+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++ [UPDATE 17 DEC 2023] ++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++ Printer Matrix is now live: https://rentry.co/3dpg_printers ++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Archived 3d Printer Guide ========================= LAST UPDATED 10 JAN 2021 [August 2022 Update: Yes it's been a long time since an update. Suggested models are Sonic Mini 4k/Mars 3 (Mars 2 if on a budget) for high detail small scale printing or an original Saturn (Currently on clearance sale due to the release of Saturn 2) for larger prints.] There are two major types of printer currently on the consumer market. FDM/FFF printers are esentially like a hot glue gun on a robotic gantry and operate by drawing layers of plastic on a metal or glass bed, an SLA/DLP(resin) printer consists of a vat of UV sensitive resin with a clear membrane on the bottom covering an LCD screen. A buildplate lowers into the vat and the LCD screen acts as a stencil while a UV light flashes a slice of the model. The buildplate then raises and lowers again so resin will fill in below and prints the next slice. The first question you need to answer when deciding to get a 3d printer is what purpose you will put it towards. If you are wanting to make terrain, dungeon tiles, or utilitarian objects such as card organizers, buy an FDM printer. If you are wanting to print miniatures, buy a resin printer. If you're printing miniature vehicles, you can use either, with more finishing work for FDM and more printing piecemeal and higher material expense for resin. FDM === Advantages: Strong, cheap material. Autosupports in software work fairly well making print preparation a matter of minutes. Larger printing areas in general. Can upgrade printer with aftermarket kits easily. Disadvantages: Much more noticable layer lines unless you put in the work on post finishing. Less detail overall. More difficult to level bed properly. Dialing the printer in can be a bit more finicky. Print time is directly proportional to the total volume of the print and details can slow printing down to extruder acceleration. Most entry level FDM printers are 8" by 8" by 9" build volumes. Resin ===== Advantages: Less overall work getting machine set up. Much higher detail on prints. Printing time is only proportional to print height so you can print multiple things without increasing time. Disadvantages: Need more space/materials for post-print cleanup. More time needs to be spent on print preparation as autosupports don't get everything. Materials cost ~60% more. Print failures require more time cleaning up before printing again(Unless you buy a spare vat and UV cover.) Resin is more fragile unless expensive resins used. Resin is a toxic material and requires handling precautions. Most entry level resin printers are 2.5" by 4.7" by 6" (68mm by 120mm by 150mm) build volumes. "But I can totally print miniatures on an FDM, right?" You can drive with your feet if you want to, but printing minis on FDM requires you to have your machine perfectly setup, your support settings perfect, swapping to a smaller nozzle, and far more time in general. Even then you'd still get better results from a $99 Photon Zero. Likewise, a budget FDM printer is far preferable when making something that might need to hold weight. Resin Printers Suggestions ========================== Right now there's a bit of a tech change happening with resin printers. The original MSLA printers used the same color LCD screens as smartphones, because that's what was available. Since all the light being used by the printers is 405 nm UV color pixels are pointless. To that end the manufacturers are now switching to high resolution monochromatic LCD screens. Since the screen only have one layer of pixels the light permittance is much higher and resin takes a shorter time to cure. On top of that the screens last ten times longer than the color screens, needing replacement less often. I will list well known color printers for posterity. Mono will probably remain the industry standard until Xolo hits the consumer level in ten to fifteen years. In general, you can expect Epax and Phrozen to have good build quality, Anycubic, Elegoo, and Creality to be decent, and other brands check reviews first. As a reminder, with resolution, the lower the number of microns the better. However, mono screen printers have less lightbleed than color, which improves definition overall. With build size you'll frequently see references to the linear length of the LCD screen's diagonal. If something is referred to as a 5.5inch, it's roughly the size of a Photon, a 6 inch mono is the size of a Photon Mono, and an 8.9 inch is the size of an Elegoo Saturn or Mono X. The Saturn style printers have a buildplate roughly twice the area of the more entry-level printers. If you are printing 28mm to 32mm figures, expect to fit 8 to 12 infantry or 4 to 6 more dynamically posed rpg figures on a standard buildplate. Color ===== Anycubic Photon Zero Probably the cheapest resin printer you can get at a hundred bucks. XY resolution is a crappy 110microns, buildplate is tiny (55mm by 98mm by 150mm). Get it if you're only dabbling in resin and want to print some simple figures for D&D, or scatter terrain. Longer Orange 10 ~$140, tiny buildplate(56mm by 98mm by 150mm), better resolution than the zero. Decent enough if you're not able to afford something better. If you can, spend the extra thirty for a Photon. Anycubic Photon Considered the first consumer resin printer. At this point it costs about $170. 4" by 2.5" by 6"(120mm by 68mm by 150mm) build volume. 