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Are you a curious consumer or just a hobbyist or artist and looking to print toys, DIY items, other creative items, etc at your home?
You can be anyone obviously, but the thing is the optimal 3D printer depends on how you plan to use it.
For example, a consumer will look into a 3D printer that is easier to use and set up with less maintenance including good print quality, while if you take artists/hobbyists they will have more requirements such as printer’s capability to print in more than one color or to use multiple filaments types.
If you want to buy expensive 3d printers models around $2k. Check my other article: Best 3d printers under $2000
3d Printers are pretty rare under $200, however, I spent a lot of hours finding a few models in this range. so let’s get started.
Best 3D Printers under 200 Dollars
| Printer Name | Main Feature | Weight (Pound) | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Monoprice Select Mini 3 | Heated Plates | 14.50 | |
| 2. XVICO X3 Pro | Aluminum Printing | 15.50 | |
| 3. Longer Orange 10 | Parallel LED Lighting | 15.40 | |
| 4. XYZprinting -da Vinci | Wireless | 60.40 | |
| 5. Kingroon 3D Printer | Touch Screen Assisted | 17.60 | |
| 6. Monoprice Mini Delta | Auto Leveling | 40.00 | |
| 7. Anet A8 Prusa i3 | ABS | 19.36 | |
| 8. Tresbro Creality Cr-100 | Intelligent Leveling | 9.40 |
In this post, we are going to cover up the best 3D printers at a price range of $200 and targeted at consumers, hobbyists, and artists.
Choosing and spending $200 on a 3D printer can be tough, and here I am to help you pick one that’s best for you.
After researching for a couple of hours, we were able to make a list of printers that fall in a budget and perform really well in the market. You can pretty much make your decision based on the above table, but if you want to dig deeper into each model, keep on reading this article.
1. Monoprice Select Mini 3
- Works with any Standard Filament & Slicer
- Very Affordable
- Simple Operation
- Well-built and sturdy design
- No wireless features
- Difficult to calibrate
- Unprotected Build Plate
Performance
The Monoprice Select Mini 3D printer is an affordable printer and we surely can’t have a very high expectation with its performance. However, it blew our minds with its performance when we tested it. It isn’t perfect, but very easy to operate while producing consistent and reliable prints.
The printer does have some issues as it is not perfect, the calibration process is bit difficult and the changes in temperature, while the hotend is in use, makes it not so perfect printer.
Apart from all this, the Monoprice Select Mini is an amazing features-packed little machine. It works perfectly fine as it is described to and print outputs were astonishing and obviously exceeded our expectations.
The best thing about this printer is that it can be customized or say hackable, for the one who is brave enough to disassemble it and make some upgrades to the printer. For many of them, upgrading the firmware and changing the hotend would be the first thing they do and then lay some importance to the glass for the print bed.
We can easily recommend this printer to the beginner and definitely it will surprise them.
It used to be a joke a few years ago if someone said that 3D printers are for $200. There was a time, people would get excited about the 3D printers when they were less than $800. Now as the technology advances, there are many 3D printers in or under $200.
The printers feature a build area of 120 x 120 x 120 mm and the highest print resolution of 100 microns, along with a heated build plate and the printing speed of 55 millimeters per second.
To print with this printer, you can upload your files to the Monoprice Select Mini printer through a microSD card slot or use the USB Connection.
The applications supported to prepare the objects for printing are Repetier-Host, Simplify3D, ReplicatorG, and Cura. The printer can parse the standard GCode and is not really confined to proprietary software.
When it comes to the filament, it can accept any standard 1.75mm filament i.e, ABS or PLA thermoplastic. It doesn’t require any special filament to work.
Connectivity
The setup of the Monoprice Select Mini 3D printer is on the easier side. You will be able to set it up and start printing in or under 20 minutes or less. However, you will find the basic setup instructions inside the box.
The box comes with a microSD card which is of 256MB storage, a micro USB cable, plastic spatula for scraping, AC power adapter, and hex key for leveling the bed platform.
