In this age of 3D printers, it’s easy to find a printer in the $100–$200 price range that can help you create small plastic trinkets. But if you’re looking for a more professional tool with a higher price tag, you’ll want to make sure you’re investing in the right platform for your needs. Before spending your hard-earned money, it pays to understand the variety of 3D printers on the market — not only their prices, but also the type of plastic they use, as well as the overall durability of the objects they create.
Here, your shopping list of the best 3D printers according to experts.
Our Editor’s Best 3d Printer Platforms Reviews
- Please double-check before attaching the base plate sheet: Stick half of sticker base sheet with coating surface sheet and lift it up. It is correct if both sheets can be lifted at the same time. If the two sheets can't be lifted at the same time, please rotate one of them 90°.
- ①【Easy to Install】The magnetic plate is very easy to install. The sticker base sheet has a good adhesive on the back side, just paste the base sheet to the printer heated bed, and then put the coating surface sheet on the base sheet, ready to print.
- ②【Good Adhesion】The magnetic built surface has a special coating layer, which makes the filaments can stick to the printed bed easily and reduces warping.
- ③【Easy to Remove】The magnetic build plate is removable and flexible, just gently bend the print surface, remove the 3D printing model easily.
- ④【Fast Heat Conduction】The thermal conductivity of SUNLU magnetic build plate is very good, which can speed up the heating rate, and reduce printing waiting time.
- Very easy to take off the models; No tools are needed when removing models.
- Use clips to fix the glass plate on the hot bed.
- Higher temperature higher sticky. The models will stick on the bed firmly when the temperature is high.
- Fit for Ender 3/Ender 3X/Ender 3 Pro/Ender 5/CR-20 Pro 3D printer.
- Life-time professional technical support.
- [Experience Pro-hesion] our state of the art carbon and silicone build surface provides the best adhesion in the market. Once the hotbed cools back to room temperature, the carbon-silicone base will release the model which can be easily removed by hand.
- [Easy Remove Prints] reduce adhesion after cooling. It is easy to separate the model and the platform and remove the model. The special coating is inorganic and has a hardness of 8 Mohs. Scratch proof and dust proof.
- [Easy Operation] this CR-10 bed plate can be placed on top of any existing hotbed surface and be held in place with simple clips. Tempered Glass provides ultra flat and smooth surface for a flawless printing.
- [Suit For] creality original upgraded glass bed for CR-10 and CR-10S 100%.Not suit to CR-10SPro/10spro V2
- [Use Attention] do not rub with organic solvents when cleaning, such as alcohol, acetone, etc., wipe with water; do not scratch or scratch the surface with sharp objects or sandpaper, they will destroy the surface coating. You can take it off slowly with a spatula. This is the official Creality 3D store. All products have been tested extensively with all Creality brand products to insure increases in quality and no sacrifice in safety or performance.
- Self-developed Silent Motherboard: The Ender-3 V2 built-in self-developed silent motherboard, which has stronger anti-interference, faster and more stable motion performance, silent printing and low decibel operation.
- UL Certified MeanWell Power Supply: Equipped with MeanWell power supply, produced by the listed company with mature technology, meeting all the needs of fast heating and long-time printing. Moreover, the power supply is concealed in the machine, making it much safer.
- Effortless Filament Feed-in: Ender-3 V2 adds a rotary knob on the extruder, making loading and feeding filament process much easier; Brand new operation UI system and 4.3" smart color screen greatly improve user experience.
- Resume Printing Function: Can resume printing from the last recorded extruder position after suffering unexpected power outages, saving your time and reducing waste.
- Carborundum Glass Platform: Enable the hotbed heat up quicker and prints adhere better without the warping. Ultra smoothness even on the first layer.
- Creality upgraded Ender 3 glass bed carborundum tempered glass plate.
- Excellent adhesion: Ultrabase covered by microporous coating, shows strong adhesion in printing. Easy to take off models by hand or with a little help from the scrapper for very large models.
- Super flatness, fast and uniform heating.
- DURABLE: The special coating is inorganic and has a hardness of 8 Mohs, and it is capable to work at 400℃.
- Compatibility: perfectly suitable for the Ender 3/pro/V2/S1/S1 Pro/V2 Neo, ender 5/pro,CR 20/pro, CP-01,compatible with all the Cartesian style 3D printer with a MK3 heated bed of 235×235mm.