47micron xy resolution. Huge community, you can bet that most STLs you find will be made with it in mind. Made obsolete by the Photon Mono, but still a decent machine. Do yourself a favor and flash the firmware as soon as you get it so you can slice in better programs than Photon Workshop. Anycubic Photon SE The Photon with things like extra exhaust fans with carbon filters and a better Z-rail. At this point you're better off spending the extra money upgrading to a mono screen printer. Elegoo Mars The other major consumer resin printer. Kicked off a price war with Anycubic that helped bring prices on resin printers down. Otherwise very similar to the Photon, with the same build dimensions (120mm by 68mm by 150mm) and resolution. Elegoo Mars Pro The Mars with quality of life improvements like better air filters and a relocated usb slot. Get the Mars Pro 2 instead. Peopoly Phenom ~$2000. Extra large format machine. Only a 70micron resolution but an immense 10" by 6" by 16" (275mm by 155mm by 400mm) build volume. What to get when you want to print vehicles and terrain with the speed and resolution of a resin printer. At this point look into the Phenom Noir. Monoscreen Printers =================== Phrozen Sonic Mini ~240 bucks. The first consumer monoscreen and Phrozen's first printer that wasn't aimed at dentists. 60micron resolution, 68mm by 120mm by 130mm build volume. A bit smaller buildplate and resolution than other offerings. Get one of the new 6" 2k models instead. Epax X1K The second mono printer on the market. 82mm by 130mm by 160mm, 51 micron resolution. Bit pricy, but with a higher build quality than the Anycubic and Elegoo offerings. Anycubic Photon Mono ~$250 bucks. The monoscreen version of the Photon. 82mm by 130mm by 165mm. Uses a bucket lid instead of the Photon's flip-up metal door, and the vat's FEP is attached in a pre-tensioned plastic frame. Slightly larger buildplate than the original Photon, 51micron resolution. Anycubic Photon Mono SE The Photon Mono with the same body frame and quality of life elements of the Photon SE. ~$350. Elegoo Mars 2 Pro ~$280. Similar resolution/build volume as the Photon Mono(82mm by 130mm by 160mm). Standard fep setup. There have been complaints the lcd screen is easy to scratch so be careful with it. Elegoo Mars 2 ~$230. Doesn't really seem to be in stock anywhere. Rumors it had production issues and was discontinued in favor of the Pro. Voxelab Proxima ~210. Pretty much the same as the Photon. 82mm by 130mm by 155mm, 51 micron resolution. Voxelab is Flashforge's budget label and they've priced the Proxima rather aggressively to get a foothold in the market. The cheapest mono option if you have Amazon Prime. Creality LD-002H Creality's entry into the mono resin printer market. ~$250. 82mm by 130mm by 160mm, 51 micron resolution. Pretty identical to the Photon Mono and Mars 2 Pro. There are reports the uv light is actually too powerful for the screen causing lightbleed issues. Make sure you get the 2H, the 2R is the old color model. Epax E6 Epax's budget model. ~$330. 81mm by 128mm by 155mm, 50 micron resolution. About similar to the Photon Mono but with a plastic vat and a description that hints they'll be selling a 4k upgrade later on. Z-rails look to be just as sturdy as the ones on the X1. Phrozen Sonic Mini 4k ~$350 to $410. The replacement for the original mini. Currently the best resolution available at consumer prices with a 37micron xy. Build volume is almost the same as Photon Mono but z-rail is 20mm shorter. Get it if you want the highest detail available but be aware the build quality isn't all it should be, with complaints of the build plate bending and personal experience of the UV hood doing jack crap to contain resin fumes. Elegoo Saturn ~$500 The first of the large format mono printers announced, stock issues have meant only early preorders have got it. Thanks to a 4k mono screen it has the same resolution as the Mars 2 Pro and a large build area of 192*120*200mm. Same LCD screen issue as the Mars 2 Pro. Anycubic Photon Mono X ~$700. Anycubic's answer to the Saturn. 50 micron resolution, 192*120*245mm build volume. Two hundred bucks more than the Saturn but actually in stock. Epax E10 ~$740. Epax answer to the Mono X. Same resolution and build volume(192*120*245mm). Epax has announced plans for an upgrade kit to switch to a 10.1" 5k mono screen that increases build volume to 216mm*135mm*250mm and improves resolution to 43micron. Phrozen Sonic Mighty ~$500. 52 micron resolution. 200mm by 125mm by 220mm build volume. The Sonic Mini version of the Saturn. Phrozen Sonic 4k ~$1400. What would be the SE/Pro equivalent of the Sonic Mini 4k but it's priced for dental offices. 35micron resolution. Stronger UV light. Sturdier frame. The 20mm of height that was missing from z-rail. Buy it if you're rich. Peopoly Phenom Noir. The monoscreen version of the Phenom. Costs three grand. 290mm by 165mm by 400mm build volume. Upcoming ======== Longer Orange 4k Mono. Should be shipping around March or April. ~$400 to 450. 