Once you connect it to the wall socket using the AC power adapter, it turns on. The printer doesn’t come with filament in the box, and you will need to buy it separately in order to print.
For setting the printer up, you get a full-color LCD interface with a click-wheel. The menus written on it, are clear and well thought.
The interface will let you start out the calibration process and preheating of the hotel and then loading your filament.
Portability
The Monoprice Select Mini 3D printer is well built and robust in build quality. It comes with the golden sheet metal which houses the electronics.
It is compact and portable and is easy to transport without damaging it.
Other Considerations
The printer did an amazing job printing the models and we really like the quality it produces.
The minor trouble this printer gave was during the operation, the print bed moved forward towards the front of the machine, which stopped us from accessing the click-wheel controls.
Another consideration: in hot temperature has a margin error of about 5°C. It can be a problem while printing materials more sensitive to temperature changes.
There are obviously flaws in this printer as we discussed, but if you’re a beginner and are looking for low-cost 3D printing which is a low-risk way to explore 3D printing, this is the best choice.
This printer will provide you with a lot of education and entertainment at the same time. It’s easy to use and its print quality is fairly close to rival 3D printers costing three times that of this printer.
Specs Recap
- Editor’s Score: 6/10
- Printing Speed: 55 mm/second
- Connectivity: microSD, USB Connection
- Filament Type: Any standard 1.75mm Filament
2. XVICO X3 Pro
- Removable glass bed
- Durable and Smooth
- Makes less noise
- Filament detection if it runs out
- No heated beds
- No USB Connection port onboard
- Standard size filament spools are not supported.
Performance
The XVICO X3 3D Printer is just another 3D printer that has a solid design and makes it long-lasting.
This is a great printer if you don’t look further to invest more in the 3D printer after a few years, you don’t want to have the one that would get damaged after a few years.
The size of this printer is great and its size allows you to print models that are large enough.
The nozzle on this printer is self-cleaning therefore it prints out high-quality and amazing models.
The best feature on this printer is the removable bed which makes sure that you don’t damage your prints when you remove them and they stay in the perfect condition. The material used to make the bed is strong and doesn’t break easily.
The XVICO X3 3D printer itself is made from durable and very strong metal material making it sturdy.
The metal makes the LCD screen strong too and the sturdiness makes sure that the printer doesn’t shake when you are using it. The LCD onboard shows you how the model looks after it’s all finished.
The size of the print this printer can make is 220 x 220 x 250 mm which is a large print.
Therefore, this printer can print large models that are of high quality. The printing speed of this printer is 20-200 mm/s but it completely depends on the setting you set on the printer.
The speed is however fast and you have a model printed in around 2 hours. This printer comes handy even if you printed several models a day.
Connectivity
The printer has the MicroSD card slot onboard with which you will able to print your model.
You will just have to store the sliced GCode files, then plug the card into the microSD card slot to print even without the need to connect to a MAC or Windows. The printer comes with a 2GB microSD card out of the box.
The Xvico X3 3D printer has a touchscreen and that’s a great addition to the printer. The touchscreen was pretty responsive.
Portability
The printer size is big enough and it prints a fairly large model. Therefore the printer size is large. It is not as compact as the rest of the other 3D printers in this price segment.
Bottom Line
Coming to the conclusion, this XVICO X3 Pro 3D printer is overall a good printer but we certainly don’t recommend it to be your very first choice for a beginner printer.
On this printer, we feel the exposed wires, and the power supply seems to be a great safety issue. Overall, the X3 Pro is a solid and nicely built printer. The slide-out bed and the touchscreen is a cool feature to have on a 3D Printer.
