Cost of A 3D Printer

How much does a 3D printer cost? That can be a question every beginner would ask when he or she decides to make a start in 3D printing. And for this reason, let’s start from the entry level 3D printers and walk into the vast varieties of more advanced 3D printers.

Price for Entry Level 3D Printers

Entry level 3D printers are often easy to assemble, use and modify, and have an approximate price range from 100 US$ to 300 US$.

Entry level 3D printers can be an ideal choice for 3D printing beginners, low budget users or experienced ones who want to modify the printer with more advanced features on their.

These kinds of 3D printers are cheap, but still print with sufficient quality for making small gadgets, models of antique things, architectures and celebrities.

For example, the Anet A8 Plus 3D printer with stable aluminum frame and reliable double rod designs in X, Y and Z-axis, is very popular among the users. The printer can build max 300*300*350mm object and the maintenance is easy and cheap.

Tough entry level 3D printers unavoidably have some shortcomings, they are still the most popular types for desktop 3D printing because of low cost and easy accessibility. Entry level 3D printer makes home DIY a possible way to fulfill personalized demands.

Hobbyist 3D Printer Price

Hobbyist 3D printers cost a little higher. Their prices can range from 300US$ to 1000US$.

These printers are suitable for those who have adequate budget and require more in printing quality, functionality, life span and performance. They often give you a wide range choice of filament. Printing with ABS, PETG, TPU filament on hobbyist 3D printers can be much easier than entry level 3D printers.

For example, the Prusa i3 MK3S+, which costs around 750 US$, can be a good recommendation at the hobbyist 3D printer price range.

Professional 3D Printer Cost

Professional 3D printers have a relatively vast price range, often more than 1,000 US$ but less than 10,000 US$.

These printers meet strict precision requirement and are serious makers of high quality prints. The most common type of professional grade 3D printer is the renowned SLA and the laser-based 3D printers.

Usually if you buy a professional 3D printer, you’ll get reliable aftersales service though machine malfunction or breakage barely happens.

Most SLA or laser-based printers produce quite low noise due to super stable mechanic design without much vibration or rude part friction, while some FDM 3D printers maybe a little louder. They’re much friendlier to light sleepers when printing overnight.

And the most important factor is that a professional 3D printer can make delicate artwork, components and gadgets. But on the other side, a professional 3D printer usually has strong restriction on printing material, which means users have to purchase filament from the only the original manufacturer. This further increases the cost of using a professional 3D printer. Hence, professional grade 3D printers are only suitable for high end users with large budget and special purpose for 3D making.

Industrial Grade 3D Printer Price

Industrial grade 3D printers are incredible expensive and barely a personal user can afford. They often cost more than 10,000 US$ and are intended for business and industrial applications.

Industrial grade 3D printers are actually big machines with complete sets for extreme limit material printing but pinpoint accuracy. They’re usually used for prototyping and manufacturing functioning parts.

These printers need regular maintenance from the manufacturer representatives and constantly increase cost for all the service from the manufacturer. The only possible users for industrial grade 3D printers are enterprises that have higher demand for making out own designs in extreme quality. And these designs probably will be sold to their business customers.

 

 

 

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