- Intelligent Auto Leveling 3d printer: ANYCUBIC KOBRA captured with the Self-developed Anycubic LeviQ Leveling Function equipped with 25-point precise leveling up, which can compensate the unevenness of the heated bed automatically, to achieve easy, fast and precise leveling, providing you with a more intelligent printing experience.
- Fast Printing & Large Printing Size: ANYCUBIC KOBRA 3D Printer maximum printing speed is 180mm/s, Average speed is 80mm/s, 167% faster than industry standard, enable you save more time on waiting. Large build volume of 8.7x8.7x9.84in / 220x220x250mm, which has enough space and freedom to realize your fantastic creativity.
- Ultra Smooth Printing: Direct drive extruder provides greater conveying force and preciser filament control. Compatible with PLA/ABS/PETG/TPU flexible materials. It can reduce jitter in filament transmission and ensure printing precision.
- Removable Magnetic Platform: The models can be removed by bending the spring magnetic platform gently after printing. The platform can withstand high-intensity printing and is corrosion free, saving you a lot of maintenance cost.
- More Function: ①ANYCUBIC KOBRA is an all-in-one frame 3D printer, can minimize the shaking to improve the print quality. The modular design allows the printer to be assembled only in 10 minutes;②ANYCUBIC KOBRA is equipped with 4.3-inch LCD touch screen, which brings sensitive response and brighter display, offering better using experience; ③All ANYCUBIC 3D printers backed with lifetime technical support and 24 hours professional customer service.
- No Edge Curling: Creality Ender 3 bed is coated with a composite material with a microporous structure. As the temperature rises, the micro-pores of the hot bed expand, and adhesion increases, allowing the print to adhere firmly to the build surface, avoiding the problem of curling at the print edge. As an indispensable upgrade part of 3D printers, let it bring you a better printing experience.
- Easy to Remove Prints: The microporous composite coating on the surface of this Creality glass build plate shrinks as the hot bed cools, which greatly ensures that a complete small print can be picked up by hand without any tools, and large prints can be easily removed using tools, saving at least 30% of the time you take off the prints.
- Superior Flatness: The improved 3D printer plate provides a flatter and smoother build surface than magnetic beds or PEI build plates, ensuring a high degree of flatness on the bottom of the prints. The CREALITY logo on the upgraded Ender 3 glass build plate is much smaller than the older version, and the bottom of the prints is no longer depressed during printing, resulting in a more perfect print.
- Durable & Easy to Clean: The special coating of this Creality glass build plate is inorganic, it is made of 100% real borosilicate glass with a hardness of 8 Mohs, works at 400ºC, is thick and high quality, and lasts longer than any other material of the build plate. Clean with water or soapy water after use.
- Wide Compatibility: This 3D printer accessory can use for Creality Ender 3, Ender 3 Pro, Ender 3 V2, Ender 3S, Ender 3X, Ender 5, Ender 5 Pro and CR-20, CR-20 Pro, and most Cartesian style 3D printers with MK2 MK3 hotbeds, please check the size of your printer platform first.
- Flexible and Magnetic Platform: The surface of the steel plate is machined by CNC drawing, which has good adsorption force to prevent the model from falling off during printing.
- Robust and durable stainless steel material: The magnetic printing platform is made of high quality stainless steel material and has good elasticity. After bending and removing the model, it can be quickly returned to its original state and reused.
- Size information: The size of the magnetic steel plate is 140 * 84mm, and the thickness of this platform is 3-4mm, compatible with ELEGOO Mars 2 and Mars 2 Pro. Due to the thickness of the product itself, the printable height of the 3D printer will shrink by 3-4mm. At the same time, after installing the magnetic printing platform, you will need to re-leveling the 3D printer for excellent printing results.
- Unique handle design: The magnetic printing platform is equipped with a handle that makes it easy to install and remove the magnetic printing platform.
- Installation Tips: First clean your build plate very well, let it dry, connect your magnet to the plate, let it sit for a while so it is fully seated, then install the spring steel plate on the magnetic base, last reset the printer's leveling settings to start printing .
- Easy to take off the model, no tools needed. The borosilicate glass bed could be fixed with middle sized clips.
- Creality glass bed provides stronger adhesion when removing models.
- This borosilicate glass bed could be fixed with middle sized clips.
- The Glass Plate is applicable with Creality Creality 310 x 320 Glass Bed, 3D Printer Platform Tempered Glass Plate Build Surface for CR-10 V2 / CR-10S Pro / CR-10S / CR-X 3D printer.
- Improved 3D printer tempered glass plate provides more flat and more smooth build surface than magnetic mat or pei sticker, ensuring high flatness for the bottom of model.