Specs Recap
- Editor’s Score:7/10
- Printing Speed: 20-200 mm/s
- Connectivity:SD Card
- Filament Type:ABS, PLA, TPU, WOOD
3. Longer Orange 10
- 2.8-inch touchscreen
- he printer comes with Resin
- Uniform light distribution
- Slicer Graphic User Interface is very basic
- The printer requires manual levelling
Performance
The performance of this printer certainly blew our minds to some extent. Since this printer is one of the resin-based printers, the quality and the details of the print from the Longer Orange 10 3D printer were very impressive.
However, the print quality doesn’t perfectly match that of prints by the industrial 3D printer but is very close and fairly good enough for more detailed applications like jewelry and miniatures.
The printer has an accuracy of 20 microns and features a manual bed leveling.
LED technology makes the printer more efficient. It is an LCD resin printer and is one of a kind with several compatible resins like Rigid, Castable, and Dental resins.
The printer uses the special optical paths designed to achieve uniform light distribution and intensity giving us improved print quality and generate less debris during printing.
The printer is also equipped with high-temperature warning function which pauses the printing process automatically at high LED temperatures and will resume it back automatically upon sufficient cooling.
It is easy to use and also has easy leveling of the platform by 4 screws.
Performance-wise the Longer Orange 10 is amazing and provides better printing performance when compared to the rest of the many printers in the price segment. It is because the matrix illumination provides better uniformity, shorter time of curing, and higher intensity.
Connectivity
The printer is fairly easy to use. It comes with the support to print offline using the TF card. The operation on this printer is pretty easy since the printer is equipped with a 2.8-inch full-color touch screen which helps you to choose the printing file and view print progress.
The printer automatically identifies the print files in the TF card for offline printing.
Portability
The printer build volume is 98 x 55 x 140 mm which makes it more portable and compact compared to the rest of the 3D printers.
However, this also means that the print models won’t be large enough since the printing area would be less too. Being a resin-based 3D printer, the design is not as sturdy as the other printers.
Bottom Line
Brother MFC-J5830DWXL has an Auto Sheet Feed for photocopying that can hit up to 200 pages without any problems.
The best selling point of this printer is the custom slicer Longer offers. It is because the custom slicer is up to 30 times faster than the open source solutions, according to their manufacturer. Therefore, it’s pre-configured in the Longer products and the setup for beginners is very less, unlike third-party software solutions.
This makes this printer easy to use for beginners and moreover it is also portable and compact in design. If you’re a student or teacher, just having to explore 3D printing then look no further.
Brother MFC-J5830DWXL has an Auto Sheet Feed for photocopying that can hit up to 200 pages without any problems.
It can girdle up to 35 pages per minute, which is fast while bearing in mind the quality of prints that come out. Considering that the device is larger than average size, the rest of the printer leaves naught to be looked-for.
It gives you a high-quality printing experience, which is also economical and it makes very little noise compared to the competition.
Specs Recap
- Editor’s Score: 8/10
- Printing Speed:30 mm/h
- Connectivity:SD Card
- Display:2.8-inch touchscreen LCD
4. XYZprinting -da Vinci
- Capable of using third party 1.75mm ABS...
- New and intuitive calibration system...
- UL listed “for the purpose of...
- Dual-laser 3D scanning technology for...
- Finished scans are fully editable; you...
- Affordable
- Comes with Smart Filament
- Smart Self Levelling
- Wireless Connectivity
- Limited Filament
- No Heat-bed
- High-resolution printing is pretty slow
Performance
The printer has amazing looks, color, and design making it look more appealing than the rest of the 3D printer in this price range.
The da Vinci Mini 3D printer is in bright orange color with the black colored trim and weighs around 24 pounds. It measures 14.2 (H) x 15.4 (W) x 13.2 (D) inches and has a build area of 5.9 x 5.9 x 5.9 inches which is pretty much the same when compared to other budget 3D printers.
The amazing feature on this printer we noticed is that the da Vinci Mini is that it automatically does the leveling of the print bed before each print. The only downside is that it becomes difficult sometimes to remove the printed models from the print bed.
The da Vinci Mini did a great job when tested at the good resolution and had no operational issues at all during the printing process.