31micron resolution and some rasterization BS that's supposed to give 10micron res on the X axis. Waiting for reviews since Longer doesn't have the best rep. More Saturn competitors: Voxelab Ceres, QIDI i-Bot, Creality LD-006. Material Suggestions ==================== To print with a resin printer of course you'll need resin. When starting off water-washable eco-resin is simplest to learn the cleanup process with, but the resin is also weaker and requires a lower lift speed to prevent supports from breaking while printing. Most people prefer printing their game miniatures from ABS-like resin due to the extra strength and toughness. Non-water-washable resins require isopropyl alchohol(IPA), denatured ethanol, or some alternatives to clean. Make sure to check the appropriate resin settings for your printer. A good way is to search (Printer Name)Resin Spreadsheet in Google. Even then, it's best to follow guides for exposure tests to check the proper settings for the resin used. Color printers will use ~8seconds for normal layers. Mono printers will uses ~2.5s for normal layers. Currently standard resin is ~$30\L, ABS-Like is $38\L, and Water Washable is $36\L Necessary Supplies ================== Besides resin you'll need supplies for cleanup, and a method to finish curing the miniatures after printing. Once the miniatures are printed there's still liquid resin residue stuck to the minis that needs to be cleaned off, and the resin needs more exposure to UV light to fully harden. Nitrile gloves, protective masks. Resin is a hazardous substance, and even the eco-resins can cause contact dermatitis. You'll want to wear latex free gloves while working with resin, and wear a mask while the hood is off the machine. For cleanup the two most popular options are to either buy a sonic cleaner and place your minis in the cleaner within a ziploc bag filled with IPA, or to buy a ready made wash and cure station available from several resin printer companies. A cheap electric teakettle and cheap glass dishes are also useful for removing supports. I use 6 ounce glass custard cups. When using supports such as 3dprintingpro's, after cleaning you can place the mini in a small dish and add hot water to cause the supports to pop right off. Just be careful to not pour the water directly on the mini and dispose of the water in your hazardous waste container rather than the sink. If you don't buy a wash and cure station, you'll also need a cure option. If you live in a sunny area you can always leave the minis on a paper towel near a window, but in cloudier areas you can either buy a standalone curing statuion such as the Elegoo Mercury, or buy UV lights off Amazon and line a bucket with aluminum foil. Just make sure not to overcure your minis or they'll become all bloated. When you cure models you should rinse off any cleaning solution and the model should either be completely dry or completely submerged in water. Droplets of water on the model can lense the UV light and lead to uneven curing. A clear plastic jug of some sort to act as a hazardous waste container. Resin waste can't go down the sink. I use an empty plastic pretzel container from Costco. FDM Printers Suggestions ======================== The two main kinds of FDM printers you'll be looking into are i3 style and CoreXY style. The big difference between the two styles is that on an i3 the build plate moves back and forth on the Y axis, while the extruder carriage moves along the X axis and raises up on the Z axis. On a CoreXY printer, the build plate raises and lowers on the Z-axis while the extruder carriage moves along the X and Y axes. Generally speaking, the CoreXY style printers have less vibration while printing, and the bed is kept more stable(Allowing you to print narrow objects without support), but they're also more expensive and have more trouble keeping the build plate heated evenly on larger models. Overall I'd recommend you to check reviews for FDM printers on All3dP.com or check /diy/'s 3d printing thread as they're far more knowledgeable on the topic. There's a lot of manufactures in this space. Generally you can expect top quality (and price) from Prusa and Flashforge, decent performance and good price from Creality and Anycubic, and check the reviews for anything else. An Ender3 equivalent should cost between $170 to $250. Recommendations for i3 Printers =============================== Ender 3, Ender 3 Pro, Ender 3 v2. Probably the most popular consumer FDM printer. Decent aftermarket support from Creality, huge community online that can help with problems and provide aftermarket upgrade tips. The Pro model improves the power supply, frame quality, and adds a removable magnetic bed. The v2 comes with an upgraded motherboard for quieter running and a tempered glass buildplate as standard. The v2 motherboard also has support for automatic bed levelling upgrades. CR-10 Fairly similar to the Ender 3, but with a much larger glass buildplate and 16" maximum height. The machine to get if you want to print cosplay. The Pro V2 model comes with ABL standard. Ender 3 Max Brand new, pretty similar to the Mega X below with a 12" by 12" by 12" build volume. Retail price is supposed to be around $330. Mega S, Mega X Anycubic's equivalent to the Ender 3. The Mega S has a slightly smaller buildplate but comes with a couple more bells and whistles and is slightly easier to set up. The Mega X is a decent alternative to the CR-10 with a more stable base but 4" less z-height. Artillery Sidewinder X1 Large format printer that prints quickly and has quiet stepper motors. Might be worth getting over the CR-10 Recommendations for CoreXY ========================== Ender5, Ender5Plus Ender5 has the same build area as the Ender3 for about twice the price. Ender5Plus has a giant 14"by14"by16" build area along with stuff like automatic bed levelling. FDM Material Suggestions ======================== You're going to want to use PLA for most purposes as it's easy to print with and doesn't change dimensions much with temperature. If you need something heat resistant, print with ABS. ABS can also be smoothed easily with acetone vapors, but has more difficulties with bed adhesion. In the US you can expect to pay $17 to $22/kg spool of PLA on average.