Best 3D Printers for 2022

Even though affordable 3D printers have been around for many years, they are still very far from mainstream use.

There are several reasons for this. First, not many people think they need a 3D printer. Unless you’re going into the business of 3D printing for sale, you’ll probably have a hard time coming up with half a dozen things that can be usefully printed.

Another thing is that they are not completely automatic. Unlike, say, an inkjet printer that can plug in and print out a photo or Word document right away, a 3D printer needs some setup before it can print anything at all.

There is a third reason: consumer 3D printers are single color devices. They have one nozzle and can print one color at a time. You can stop printing, load another color, and continue, but because they print one layer on top of the previous one, the colors can only change along the height of what you’re printing.

Multi-nozzle printers exist, but they are too expensive for most consumers to justify their purchase.

Then there is speed. Even a small object can take several hours to print, while a large one can take a day or two.

Finally, until you’ve mastered a 3D modeling application like Adobe Fusion, you’ll be limited to printing objects designed by other people. There are many, but if you want something custom, you’ll have to create it yourself, and that takes a lot of learning.

As long as you’re up for it and don’t have high hopes for being able to print complex, articulated models right from the start, 3D printing can be extremely rewarding.

Here we will focus mainly on FDM (Fusion Deposition Modeling) printers as this is the most popular type, but there are also resin 3D printers. Resin printers work very differently and are designed to print small, complex models.

1. Anycubic Vyper

pros

• Auto leveling

• Touch screen

• Two stage thread feed

You generally get what you pay for with 3D printers, and Vyper is in the best position. It fits the bill: (correct) auto leveling, touchscreen, PEI sheet, and a decent build volume of 240x240x265mm.

It’s easy to assemble, prints reliably, and offers good quality with minimal setup.

You’ll get better quality from the Creality Ender 3 S1 Pro, but it’s more expensive and you’ll forego fully automatic bed leveling.

For most people, Vyper offers good enough quality at a reasonable price with reliable first coats every time.

Read our full Anycubic Vyper review

2. Creality 3D Ender 3 S1 Pro

pros

• Fantastic print quality

• All the features you would like

Minuses

• Auto alignment requires manual input

• Touch interface could be better

The S1 Pro may not be the budget 3D printer you’d expect from the Ender 3, but that’s because it’s got all the bells and whistles thrown in.

Read our full Creality 3D Ender 3 S1 Pro review

3. Voxelab Aquila S2

pros

• Nozzle operates up to 300°C

• Accessible

• PEI sheet

Minuses

• Manual bed leveling

• No touch screen

The Aquila S2 is a less expensive alternative but still has most of the features you need, including a PEI sheet that helps prints stick during printing but makes them easier to remove afterwards.

You can print on a variety of materials, including PETG, thanks to the fact that the hot end can reach up to 300°C and the layer up to 100°C.

Bed leveling, however, is manual, and there is no touch screen: the color screen is controlled with a knob.

However, once you’ve lined it up, the prints come out great: we’ve had success with a few in-place print models, but like most printers here, you may find that complex models require a raft to succeed.

Read our full Voxelab Aquila S2 review

4. Creality Halot One Plus

pros

• Easy to use and reliable

• Works with various slicers

• Excellent print quality

Minuses

• Fan runs constantly while printing

• Requires post-print cleaning + curing (like all resin printers)

• more expensive than some competitors

The Halot One Plus is an easy-to-use high-volume resin 3D printer with reliable printing and high quality. It is quite expensive compared to the competition, especially in the UK.

The Halot One Plus is a resin printer, so it’s very different from the others. Instead of using filament on a spool, he prints with a liquid resin that is cured layer by layer with UV light.

The build volume here is smaller than FDM printers, but still relatively large for a resin printer, and the high screen resolution means the models have a lot of small parts.

The Halot One Plus printed ultra-reliably in our tests, but if you like a resin printer, be aware that you’ll have to clean the prints afterwards, which usually means buying a separate washer and fuser that looks a lot like the printer. polymer printer and takes up the same amount of space on the table.

Read our full Creality Halot One Plus review

5. Creativity Sermun V1 Pro

pros

• Closed

• Very easy to use

• Auto leveling

Minuses

• Small build volume

• Expensive

Most 3D printers are open, but Sermoon is completely closed. That, and the fact that it has a beginner-friendly touchscreen interface, means it’s well suited for kids.

There is a safety feature that pauses printing when the door is opened, but the housing also means you’ll be able to print more easily with materials that won’t warp.

However, this is not entirely true as the heated bed can only reach 80°C and for ABS you really need 100°C.

The 175 x 175 x 165mm build volume might put some people off, but if you want a 3D printer that comes fully assembled and relatively easy to use – and you mostly want to print using regular PLA filament, this might be perfect. .

The main problem is the high price, but if this is not a hindrance, then a worthy choice.

Read our full Creality Sermoon V1 Pro review

3D Printers Buyer’s Guide

Since all printers look the same at first, here are a few things to consider when choosing.

Auto leveling

If the surface on which the objects are printed is not perfectly flat, the prints will not stick to it and will fail sooner or later.

Manual leveling is a chore that you could probably do without, so choose a printer with automatic leveling. But be careful. Some printers claim to have auto alignment but rely on you to do most of the work. That’s why it’s helpful to read reviews and also know what to look for.

Heated bed

Almost all 3D printers have them, but some don’t. A heated bed will help prints stick: don’t buy a printer without one.

PEI sheet

When prints stick, they can be difficult to remove from the bed. PEI (polyetherimide) sheet helps a lot.

Instead of a glass sheet, a textured, flexible metal sheet is used, which is held in place with a magnet over the full size of the print platform. When the model finishes printing, you simply remove the sheet, fold it, and the model pops out.

Touch screen

The cheapest and simplest 3D printers use a monochrome screen with a rotary switch. Go higher market and you might get a nicer LCD color screen, but if you can get a touch screen printer as it is much faster and easier to use.

The size

The build volume of a printer tells you how big an object it can print. Let’s assume that the actual volume is slightly less than the specification, and select the option with a slightly larger volume than the largest object you need to print.

This can be difficult to understand, and remember that more volume means a larger printer, which you will need space for.

Really large models need to be printed piece by piece and glued (or otherwise stapled) together, but build volumes do vary.

Temperature

Most people print with PLA, the most common type of filament. All 3D printers have nozzles that work up to 220°C or so, which is required for PLA. But if you want to print in ABS, PETG, or another type of plastic, be sure to choose a printer that can handle temperatures up to 300°C.

Similarly, keep an eye on the temperature of the heated bed. Some of them cannot withstand temperatures above 80°C, but you will need 100°C or more to successfully print ABS.

beat sensor

Because large models take many hours to print, and the fact that you can’t always know if enough filament is left on the spool, a runout sensor can save your life. It does what it says: detects when the filament is low and stops printing automatically, allowing you to load a new spool and continue printing.

Without it, the filament can run out and the printer will continue to print with thin air and you won’t care.