The print quality turns out to be average among the 3D printers we tested. However, none of the printers has the combined solid print quality along with misprint-free consistency considering the da Vinci Mini’s price.
The da Vinci Mini works only with filament from XYZprinting. However, since the filament is not expensive and comes in a pretty good range of colors, it cannot be considered as the downside.
Also, with the da Vinci Mini we did have issues with the prints not sticking to the print bed: we found that moderate-size print models tend to peel a little from the edges even with the applied white glue as recommended by XYZprinting and its software.
When it comes to print speed, the printer can be both a very slow or very fast printer. The printing at the normal quality preset then it does the job of printing in little less than 4 hours which is significantly faster than other printers.
While if you increase the print quality, the time increases further making it very sow.
Overall, da Vinci Mini did a great job and produced the clean, smooth prints with acceptable details in most of the tests we conducted with only a few flaws.
Connectivity
The da Vinci Mini doesn’t have any controls on the printer onboard. Everything is included in the XYZware program, and it is available to download for free for both MAC and Windows PC. However, the program is very simple to use and has a great user interface to interact with the printer from within the software.
You can do various tasks including the rotatable preview of the 3D model, scale, load, or shift of multiple models to print at once, however, you can’t edit the models.
Apart from this, the printer is plug and play with very simple hardware setup that can be done with following the instruction manual. You can also print either over a USB or Wi-Fi connection.
Portability
da Vinci Mini has a build volume of 150 x 150 x 150 mm which is fairly compact yet big in size. The printer is not compact enough but that is not a compromise since you can print large models on this printer. It’s big in size but looks appealing and colorful and it’s not the regular black printer.
Bottom Line
Summing up, the da Vinci Mini clearly a promising 3D printer and it provides you with a lot of printing performance for its $200 price range, producing attractive, clean prints with only a few glitches. The good presets it has, provides the best balance between the speed and quality.
The only downside regarding this printer is the flexibility since you will have to print only with ABS filament which can be bought directly from the XYZPrinting.
This simply means you can’t use different types of filaments like nylon and wood. This is not a problem for many users. If you need a quality 3D printer to get started and you like to have the easiest possible operation and the software that can pretty much do anything from the 3D slicing to the 3D modeling, then the da Vinci Mini is for you.
Specs Recap
- Editor’s Score:8/10
- Printing Speed:120 mm/h
- Connectivity: USB Connection, SD Card
5. Kingroon 3D Printer
- Easy Assembly: It comes with several...
- Resume Print: The machine has the...
- Advanced Technology: Upgraded extruder...
- Assisted leveling: assisted bed leveling...
- Guarantee: Strict testing for all...
- Amazing value for money
- Very minimal setup
- Cheaper design
- Not kid-friendly
Performance
The cheapest 3D printer in the market right now and it stands close enough to rest of the printer but certainly not very well.
The Kingroon 3D printer packs in really surprising features such as the responsive touchscreen, very quick and easy setup, and of course removable magnetic bed to easily remove 3D printed items.
The 3D printer works just out of the box. It hardly consists of 3 pieces and doesn’t even need instruction to build so beginners, here’s your chance.
The large knobs and onboard adjustment wizard makes it easier to do the bed leveling. All you have to do is follow instructions.
The Kingroon 3D printer comes with its own software and testing file loaded on the SD card provided in the box itself. Being the cheapest printer, it has some mind-blowing features like resuming 3D printing after losing power and Filament runout protection.
Obviously, a cheap product means a cheap design. All the positive reviews are for the features but the design is cheap.
The wires are poorly integrated and the moving parts get close to the hot areas and increase the risk of fire. Actually the cheap design can be a safety concern but none of the casualties is reported yet.
Apart from this, the fans and motors on the Kingroon are pretty loud.
The print quality of this printer isn’t perfect but it’s good enough for the price and most importantly if you can get your settings just right.