- Upgrade Auto Leveling: ANYCUBIC Vyper is one of the very few 3D printers that has auto leveling feature, the intelligent leveling system equipped with 16-point precise pressure strain gauge, which can adjust the uneven hotbed automatically, greatly simplifies your print preparation and improves your print success rate.
- Large Printing Size: ANYCUBIC Vyper 3D Printer comes with a large build volume of 9.6"(L) x 9.6"(W) x 10.2"(H) / 24.5 x 24.5 x 26cm, which leaves enough space and freedom to fully realize your fantastic creativity.
- Fast and Stable Printing: Compared with ordinary 3D printers, Vyper's max printing speed can reach 7.1 in/s / 18 cm/s, which save more time on waiting. High-precision double screw design makes printers run more stable operation and the patented Z-axis can avoid print layer marks, greatly improving the printing details and precision.
- Durable and Removable Magnetic Platform: ANYCUBIC Vyper's platform adopts a special coating combined with spring steel, you can remove the models easily with your bare hands simply by taking off the entire platform and then bend it. it can remain flat for decades, beside it's rust-proof and completely maintenance-free.Widely compatible with PLA/ABS/PETG/TPU filaments.
- Intelligent Resume Printing Function: Vyper 3D Printer supports automatically resume printing when Power off or the filament is insufficient or breakage, the sensor will pause printing to save time and avoiding material waste. More functions like double fan two-way heat dissipation, 4.3" LCD screen, Fast assemble, which greatly improved printing experience.
Best 3d Printer Platforms Buying Guide
Before choosing the best 3D printer you should consider following options:
1. Materials used: One of the biggest differences between 3D printers is the materials they use to create objects.
Some models can use more than one kind of material, allowing you to combine materials during the 3D printing process.
Most 3D printers use ABS or PLA plastic to produce finished products. ABS plastic is a good choice for creating objects that need to be durable and waterproof.
PLA plastic creates objects that are more matte and looks better when printed in full color.
Some 3D printers can produce objects with ceramic, metal, wood, or latex ink.
2. Supported materials specifications: Make sure the 3D printer you are considering supports materials your intended use requires.
Not all 3D printers support the same materials. For example, some may only support ABS plastic, while others may support several kinds of materials.
3. Print resolution: All 3D printers use the same process of melting and extruding a material to create 3D printed objects.
The parts created depend on the resolution of the 3D printer. For example, a high resolution printer can create a very detailed figurine, while a low resolution printer can create smooth and larger objects.
4. Print speed: Some 3D printers print very quickly, while others print very slowly. If you need to create many different objects quickly, you may not want to use a 3D printer with a slow print speed.
5. Cost: Prices of 3D printers vary greatly, depending on the features and materials supported.
Some models are much more expensive than others, but may create objects faster. Other 3D printers can be very affordable, but may take longer to create finished products.
You should carefully consider which features are most important to you and how you will use the 3D printer, then compare prices and make your selection.
What else you should know about 3d printer platforms
1. What are the different types of 3D printer platforms?
There are many different types of printer platforms, including:
1. Inkjet Printers
2. Laser Printers
3. LED Printers
4. Dye-Sublimation Printers
5. Solid Ink Printers
6. Thermal Printers
7. Dot Matrix Printers
2. What are the benefits of using a 3D printer platform?
The benefits of using a printer platform include the ability to connect to a variety of devices, the ability to print from anywhere, and the ability to manage print jobs remotely.
3. What are the limitations of 3D printer platforms?
Some printer platforms have limitations in terms of the types of files that they can print, and the resolution that they can print at. Additionally, some printer platforms may not be able to print certain types of media, such as transparencies or cardstock.
4. How do I choose the right 3D printer platform for my needs?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the best printer platform for your needs will vary depending on a number of factors, including the type of printing you need to do, the volume of printing you need to do, the speed of printing you need, the quality of printing you need, and your budget. However, some tips on choosing the right printer platform for your needs include doing your research to find the best fit for your specific needs, and talking to a printer expert to get advice on which platform would be best for you.
5. What are some common 3D printer platform problems?
Some common printer platform problems are:
-Windows 10 not recognizing the printer
-The printer not being able to connect to the computer
-The printer not being able to print
-The printer not being able to scan
Conclusion
On the market, there are numerous best 3d printer platforms. Hopefully, the list of the top ten best 3d printer platforms will save you time researching and deciding on the best one for you.