5 Best 3D Printers Under $300 - Review and Buying Guide
3D printing is one of the most exciting things to do. It brings out the creativity in you and allows you to breathe life into your imagination. Although 3D printers have been around for about four decades now, many wouldn’t have imagined that one day, it would become one of the devices to be found at home. It used to be made primarily for professional uses such as medicine and architecture, but it is now used for domestic purposes at home.
3D printers for professionals are expensive and can be purchased for thousands of dollars, nevertheless, 3D printers for homes are cheaper. There are many of these machines selling below $300. Yes! You can get a 3D printer for less than $300, and it’ll serve you well. Let’s have a look at the best five of these printers. Below are the five best 3D printers under $300.
5 Best 3D Printers Under $300
1. Creality Ender 3 Pro
You can get this printer for less than $250, and it has several unique features that will make you fall in love with it. With a printing size of 220*220*250mm / 8.6x8.6x9.8 inches, Ender 3 pro allows you to print larger objects at ease. Assembling this model is also not rocket science; it is easier than most 3D printers in the market. It only takes about 10 minutes to assemble a Creality Ender 3 Pro printer; hence, you don’t need a professional to help before printing.
It also comes with a safety protected power supply which can reach up to 110℃ for a hotbed within 5 minutes. What this means is that you don’t have to wait for an extended period after putting on your machine to start printing. Once the hotbed temperature reaches the desired mark in less than five minutes, you can commence printing immediately. Creality Ender 3 Pro has a power cut protection feature; therefore, it is suitable for longtime printing. Should there be an interrupted power supply during printing, the printer can resume prints from where it stopped when power is restored. Thus, you don’t have to be worried should there be a power outage while printing with this model; all you need is to restore the power and resume printing.
Ender 3 Pro comes with a stable frame providing high-precision printing quality. Its patent technology, a V Slot with a POM wheel, makes prints smooth and durable. It also makes the printing noiseless. Thus, you can print with this machine without disturbing anyone with noise pollution.
If you purchase Ender 3 Pro, you’ll be provided a one-year warranty. It has a machine size of 440*410*465mm / 17.3x16.1x18.3 inches, a package weight of 8.6kg/19 lbs, and a maximum traveling speed of 180mm/s. Its layer thickness is 0.1-0.4mm; it has a nozzle diameter of 0.4mm and a maximum nozzle temperature of 255 ℃.
If you’re looking for that one printer that sells at a reasonable cost and provides good printing quality plus an easy-to-use feature, Ender 3 Pro is not a bad option.
What I Like About This Model
- Affordability
- Easy of assembling
- High-quality prints
- Compact design with a decent print volume
- It has a more stable performance
- Power cut protection feature
- Noiseless printing
- Highly durable
What I Don’t Like About This Model
- Additional adhesion materials are required sometimes
- Print bed leveling is challenging
2. FlashForge Finder 3D Printer
The FlashForge Finder 3D Printer sells at a reasonable price of $299. You can print directly with this printer by connecting your usb cable, flash drive, wi-fi, and cloud. This is a feature missing in several other 3D printers that requires a connection with a system. There are several other notable features of this printer that you’ll love.
It comes with a slide-in build plate that makes 3D print removal easier. You don’t have to apply so much effort to remove your new prints when you use this printer. Besides protecting your new prints from damage, the easy to remove feature also helps minimize damages or offsets to the build plate.
It also has an intelligent assisted leveling system. This helps to improve the printer’s precision and also make calibration easier. When you use Finder, you’ll be directed to tighten or loosen leveling screws until a beeper barely sounds. It’ll also direct the distance between the build plate and nozzle, which will verify whether your leveling is rightly positioned. This printer has a touchscreen that gives direct instructions to users.
When you work with Finder, noise is the last thing you will be worried about. It is quiet during operation with a sound operation lower than 50 decibels. Thus, you won’t disturb family and friends with noise when printing with this model.
Its second-generation wireless connection is another unique feature that stands this printer out. It has a more stable wireless file transmission, allowing you to send 3D files from your computer directly to the printer using a Wi-Fi network under AP or STA modes. How about its colorful cloud experiences? This is another incredible feature of this printer. It is why it is ranked among the best 3D printers you may love to purchase. It supports the 3D cloud function.
FlashForge Finder 3D Printer comes with a box containing everything you need to make a perfect 3D printing. Some of the box materials include a quickstart guide, filament guide tube, after-sales service card, power cable, toolbag, start-up PLA filament, usb cable, solid glue, and power adapter.
If you need a printer that is user-friendly, home-friendly, and wallet-friendly, Finder is a good option for you.
What I Like About This Model
- It is portable
- It comes with everything you need
- Touch screen with easy-to-use controls
- Easy to assemble
- Affordable
- It comes with a slide-in build plate
- High printing precision
- Easy calibration
What I Don’t Like About This Model
- It doesn’t work with ABS filament
- Problem with Wi-Fi connection
3. ELEGOO Mars 2 Mono MSLA 3D Printer UV Photocuring
Do you have $200 to spare? Then, you can afford this beautiful 3D Printer. It is one of the best 3D printers in the market, and it sells at a reasonable price. It features a 6.08-inch Monochrome LCD that has a 2K HD resolution. If you’re looking for the best 3D Printer with a long lifespan and has a high printing speed, ELEGOO Mars 2 Mono MSLA 3D Printer UV Photocuring is the right choice you can opt for. This Brand has four times longer lifespan than the regular RGB LCD 3D printers. With a printing speed of 30-50mm/h, this model has two times faster printing speed, meaning you won’t have to waste time before having that beautiful print of yours.
