Beginning Resin Printer Small Printer Medium-sized … Large printers Conclusion Comments of // 12. 01. 2021 17: 43 Clock

One of the purchase criteria for 3D Printers is the size of the installation space. TechStage shows which size makes sense and explains why bigger is sometimes better.

The market for 3D printers is constantly developing. In addition to improved technology and falling prices, the increasingly larger installation space is particularly exciting. In the past, if you wanted to print large objects, you had to print them in several individual parts and then glue them together. Much more convenient are printers that also allow large printouts in one piece. Examples of such large-capacity printers are the X5SA (test report), X5 SA Pro (test report), Sapphire Plus (test report) or ET5 Pro (test report) models. But when is it worth buying a large printer?

Resin printer Resin printers offer the smallest print size. The costs for the devices and the resin have fallen sharply, but the printing costs are still significantly higher than with the FDM process. In addition, handling the resin is far more complex than using filament, which is why the devices are only really useful for a few applications. More on this in the guide UV resin or plastic filament: 3D printers in comparison.

Currently less than 20 such printers are listed in the price comparison. The models we have tested so far Elegoo Mars (test report), Anycubic Photon (test report), Longer Orange 30 (test report) or Nova 3D Elfin (test report) all offer a very small installation space of about 132 × 74 × 150 mm. Cheap resin printers, like the Anycubic Photon Zero, are from 140 Euro available.

Resin printers are only suitable for very small print objects. For a few months now, larger resin printers have finally been on the market. The price differences to the small devices are enormous. The Anycubic Mono X with a space of 192 × 245 × 120 mm for about 800 Euro is such a model. A test device is already on its way to the editorial office. A single test will be carried out soon.

Small printers As small FDM printers, we define devices whose maximum size is under 20 × 20 × 20 cm. These printers are compact due to their construction and also fit on the desk or on the shelf. However, such printers often do without a heatable print bed, which limits the filament selection. If you want to process materials such as ABS or PETG, you have to look carefully. However, this is not a problem when using PLA.

Due to the short process paths, only low mechanical loads act on the individual components and so is the structure is often not very stable. An extreme example of this is the rickety Labists X1 (test report), which despite the competitive price of under 80 Euro cannot recommend. Even with more massive models, the individual axles are often only attached to one side of the frame. This has no influence on the print result if sensible components are used, as we saw when testing the Wanhao Duplicator i3 Mini (test report) or the Davinci Mini w + (test report).

Mini printer are overall less stable, but have a decent print image – apart from a few exceptions. If you only want to print small model construction parts, figures or the like, you will also achieve your goal with a small installation space. However, a look at the price comparison shows that this is not reflected in the purchase price and that the small FDM printers are relatively expensive. The Wanhao Mini i3 with a space of 120 × 100 × 135 mm is currently about 170 € to book. Significantly larger printers are available for the same price.

Medium sized printers As medium-sized FDM printers, we define devices with an installation space of 20 × 20 × 20 cm up to 30 × 30 × 30 cm. This is the standard size and so most printers are available in this category. These include, for example, the Ender 3 (test report) and Qidi X-Plus (test report) models that we tested, which are between 140 and 170 euros are available. However, the external dimensions of such devices are also significantly larger and so you should clarify in advance where you want to set up the printer.

The Ender 3 has now been revised, but is considered the standard printer par excellence. Printers of this size are usually more stable than the smaller printers. Due to the longer travel distances, the loads are greater and so the axes are usually connected to the frame at two points each. The most widespread design of such printers are the so-called bed pushers. Here the print bed moves along the y-axis, while the print head is responsible for movements on the x- and z-axes.

In addition to the larger space available, the printers also offer a very good price-performance ratio . The popular Ender 3, for example, is often already available for under 150 Euro available. If you have enough space available, you should therefore always opt for the standard size instead of a mini printer.

Large Printers We designate FDM printers as large from a space of from 30 × 30 × 30 cm. These are, like the Anet A8 Plus that has just arrived at the editorial office, from 199 Euro available and therefore not much more expensive than standard size models.

This graphic shows how different sizes the printer installation spaces actually are. Even more usable area (over 30 cm3) offer devices such as the X5 SA Pro (test report) or Sapphire Plus ( Test report), which from about 245 euros are available. Since significantly more forces act on the components here, such large-capacity printers often use the so-called XY-core design. Here the print head moves along the x and y axes, while the printing platform and heating bed move exclusively along the z axis. Although this construction is more complex and requires more space, it is also more stable, which in turn benefits the print quality.

The large Sapphire Plus next to the Sapphire Pro in standard size. In terms of price and equipment, such XL printers are very exciting. However, you should think carefully in advance whether you actually have enough space available for it. The external dimensions of such bolides like to reach 43 × 65 × 66 cm (Tronxy X5 SA Pro), which corresponds roughly to a large moving box.

Conclusion The very high-resolution resin printers have the smallest installation space and the highest costs. Even cheap models are significantly more expensive than FDM printers when it comes to consumables at the latest and are therefore only of interest in exceptional cases. If you don’t use the printer exclusively for detailed miniatures, you should use a filament printer.

Mini-FDM printers are stylish and fit much better on the desk, however, the size is very limited and the devices are relatively too expensive. Instead of 170 To spend euros for a small Wanhao Duplicator i3 Mini (test report), you should use a standard printer such as the Ender 3 (guide) for the same price or less.

If there is enough space available, from our point of view it is always worth the small additional price to a large printer like the Sapphire Plus (test report) or the Tronxy X5 SA Pro (test report). Extensive projects can then be implemented here without having to resort to glue.

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