Best 3D Printer Under $300: Low budget, high quality printing
3D printers use to be expensive but now you can get a good printer on a serious budget. Learn the best (and worst) budget printers to save you time and headaches.
3D printers use to be expensive but now you can get a good printer on a serious budget. Learn the best (and worst) budget printers to save you time and headaches.
Looking for the best 3D printer under $2000? We’ve got you covered. We’ve scoured the internet for some of the best options out there. Those thinking of picking up a 3D printer for the new year are in the right place. We’ve considered printing quality, printing speed, and a slew of other factors to come … Read more
CAD software is incredible. For decades, it’s made some of the most amazing products, designs, and projects possible. If you have an idea, the right computer program can help you make it a reality. Thing is, which program should you choose for your work? If you’ve been pondering the Onshape VS Fusion 360 debate, we’re … Read more
CAD software like Solidworks is an absolute must for engineers, designers, and institutions around the world. Without it, so many incredible projects would be basically impossible for a home enthusiast to achieve. On this page, we’ll help you find the best mouse for Solidworks in late 2021/2022. Finding a good CAD mouse is actually pretty … Read more
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no – it’s a 3d printed bird-plane. See (and get access to) some of the coolest 3D printed RC planes around.
3D printing is a phenomenal hobby, but it’s not without its headaches. The amount of trial and error involved can be pretty time consuming. This is especially true when it comes to curing your resin prints. How long should you cure resin prints for anyway? The reality is that most prints should be fully cured … Read more
The strength, flexibility, and versatility of PETG plastic make it a popular material for 3D printing projects in workshops around the world. For many newbies, however, one question crops up once they’ve printed their models – is PETG dishwasher-safe? Spoiler alert – the answer is that it’s safe in terms of toxicity, but it’s not … Read more
Cura Tree Supports are an innovative new way to generate supports. Cura has long been at the forefront of ease-of-use and advances in 3D printer technology, and the list of awesome new features is always growing. Cura’s tree supports is a notable addition to supports, something that is often a thorn in the side of … Read more
One of the most basic things to underamstand about 3D printing is the relationship between layer height vs nozzle size. While the two values are related, they’re not the exact same thing! When I got my first 3D printer, I thought that a 0.4mm nozzle meant I could use a 0.4mm layer height. Boy, was … Read more
Elephant’s Foot is an unsightly 3D printing error that is quite common. It’s what happens when the first layer is a little bit bigger than the rest of the layers, often accompanied by a slight bulge towards the bottom. This happens for a number of reasons, all of which can be fixed. Under normal circumstances, … Read more
There are many 3D printed models that you can’t print in one piece. You’ll have to glue them together for the final result. So how do you glue PLA and what are the best glues for PLA? Let’s dive in. These methods are really easy and safe, too. Glue PLA with adhesive Cyanoacrylate is a … Read more
Since 3D printing is such an amazing supplementary hobby to other hobbies, many aquarium enthusiasts/3D printing enthusiasts may be wondering if PLA is aquarium-safe. So is it? PLA is aquarium safe if you treat it with a waterproof coating. If left as is, the PLA will absorb water and slowly disintegrate. While the PLA itself … Read more
3D printing is a fast-growing industry, and the difference in filament sizes can be confusing. There are two main sizes of filaments(and by extension, 3D printers) that you can buy – 1.75mm and 3mm. The difference between these sizes is in the thickness of the material used to create your object. If you’re not sure … Read more
Looking for a 3D printer, but not sure if you have enough space? We’ve compiled a list of the 5 best small 3D printers on the market. These are perfect if you’re looking to buy a new printer that will fit in your home or office, and they all offer different features that make them … Read more
Direct drive 3D printing is easier, prints more filaments, and “just works”. Let’s explore which 3D printer with stock direct drive
Along with layer height in millimeters, another term often thrown around to measure 3D printing resolution is microns. So what exactly are microns, and is 100 microns considered good? 100 microns is the same as setting a 0.1mm layer height in your 3D printer slicer. A 0.1mm layer height will yield a fairly high-quality print … Read more
Stringing is a very common issue in 3D printing and it can make your 3D prints look really messy. The good news is that stringing is usually very easy to fix. Let’s take a look at how to fix your 3D print stringing issues. In order to fix stringing, it’s useful to understand why it happens … Read more
