Best Top-Tier 3D Printers

By 3D Print General

We are back with part three in our series taking a look at the best 3D printers on the market for each price range. As with the previous two articles, I have personally used each of these printers and have printed firearms on nearly all of them.

Within this higher price range, I want to make sure my printer doesn’t need any upgrades at all, is extremely user friendly, and that it has some of the advancements that new printers are coming out with. It does seem though that printers in this price range start to become much more difficult to customize.

I am sure many of you have heard of “Prusa” before, and their MK3S fits right in this price range. This was the go-to for makers out there who wanted a printer that just works. I am actually not including that printer on this list though, because I personally think the machines that have come out over the last year in this price range are far superior to Prusa. You can’t really go wrong with a Prusa, I just think they are overpriced in today’s market.

I am also not covering printers over $1,200 such as Zortrax, Ultimaker, Raise3D and others, just because I think the printers listed down below can get you the same, or even more value.

AnkerMake M5 ($799)

This is a brand new entry to the market and one I have only begun testing recently. It has a reputation of being a bed slinger printer, but when it comes to features, this one is loaded. This machine is a perfect example of why I think the Prusa printers are currently too expensive, since you get much more on this AnkerMake than you do on the MK3S, and you get it at a lower price.

Pros:

• It has similar fast printing capabilities as the P1P. Perhaps slightly slower, but not by much.

• Comes with a camera stock for remote viewing.

• This camera not only allows you to see the print, it can recognize and detect failures.

• Good quality touch screen user interface.

• Wifi for sending prints from your computer and monitoring from your phone.

• Sturdy build quality.

Cons:

• Their slicing software is very subpar, and will leave you wanting more or to try out a different slicing software.

• It is a bed slinger, and for this price I wouldn’t expect that.

• It is not enclosed, meaning you won’t be able to print large ABS parts or other materials that need a high ambient air temperature.

• Difficult and perhaps impossible to upgrade.

• Closed source and may be frustrating to find replacement parts.

• Not as loud as Bambu Lab, but still quite loud when printing fast.

Bambu Lab X1 ($999)

This Bambu Lab X1 is an upgraded version of their P1P. These upgrades include a great touch screen user interface, a Lidar scanner, and it is fully enclosed.

Pros:

• Has all of the features mentioned for the P1P, including the same extremely fast printing.

• A much higher quality touch screen user interface than the P1P, similar to a mini tablet.

• It is enclosed and can maintain ambient air temperatures of 55-60 degrees Celsius. This means you can print materials like ABS without any worry of delamination or warping.

• While there is debate online whether the Lidar does much, the intention behind it is to be able to scan test lines the printer performs pre-print. It then sends feedback to the machine to hone in extrusion as much as possible – meaning you should have the highest quality printing possible.

• The Lidar will also do a secondary check to make sure your first layer is correct before it continues printing.

Cons:

• The build plate it comes with is not as good as the one that comes with the P1P, since it requires disposable sticky sheets. This is because their Lidar scanner does not work with textured PEI. You can purchase the same textured PEI that the P1P comes with, but it will not allow the Lidar function to work.

• As with the P1P it is very loud, near impossible to do customization, and has closed source firmware and hardware.

• You can purchase upgrades such as the camera, though it doesn’t come stock.

Bambu Lab X1-Carbon ($1,199)

This printer is very similar to Bambu Lab X1, just with some bonus upgrades. First off , the body of the printer is aluminum instead of plastic, which is more cosmetic than functional. More importantly, this printer has a hardened extruder and hotend, meaning it can print very abrasive materials such as carbon fiber blends without any issue and also comes with a camera stock.

Pros:

• Has all of the features that the X1 has.

• Comes with an aluminum body that is very professional looking and feeling.

• Hardened extruder and hotend for abrasive material printing.

• Comes stock with a camera for remote viewing on your computer or phone app. This camera also allows for some failure detection, meaning it will notify you if it thinks there is something wrong with the print.

Cons:

• Same cons as the X1. It is loud, nearly impossible to upgrade, has closed source firmware and hardware, and it comes with the same subpar build plate due to the Lidar capabilities.

Snapmaker J1 ($1,199)

This is another very new printer on the market and is an IDEX printer – which stands for “Independent Extruders.” This means this printer has two extruders and hotends that can move independently of each other. This is crucial if you ever want to play around with dissolvable support material, so your part can be printed with one extruder, and your dissolvable supports can be printed with the other. You can also print two of the same model at the same time on the same build plate. IDEX printers are not new, but many of the features on this machine are.

Pros:

• IDEX printing is my preferred method of printing with dissolvable supports. The Bambu Lab printers allow for multi-color printing with their AMS system, but I wouldn’t trust dissolvable supports or multi-material printing on a single hotend.

• Both extruders are well-built and both hotends are all-metal.

• Very good build quality and a very professional looking product. Aluminum body similar to the Bambu Lab X1-Carbon.

• The printer is enclosed meaning you can print materials that require a higher ambient air temperature.

• Very fast printing due to similar software advancements such as linear advance. Through my testing it is slightly slower than Bambu Lab, but not by much, and I assume a lot of this has to do with it not having an axillary fan.

• This machine has my favorite build plate, with one side being textured PEI glass and the other side being smooth glass, which will allow you print any material you want and easily remove parts.

• Great HD touch screen and user interface.

• Easy initial setup, which is uncommon for IDEX printers.

Cons:

• Doesn’t have a filtration fan for when you are printing with it enclosed.

• The slicer leaves a lot to be desired and is not nearly as good as Bambu’s slicer.

• Only 1 leadscrew for the z-axis when 3 would definitely be preferred on a printer for this price point.

• No camera for remote viewing.

Very difficult to customize or upgrade.

My personal choice: Bambu Lab X1-Carbon

Yes it is a pricey printer, but you are getting the cream of the crop if you purchase a Bambu Lab X1-Carbon. This printer can print anything you throw at it and print it beautifully. I have used my X1-Carbon for thousands of hours of print time at this point and it is without a doubt my go-to machine. I have printed about 10 different firearms on it and have barely run into any issues.

The biggest drawback is that the build plate uses disposable sticky sheets which consistently bubble up and need replacement after about a dozen prints. You can skip this nuisance by purchasing Bambu Lab’s textured PEI build plate – just know that the Lidar capabilities will not work any longer, and you will need to print PLA with the door open.

This printer is extremely user friendly, does all the calibrations automatically, prints very high quality parts, and you can even pair it with their AMS system so you can print in multiple colors. I promise that you cannot go wrong with this printer.