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The important thing to know about 3D printing is that as it becomes more widespread, all kinds of models with a very wide price range have become available, allowing you to get into the field at any level. Of course, as with any hobby or professional activity, there is a correlation between the price and the quality of your equipment. If you tried both a cheap 3D printer and an expensive 3D printer, you would definitely be able to tell the difference, from the simpler, hobbyist-friendly design to the more feature-rich, professional-level setup of the latter.
While all tiers of 3D printers do the same basic job of dispensing filament to create various nifty objects and gadgets, the price range will give you an idea of how complex tasks the printer can realistically handle, how many useful extra features you can expect, and how effective the printer is in general at its job. If you bought a cheap printer with the intention of doing professional work, you’d be in for a tough time, and if you bought a high-end model for simple hobby work, you’d experience major buyer’s remorse.
Cheap printers are better for hobbyists
If there was a definitive sign of the accessibility of 3D printing, it would be the fact that you can pick up a brand new 3D printer on Amazon for around $180, a relative drop in the ocean, despite the cost of the filament. Although this level of 3D printer is very accessible, you shouldn’t expect this type of introductory gadget to be able to do the same type of work that a professional level printer would do.
Cheap 3D printers are relatively simple in terms of functions and features, which is why there are some cheap printers you should buy and others you should ignore. For one thing, although not always the case, cheaper printers are often open designs, as opposed to more sophisticated, fully enclosed printers. In fact, depending on the model, you may even have to assemble the whole thing yourself from composite parts, rather than prepping it right out of the box.
Any inexpensive printer can dispense filament in a designated shape or design, but whether it will do so quickly and efficiently is another matter entirely. If you give your cheap printer an extremely complex, large-scale job, the overall print time could last hours or even days, and no one knows how good it will look when finished. For all these reasons, inexpensive 3D printers are best used by those who are new to the field and need something to practice with, or by casual hobbyists who just want to do a fun project as a gift for a friend or family member every now and then.
Expensive printers are intended for professional-level work
3D printing isn’t just something you do for fun; it is also a professional field in its own right, with ambitious users who produce and sell prints in large quantities. If you’re planning to take on this type of work, you’ll naturally need a printer that can handle larger print quantities safely and, ideally, quickly. This is where high-end printers start to become more attractive.
In addition to being physically larger than their cheaper counterparts and featuring enclosed designs, more expensive 3D printers sport a host of quality-of-life features, all designed to make printing as painless as possible. For example, rather than having to manually level the print bed, higher-end models feature self-leveling automatic beds that handle the smallest adjustments for you. Expensive printers may also come preloaded with more sophisticated software and support features like Wi-Fi, which may need to be installed separately on a cheaper model. You can even benefit from non-essential, but useful features, such as automatic reminders when your filament is low.
Of course, the obvious downside to an expensive printer is the fact that it costs a lot. Compared to the few hundred dollars of a cheap model, a high-end professional 3D printer could cost you up to $1,000 or more. It’s a big investment, but for that investment you’ll get all of these features, plus a generally higher rate of successful impressions. Expensive printers are best left to those who want to use them in a truly lucrative way, or at least those who want to print every day.
