Stereolithography. Stereolithography involves a process called Photo-Solidification which is layers are formed by chemical reactions when light photons are focussed on specific points. This focussing will solidify the SLA resins.
Due to the high precision of the photons used in the SLA printers, the output of Stereolithography printers are very smooth and are accurate up to fine details too. You can expect a really high-quality output print using a stereolithography printer
3. Digital Light Processing Printers (DLP):
DLP printers follow a process that is almost similar to the SLA printers. Here, you will be using vat polymerization for creating each individual layer for creating a print. Similar to the SLA printing, in DLP light is targetted at a single point but here, it hardens into its place directly. While it may not have as much finer quality as an SLA printer, it sure has a high-quality smooth printing compared to generic FDM printers. But compared to SLA, DLP printers are very fast in giving the output printed object.
4. Selective Laser Sintering Printers (SLS):
SLS printers are somewhat like SLA printer but unlike SLA, which uses Liquified Resin, SLS uses powdered resin. Here, you will be creating new layers by focussing the laser on a particular point inside the powder vat.
As the laser moves about from location to location, the powder solidifies into layers. SLS is good for printing and manufacturing complex industrial designs and other projects where detailing of the print is of the highest priority.
After understanding the different types of printers, the next thing that you need to understand is all the different types of print materials available. Unlike a traditional printer which simply uses paper, the 3D printer needs a lot more than simple ink to print. It needs the actual build material that you need in order to make the output.
Now basically you would first be choosing between a resin-based print or filament-based printing. FDM and SLS use resin for printing whereas other printers use other types of print materials.
Resin is available in 3 types.
Again, here it is available in 2 different types of print material.
Thermoplastics are materials which can be melted back into their liquid state whereas thermosetting materials solidify and stay there. Choose depending on the level of permanency you want in your outputs.
As thermoplastics are the most preferred type of inputs, let us talk more about them. They are basically available in either Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) form or Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) form.
Great material for beginners and people who are concerned about the environment, this is a type of plastic that is made from corn starch. It is perfect for creating and printing miniature and simple objects.
It is biodegradable and cools down quickly too. You get it in solid and also in translucent colours but as it has a low melting point, it may cause some models to deform when putting in high heat.
ABS plastic is very popular in the making of household objects. It is a petroleum-based plastic that has great strength and flexibility. Its flexibility makes it very easy to create any type of material you want. Also, given its higher melting point, you can create objects for long term usage.
But compared to the PLA plastic, it has longer cooling time so your models may warp. Also, one needs to be careful while creating models with this as it is known to emit fumes during the printing process.
Now that you have seen all of the different types of printers that are available in the market, you first need to define the purpose of why you are buying it. Why would you be buying and using the printer for?
If you are someone who is more into detailed projects and manufacturing, then it is suggested that you go for an SLS or an SLA 3D printer. If speed is more of your requirement (more common in mass production or faster prototype requirements), go for the DLP printers
Compared to all of the printers mentioned above, if you are a beginner, it is suggested that you go ahead with an FDM printer. It will come at a comparatively lower price and also is beginner-friendly.
If you are building something temporary or need it to be environmentally friendly, then go for PLA built materials. Furthermore, they are less likely to warp and cool down very fast.
But if you are making something that needs to stay for a very long time, then it is ideal that you go for ABS thermoplastic material. It is suggested for beginners and also because it has a very strong output. You can even use it to make common household objects too.
After figuring out the build quality and the type of print material, you need to look at the software. The type of software your printer uses is called a “Slicing Software” and it varies from various other factors ranging from compatibility to usability. There are many softwares in the market like Cura, IdeaMaker, KISSlicer, Repetier-Host or the OctoPrint.
The slicing software tells your printer on how exactly it needs to print out your model. Its detained instructions include the number of layers it needs to generate, the starting point and also the hollow or solid parts of the model that needs to be filled, cut or avoided etc.,
Most of these softwares come with a disk or are downloadable. A large section of them are compatible with Windows and MAC OS and a few of them work with Linux and OS X too. If you are a beginner, go with a simple software and stick to the one that comes with the printer and do not go for extravaganzas.
Before going for the slicing of the final print, you need to first model the output. For this, you need to have a seperate modelling software . While you can directly get digital files of models from Youmagine or Thingiverse but you would want to have a customized version of the thing you are going to print.
For beginners, it is ideal to go for simple and free 3D modelling apps like the Cubify Sculpt, 123D Make, Zbrush, SketchUP Make, Wings 3D or Seamless 3D.
The next thing that you should probably look for is a community that is built around the brand or the product you are buying. Given the cutting edge (no pun intended) nature of the technology, a community helps you in a lot of issues and initial troubleshooting and expanding your knowledge base. You can easily check for the availability of an online community for the product that you are about to pick.
These people will already have known about the ins and outs of the product before hand and might give you plenty of insights before you pop in your investment. It doesn’t matter if the community is small or big. But if there is no community for the product, then be sure to mark it as a concern because it speaks adversely of the brand in question.
Most of the 3D Printers come with at least one year of warranty. Given the expensive nature of the printers, it is ideal to look for not just warranty but also consistent customer support.
It is astonishing to find even reputed brands providing only 3 months of manufacturer’s or service warranty. But then again, you always have other options to go for which offer better and more often than not, higher warranty.
STL is the standard file format used for 3D model printing. These are generated by most CAD software or are created in a modelling software.
The cost of 3D printing is totally dependent on the materials used in printing the object. For instance, printing a small doodle or a desktop toy is way cheaper when compared to printing large objects.
The average cost of a 3D printer starts from 12,000 to about 13,000 rupees. This is again dependent on the brand, quality and feature rich nature of the printer in question. There are consumer and personal 3D printers which go as high as 2-3 lakh rupees as well.
10 minutes of print time. For printing a small low quality object (which requires basic settings and low infill and not a very large lot of details), it takes approximately 10 minutes. Depending on the complexity, scale, size, minute details and other quality related aspects, the time it may take can change from several hours to even several days. The speed is also dependent on the kind of 3D printer slicing software you are using.
There have been studies which suggest that prolonged exposure to the fumes of some print materials is very hazardous to health. 3D printers have thermoplastic feedstock that emit hazardous gases and vapours .
With its great ease of use, high accuracy and steel ball balancing structure, the 3D Bazaar ELEGOO Mars UV Photocuring LCD 3D Printer wins our list of being the best 3D printer in India. This is so because it is very simple to use for beginners. Also, it comes with the latest version of the Chitubox Slicing Software that slices 30mB STL files in just one minute, great user experience, large 3.5 inches touch screen, and most importantly, the Elegoo Trademark resin that gives superior output.
While that was our list, we are interested to hear your thoughts as well. How did you like the list? Did we miss out on anything? Do we need to add any product to the list or remove any product? Have you got any questions regarding 3D printers or printers in general? If so, feel free to write to us in the comments section below and our team of product experts will write back to you as soon as possible.
