Best 3D printer deals for October 2022
If you’ve found yourself venturing into the wide world of 3D printing, there’s never been a better time. This large and growing hobby isn’t as hard to get into as many think, and there are now plenty of great affordable 3D printers on the market along with a plethora of websites and forums eager to welcome newbies. So whether you’ve yet to dive into this burgeoning community and you’re shopping for your first printer, or you’re already a salty veteran looking to take your prints to the next level, our roundup of the best 3D printer deals is sure to have something to please.
Best 3D printer deals
From game pieces to small do-it-yourself projects, the Monoprice Cadet 3D printer is a great and kid-friendly way to try out 3D printing with its 3.9 x 4.1 x 3.9-inch work space.
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PLA+ is arguably the best all-around filament for standard 3D printers, and Sunlu is one of the go-to brands for this material.
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For the price, the Delta 3D printer from FLSUN has some nice value-added features, such as an auto-leveling glass hotbed that makes this printer a good entry-point into the hobby of 3D printing.
more
How to choose a 3D printer
Modern 3D printers employ one of two manufacturing technologies: Fused deposition modeling (FDM) or stereolithography (SLA). FDM printers are more popular and use a printing medium known as filament. This filament is heated to its melting point and then extruded through one or more printing heads, which move along three axes to create an object layer-by-layer from the bottom up on a heat-dispersing build plate.
FDM printers tend to be the most user-friendly and the filaments they use are also very common and quite affordable, making these 3D printers good for household items and other common projects. Items made with an FDM 3D printer usually have a noticeably striated appearance due to this layer-by-layer building method, but filaments and the printers that use them are improving and growing more capable of handling complex tasks as this technology continues to mature. Most 3D printers you’ll find will be of this design.
Stereolithography, while actually a decades-old technology, is less common due to the greater cost of SLA printers and their proprietary resins (there are a few 3D printers that use resin, but they tend to be on the smaller side). Instead of filament as a printing substrate, SLA printers start with a resin liquid that is hardened via UV radiation as it is molded into the desired shape within the printing chamber. The UV laser is reflected off of mirrors to selectively target the resin that is to be hardened; this is also done layer-by-layer, but in a much different manner than in fused deposition modeling.
Resin-based SLA printers are therefore capable of creating smoother, more detailed, and higher-resolution objects than FDM printers. These resin objects also tend to be considerably more durable. The trade-off here is that SLA 3D printers (and the resins) tend to be more expensive than FDM units, and the proprietary resins are less flexible and messier to work with.
Looking for more great stuff? Find tech discounts and much more on our curated deals page.
Editors’ Recommendations
If you’ve found yourself venturing into the wide world of 3D printing, there’s never been a better time. This large and growing hobby isn’t as hard to get into as many think, and there are now plenty of great affordable 3D printers on the market along with a plethora of websites and forums eager to welcome newbies. So whether you’ve yet to dive into this burgeoning community and you’re shopping for your first printer, or you’re already a salty veteran looking to take your prints to the next level, our roundup of the best 3D printer deals is sure to have something to please.
Best 3D printer deals
From game pieces to small do-it-yourself projects, the Monoprice Cadet 3D printer is a great and kid-friendly way to try out 3D printing with its 3.9 x 4.1 x 3.9-inch work space.
more
PLA+ is arguably the best all-around filament for standard 3D printers, and Sunlu is one of the go-to brands for this material.
more
For the price, the Delta 3D printer from FLSUN has some nice value-added features, such as an auto-leveling glass hotbed that makes this printer a good entry-point into the hobby of 3D printing.
more
How to choose a 3D printer
Modern 3D printers employ one of two manufacturing technologies: Fused deposition modeling (FDM) or stereolithography (SLA). FDM printers are more popular and use a printing medium known as filament. This filament is heated to its melting point and then extruded through one or more printing heads, which move along three axes to create an object layer-by-layer from the bottom up on a heat-dispersing build plate.
FDM printers tend to be the most user-friendly and the filaments they use are also very common and quite affordable, making these 3D printers good for household items and other common projects. Items made with an FDM 3D printer usually have a noticeably striated appearance due to this layer-by-layer building method, but filaments and the printers that use them are improving and growing more capable of handling complex tasks as this technology continues to mature. Most 3D printers you’ll find will be of this design.
Stereolithography, while actually a decades-old technology, is less common due to the greater cost of SLA printers and their proprietary resins (there are a few 3D printers that use resin, but they tend to be on the smaller side). Instead of filament as a printing substrate, SLA printers start with a resin liquid that is hardened via UV radiation as it is molded into the desired shape within the printing chamber. The UV laser is reflected off of mirrors to selectively target the resin that is to be hardened; this is also done layer-by-layer, but in a much different manner than in fused deposition modeling.
Resin-based SLA printers are therefore capable of creating smoother, more detailed, and higher-resolution objects than FDM printers. These resin objects also tend to be considerably more durable. The trade-off here is that SLA 3D printers (and the resins) tend to be more expensive than FDM units, and the proprietary resins are less flexible and messier to work with.
Looking for more great stuff? Find tech discounts and much more on our curated deals page.
Editors’ Recommendations