3D printers have exploded in popularity over the past several years. Nothing works better for tinkering with, creating, and designing awesome new creations. If you’re looking for the fastest 3D printer money can buy then you’re in the right place. We’ve scoured the internet, looking at online reviews, comparison pages, and customer comments to compile … Read more
Changing filament on a Creality Ender 3 printer is fairly simple. Whether you want to change filaments between two prints, or change a filament mid-way through a print, we’ve got you covered. These instructions apply to the Ender 3, Ender 3 Pro, and Ender 3 V2. The Creality Ender 3 is one of the most … Read more
Can you really 3D print a 3D printer, and how do you do it? In this article, we’ll answer just that. The answer may surprise you, so get ready to enter the world of self-replicating machines! Can you 3D print a 3D printer? Yes, you can 3D print a 3D printer. There are a few … Read more
Wondering if you should buy a 3D printer? Here are 9 reasons that you can use to convince yourself (or your significant other) that a 3D printer is totally worth pulling the trigger on. 3D printing is an amazing and rewarding hobby. Just 10 years ago you could barely print plastic on your desktop – … Read more
When you have low quality filament or a misaligned PTFE tube, it’s possible that filament may break and get stuck inside the PTFE tube. Getting the filament out is pretty straightforward, so let’s dive in. How to remove filament stuck in the PTFE tube The easiest way to remove filament stuck in your 3D printer’s … Read more
Brittle PLA is a very common problem in 3D printing and can be fixed quite easily. In this post, we’ll look at why PLA goes brittle and what are the ways you can solve this issue. Why does PLA become brittle? PLA can become brittle due to one or a combination of three causes: moisture, … Read more
The best 3D printer in the world can let you down if you don’t have the right software to back you up. There’s a ton of choice out there when it comes to the printing programs you use. Want to get to the bottom of the Simplify3D VS Slic3r debate? We’re here to help. We’ve … Read more
Tired of seeing bulges and ribs on the walls of your 3D printed model? In this post, we’ll explain how to fix Z banding and Z wobbling, which is the usual culprit for these issues. Ribbing or Z banding is one of many common issues to plague 3D printers. It tends to make layer lines … Read more
Anycubic printers are becoming firm favorites of 3D-printing fans around the world. Their resin-based methods offer superior levels of finish, durability, and speed. If you’re new to this method, though, there’s a learning curve involved; Anycubic resin settings can take a little trial and error to get right. That’s where we come in. This page … Read more
Do you need to 3D print really tough parts? If you want to know which is the strongest 3D printer filament, we’ll show you the top candidates for the toughest 3D printer filaments out there. 3D printers are incredibly useful but in order to get the toughest 3D printed parts possible, not only do you … Read more
Supports are essential components to 3D print certain types of models. Cura is a very powerful slicer that has many support settings you can customize to get the results you want. Learn how to configure Cura support settings in this easy-to-follow guide. FDM 3D printers work by putting down layer upon layer to build a … Read more
Looking for the best 3D printer hot end? You’ve come to the right place. We’ve chosen the 5 best hot ends that you can buy for your 3D printer and listed them here. The most important part of your 3D printer is the hot end. The hot end is what delivers the filament. A good … Read more
One of the most annoying things in 3D printing is to see a print fail. You come back to your 3D printer to see how your model turned out, only to find gaps in your 3D print. Yikes! So how do you fix gaps in 3D prints? Let’s take a look: Gaps in 3D prints … Read more
PLA is one of the most common filaments used in 3D printing, but it’s not without its shortfalls. Manufacturers have tried to produce an upgraded form of PLA called PLA+ or PLA Plus. So what’s the difference between the two, if any? Let’s take a look. PLA and PLA+ are quite similar in terms of … Read more
As someone looking for a 3D printer, one question that you will come across in your buying process is whether you should get a delta or a Cartesian 3D printer. The main differences between a delta and a Cartesian 3D printer are speed, size, and weight. Delta 3D printers are much faster than Cartesian printers, … Read more
One of the most appealing things to try and do with your new 3D printer is to 3D scan yourself and 3D print a model of your head. Although some would consider having a bust of yourself quite vain, 3D scanning yourself is a really fun project you can do. Thanks to the wide variety … Read more