If the settings are a bit off, your models won’t be printed out with enhanced details and you’ll find a lot of artifacts and globs including the stinginess.
Also, using anything other than the PLA will not give you the good results as you expected to have even not with the ABS filament.
The printer works perfectly fine when at low printing speed so you need to give it a lot of time for getting amazing results.
Overall, it’s still a winner when considering the price.
Connectivity
It falls in the category of the plug and plays 3D printers out there.
A few simple instructions to assemble the few parts here and there and the printer is up and working. You just have to plug in the printer and print.
It supports Vura, Simplify3D, and Repetier-host software however, we suggest you go with Simplify 3D since it is much easier to use and understand. If you are pro and need more choices and capabilities, then go with Cura.
Apart from this, you can print the files from a USB device or an SD card. The touchscreen on board allows you to control the printer.
The touchscreen has eight controls that are large, have icons that are clear enough to do what they do. So, beginners, you’re safe.
Portability
The build size of this printer is 180 x 180 x 180 mm and is quite small and very compact. Also, it’s design consists of a few pieces that need to be assembled out of the box and that’s great. This printer can be placed anywhere even in the narrow spaces when not in use since it’s compact and is also small in size.
Bottom Line
Summing up, you see that the Kingroon 3D printer has more positive points compared to the negative points.
The print quality is amazingly good along with the ability to print fast at this price range. Moreover, the printer is user-friendly for beginners and also the home users who are just wishing to get into 3D printing.
We do agree that the unit is sturdy but it doesn’t feel cheap but the design is cheap since it has exposed wires.
If you’re looking to use this printer and gain skills then this is not the one for you as it is relatively limited in its capabilities since everything is already programmed for you. This printer is for someone who is not familiar with the 3D printing World.
Specs Recap
- Editor’s Score: 7/10
- Printing Speed: 150 mm/s
- Connectivity: USB Connection, SD Card
- Display: LCD Touchscreen with 8 controls
6. Monoprice Mini Delta
- Value for money
- Easy control
- Decent Print Quality and Speed
- Noisy printing process
- Less user friendly
Performance
According to the company’s claims Monoprice, Mini Delta Printer is the lowest priced professional quality 3D printer in the world.
As delta printers are always known for their performance and speed, this also applies to the Monoprice Mini Delta Printer it’s fairly fast as a low-cost printer.
Monoprice Mini Delta Printer prints at a speed of 150mm per second. The 50-micron layer resolution enables reasonably high-quality prints.
Because the high-quality mode results were unreliable. We are unable to judge the quality of the prints produced by the high-quality print mode.
The printer functions smoothly in both the normal and fast mode. Although the quality of the print is seen to be better in the normal mode as the printer layers have better resolution in the normal mode.
The surfaces of the print produced are smooth in both the modes normal and fast but the fast mode has few glitches and as a result, the print produced is a blur.
The printing process is pretty noisy due to the continual whining sound from the motors and the sound due to the movement of the printing head at the end of three motor-driven arms.
Connectivity
Monoprice Mini Delta Printer is very handy when it’s about the connectivity. Once you unbox the printer it’s ready to print just by plugging it in. This is what makes it user friendly and suitable for beginners.
The printer consists of a color LED screen display, and three buttons- ‘UP’,’DOWN’, and ‘SELECT’.These buttons enable us to navigate through the various menus of the printer. Its maximum resolution is of 50macrons.
Monoprice Mini Delta Printer comes with test models, configuration files, various document links, and a preloaded SD card. The connectivity of the printer is also made easier via Wifi and USB.
Portability
Monoprice Delta Mini Printer is a compact and highly portable printer. It weighs about 4lb.
It comes with a carrying handle which makes it very easy to move it quickly as per the need. It can be carried to the workplace, school, and anywhere required. The carrying handle is unique and is only found in the monoprice mini delta printer.
Other considerations
Although the Monoprice Mini Delta Printer is the best in its price range however, there are a few drawbacks that the users have pointed out like the issues with the USB and WiFi connectivity.