There are more things you still need to know about ELEGOO Mars 2 Mono MSLA 3D Printer. It has a higher printing efficiency, more stable performance, and requires less maintenance. It also comes with extra building volume, which can meet most of your printing needs. It is suitable for printing industrial parts, board game miniatures, etc. ELEGOO Mars 2 Mono MSLA 3D Printer has 50μm XY precision, higher than the precision of most 3D printers.
This Model has a Z-Axis Accuracy of 0.00125mm, XY Resolution of 0.05mm (1620*2560), and build volume of 5.08in(L)*3.15in(W)*5.90in(H) 129mm(L)*80mm(W)*150mm(H). It features a UV Integrated Light (wavelength 405nm) and has multiple language selections. Some of the available languages include Chinese, English, Dutch, Japanese, French, Korean, German, Italian, Russian, Turkish, Spanish, and Portuguese. ELEGOO Mars 2 Mono MSLA 3D Printer works with USB, meaning you can print directly with your USB without connecting the printer to a system. It weighs 13.67lbs(6.2kg), has a 3.5 Inch Touch Screen, and a power requirement of 100-240V 50/60Hz.
ELEGOO Mars 2 Mono MSLA 3D Printer needs only five minutes of warm-up time, and it can hollow out prints before slicing. This helps to save resin. If you purchase this brand, you’ll get a semi-assembled printer; thus, you don’t have to waste time before you commence printing. Its installation is easy, meaning you don’t need many technicalities to put things in place and begin to print.
ELEGOO Mars 2 Mono MSLA 3D Printer also comes with a 1-year warranty on the whole printer and a 6-month warranty for the 2K LCD (FEP film is excluded).
What I Like About This Model
- ChituBox slicer
- Long lifespan and high printing speed
- Extra building volume, which can meet most of your printing needs.
- High print precision
- Multi-language option
- Ability to hollow out prints before slicing
What I Don’t Like About This Model
- Loud cooling fan
4. The Monoprice 121711 Select Mini 3D Printer V2
Often, when you find a cheap 3D printer, they will lack good quality and might not be durable. However, that is not the case with Monoprice 121711 Select Mini 3D Printer V2. It is a beautiful printer that sells at about $200. It comes with a nozzle cooling fan and a mainboard cooling fan. This helps the printer to maintain a cool temperature and avoid overheating during operation. If you purchase this beautiful printer, you’ll be provided with an all-metal nozzle, 1x Filament holder, 1x Bed leveling hex wrench, 1x AC power adapter, 1x sample PLA filament, 1x micro USB cable, and 1x microSD card, etc.
The Monoprice 121711 Select Mini 3D Printer V2 works with Wi-Fi, microSD card, and USB connectivity; hence, it doesn’t necessarily have to be connected to a system before you can print. It also has a 3.7” IPS color screen, and it is compatible with Cura, Repetier, and other software. It also works with Windows and Mac.
One exciting thing about this printer is that it comes fully assembled. Therefore, you don’t have to start watching YouTube videos on how it should be rightly assembled before you can start printing. Once it is delivered to you, printing can commence immediately. You also don’t have to do any calibration that has been done at the factory already. All you need to do is check to see if the print bed is still leveled because it may have shifted during shipping.
What I Like About This Model
- Free filament sample and preloaded MicroSD card
- It comes fully assembled and calibrated
- Highly affordable
- Simple to operate
What I Don’t Like About This Model
- The print bed is unprotected
5. Giantarm-Geeetech A10M dual extruder 3D printer
The beautiful design of the A10M dual extruder 3D printer makes assembling easier. It comes almost fully assembled. When you purchase this printer, all you need to do is to fasten several screws, and you’ll be set to make your first print. This model provides mix-color printing. Thus, you can print with different color combinations.
It also features a filament detector that detects filament outage. It notifies users about the current level of filament in their printer. This will help to avoid bootless 3D printing and also enhance your printing precision.
Its break-resuming feature is another feature that will make you love this printer. With this feature, A10M can save real-time printing status in case of a power outage and resume the printing exactly where it stopped when power is restored. Therefore, you can satisfactorily do a long time 3D printing with this brand.
The building platform of the Giantarm-Geeetech A10M dual extruder 3D printer features high adhesion and even heating. Its hotbed receives even heat, and it heats up quickly. It is also easy to remove prints from the hotbed when it cools down. This is because of its high adhesion coating.
For a more advanced 3D printing experience at an affordable price, Giantarm-Geeetech A10M dual extruder 3D printer is a good option for you. You’ll get it for less than $290.
What I Like About This Model
- It has a high adhesion coating
- Comes almost fully assembled
- Provides mix-color printing
- Filament detector that detects filament outage
- Break-resuming feature
What I Don’t Like About This Model
- The print bed is not protected, exposing the prints to external interference
THE VERDICT
There are a couple of 3D printers below $300, but in most cases, these printers don’t last. Nevertheless, you can avoid purchasing a printer that won’t last by going for any of the best 3D printers discussed above. Creality Ender 3 Pro is one of the best printers below $300 you can purchase because it is easy to assemble, offers high-quality prints, and also highly durable.
CONCLUSION
After going through the list of 3D printers above, you should conclude which one is the most suitable for you. As you go through the features and pros, you shouldn’t forget to consider their cons as well.
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