Most of the time when we slice a 3D print, we only care about the infill density, and hardly give a thought to the infill pattern. With the latest releases of Cura, there are a lot of different infill patterns to choose from, which got us thinking: what’s the best infill pattern? As you might … Read more
One of the best ways to get really familiar with 3D printing and get yourself on a really strong start is to build your own 3D printer. It may seem intimidating at first, but it will be a lot of fun and most importantly, it will be a great learning experience. If you’re wondering how … Read more
One of the most basic settings you need to get right in your 3D printer is the shell thickness. This is crucial for the stability and strength of your 3D print, so how many shells does your 3D print really need and how do you calculate it? Learn more here. As a general rule, your … Read more
Folks that are newer to 3D printing often wonder how much you can print with 1kg of filament. If you ask this question on forums, you’ll probably get snarky answers like “2.2 lbs of stuff”. That’s not really useful! I can understand why you may wish to get an idea of how far a 1 … Read more
There are a wide variety of materials that you can 3D print, and you may have heard or read about 3D printed wood. So is this actually wood, or something else? Let’s dive in and see the exciting possibilities and challenges of 3D printed wood! What is 3D printed wood, anyway? If you’re thinking about … Read more
One way to drastically improve the quality and consistency of your 3D prints is to make sure that your filament is very dry as you 3D print it. 3D printer filaments tend to be hygroscopic, meaning they absorb water. Unfortunately, this water can wreak havoc once the filament is in your hot end and superheated … Read more
The Z offset is a very powerful setting in your 3D printing toolkit that you can use to make micro adjustments to your nozzle height. This is very useful when you’re 3D printing a wide variety of materials and some have thicker extrusions than others. The Z offset determines how far or close the nozzle … Read more
Lithophanes are some of the coolest things you can print with your 3D printer. When you shine a light through a lithophane, the image that you printed on it appears in the shadows. The key to getting a good lithophane is to use the right kind of filament. So what’s the best filament for lithophanes? … Read more
The Ender 3’s stock nozzle is a 0.4mm brass nozzle with an M6 thread. It conforms to MK8 hot ends, which are the standard for most home 3D printers thanks to the wide adoption and easy availability of parts and spares. The Ender 3 is one of the most popular 3D printers on the market … Read more
If you have PLA stuck on your print bed or nozzle, or you just want to smooth your PLA prints a little and remove layer lines, you’re probably looking for a way to dissolve PLA filament or smoothen it. In this post, we’ll look at the various methods you can use to dissolve PLA and … Read more
One of the many challenges you’ll face in your 3D printing journey is removing the finished 3D print from the bed. You may find that your 3D printed model is stuck like anything to the print bed, so what now? How do you remove the 3D print from the bed? Here are 7 ways to … Read more
Resin and filament are the two dominant technologies in 3D printing. So if you’re on the fence between buying a resin or filament 3D printer, we’ve got you covered. In this post, we’ll talk about the differences between resin and filament 3D printers and talk about the advantages and disadvantages of both. What is FDM(filament) … Read more
Today we’ll be looking at the benefits and drawbacks of the two types of extruders found in Fused Deposition Modeling, Bowden tube and Direct Drive extruders. The key difference between Bowden and Direct Drive extruders is where the stepper motor and feed gears are located – for Bowden it’s on the 3D printer’s frame VS … Read more
If your 3D print looks kind of haunted by the ghosts of layers past, you’re probably running into an issue known as ghosting. 3D printing has a lot of different terminologies, so ghosting is also known as ringing, echoing, rippling, or just plain ol’ vibrations. Ghosting can really ruin the finish of a 3D print, … Read more
To be successful in 3D printing, you need to know and understand the separate components that make up your 3D printer. 3D printers are quite simple devices, when you think about it. The simplicity is what makes them so brilliant! Essentially, a 3D printer is controlled by a main board that drives 4 stepper motors … Read more
3D printers are a great way to improve your other hobbies – that’s why they go hand in hand with things like radio control and tabletop games like Warhammer and Dungeons and Dragons. If you’re looking to 3D print miniatures for your tabletop gaming, you’ve come to the right place. This tutorial will help you … Read more
Your 3D printer’s bed is the most crucial component to get consistently successful prints. Properly maintaining your 3D printer bed and cleaning it is essential to keep your 3D printer running in good shape. Read on to learn how to clean the various types of 3D printer beds and get some tips and tricks. How … Read more