3D printing marks a new era in automation. Technology has never been so exciting and so much fun before, which it is now thanks to 3D printing. But the problem is most state-of-the-art 3D printers are outrageously expensive. Because they are expensive, only large animation studios or industrial facilities can purchase them.
There are exceptions
Nine out of ten 3D printers are expensive, but the remaining one is inexpensive. It indicates the mood of the industry – the industry leans towards the expensive side. But there are 3D printers, which don’t burn a hole in the wallet.
Whether you are an end user, who wants to do some hands-on with a 3D printer or you use 3D printers for commercial purposes, it’s essential for you to know how to lay your hands on a 3D printer, which is cost-effective, yet renders a solid performance.
In this article, I’ll list down some printers, which are cost-efficient and are reasonably good in terms of performance. You can’t expect a 3D printer at $50; the ones that I am listing down here are cost-efficient compared with other printers in the market.
The Buccaneer
There’s a reason I mention it in the beginning. The reason is the printer is WiFi enabled. There’s a mobile app, which you can download off the Google PlayStore or Apple’s appstore, and communicate via the app. The Buccaneer is not a branded product. It was assembled part by part by its developers.
It has a very simplistic structure. The mobile application that accompanies it lets you surf through categories, so you could decide on things, which you want to be 3D printed. After you select something, the app lets you configure its size and shape prior to sending its blueprint to the printer.
The printer costs between $400-$1000.
Cubify Cube 3
The printer scored highest in the Top Ten Reviews in terms of performance, WiFi printing and smooth navigation are two of the printer’s key aspects. It’s a plug-and-play 3D printer, which means setting it up is quite easy. The printer features a navigation screen, which eases the printing process, and guess what! The printer doesn’t need to be connected to a computer.
The only disadvantage of Cubify Cube 3 is it doesn’t support a third-party filament. It has its own filament cartridges, which don’t contain enough filament. Aside from that, its proprietary cartridges are more expensive in comparison with cartridges, which come from other providers.
The printer costs around $1000.
Bukito Portable Mini
Deezmaker is the developer of Bukito Mini. You can carry this printer from one place to another. The dimension of its printable space is fairly small – 5”x6”x5”. Besides, the printable space is open, which allows you to see the whole printing process. But even though small, the printable space consists of some critical features. Such features include aluminum rails, which keep the platform stable.
Portability apart, the printer works with polylactide, which is environment friendly and completely safe to use. It can continue to print even when the object is flipped upside down. Its speed is 100 mm a second or 0.36 km an hour. You can run the printer using battery.
TIF price has been set by Deezmaker at $649.
Peachy Printer
You won’t believe what a mere $100 can fetch you unless you use Peachy Printer. The printer is not simply a printer, but functions like a scanner too. It works in quite a fascinating manner; a liquid light-sensitive resin is used to print objects.
The printer turns the liquid resin into solid objects through a controlled beam of light. The laser beam moves across the 2D coordinates to render the shape of the objects. The height of the object is rendered through using a drip system on the Z axis.
The technology might seem intricate, but it’s not so in reality. The technology heavily relies on soundwaves. The soundwaves generated through a device connected to the printer causes two electro-magnetic mirrors to move. The movements of the mirrors cause the laser beam to draw a shape along the X and Y axises. Click here to see how this process works.
The printer costs only $100. But the large-scale manufacturing of the printer seems to have some problems as a few, who ordered it in the past were told the device is still under development.
Expect more
At this moment, we can’t justifiably expect highly equipped 3D printers available at a throwaway price. But considering the advancements in this domain, we may be able to expect this in the future.
Author: The author describes the application of 3D Stereoscope by 3D visualisation company, in living rooms and how it helps in Tech Industry.