The printer is a great value for money for bargain hunters who are looking for a low-cost 3D printer as the Monoprice Mini Delta Printer has a lot to offer despite its low and budget-friendly price tag.
Bottom Line
Keeping all the drawbacks aside, the Monoprice Mini Delta Printer is highly recommended by us because it’s lightweight and portable. The quality and speed of this printer are pretty decent as compared to the other low-cost printers.
However, we wouldn’t recommend this printer to the beginners and to someone who has never used one before since the software and the process of operation is quite complicated. Moreover, the printer is fun to operate once you get familiar with the software and the process of operation.
Specs Recap
- Editor’s Score:6/10
- Print Speed: 150mm/s>/span>
- Display: 3.4“ IPS colour display
7. Anet A8 Prusa i3
- Affordable budget-friendly 3D printer kit
- Improved functionality
- Improves your knowledge about FMD 3D printing
- Lots of 3D printable enhancement
- Unclear assembly instructions
- Difficult to use without basic knowledge of 3D printings
- Lack of UI practicality
Performance
The Anet A8 Prusa i3 DIY 3D Printer was the most popular 3D printer until 2018. The building and assembly of the printer are quite challenging but considering its price, it surprisingly produces high-quality prints. It’s also modifiable. Which makes it difficult to ignore Anet A8 Prusa i3 DIY 3D Printer.
Although the assembly and installation of the printer are challenging, the printing experience is fun. The A8 Printer is very limited. The A8 successfully prints using the default settings via SD card but the quality of the print is compromised.
In Order to achieve the best results from the A8 Printer, a ton of up-gradation is required in almost all the areas.
MOSFET, EXTRUDER, AUTO LEVEL SENSOR are some of the upgrades that are required in order to get the best printing quality and results.
Making the A8 printer a safe and secure device takes a lot of efforts and a lot of work is needed to be done. However, printing and producing good quality can become a lot easier using the guidelines that are available on online platforms.
Upon testing the printer’s performance, the printed model turns out to be amazing but not quite what we were expecting but well, this printer is hackable and can be optimized even further for printing better.
In our simple test, it produced amazing results although we do find some stringiness.
The A8 Printer users have also experienced overheating issues after especially for long prints. There is a lack in the amount of cooling which leads to the overheating of the printer.
Portability
The Canon TS5120 Wireless printer weighs about 14.3 pounds and its size is compact.
Connectivity
The printer has a fine hybrid ink system with a 2.5-inch LCD screen display. There is front and Back paper rear support for you to quickly arrange the paper tray and refill it.
The A8 DIY 3D Printer comes unassembled when you unbox. Unfortunately assembling and installing is very challenging and time-consuming. The A8 printer comes with a USB stick installation guide which makes the installment easier, operating instructions, and troubleshooting guides.
It also contains 3D printing sample models, slicing software settings, photos and a video installation guide.
In terms of connectivity and PC compatibility, the options are pretty much everything. The A8 printer works with Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, Mac, and Linux. The A8 printer also offers more UI options which are pretty good. It can also be easily connected through USB and SD cards.
It also has a LED screen which aims to enable us to navigate through the printer menus and access all the options that are available but the clunky buttons make it harder to access and navigate all the menus and options and lack practicality.
Lastly, the A8 doesn’t offer automatic bed leveling technology. The entire bed calibration has to be done manually which becomes very difficult.
The printer has a fine hybrid ink system with a 2.5-inch LCD screen display. There is front and Back paper rear support for you to quickly arrange the paper tray and refill it.
You can go for borderless printing of your documents or prints and the Hi-speed USB provides good connectivity Wireless all in one printer that’s just the right size with all the right features.
Portability
The Anet A8 Prusa i3 DIY 3D Printer doesn’t come handy when it’s about portability.
The A8 printer is very compact. The printer’s volume is around 8.7×8.7×9.4 inches. It weighs about 18.7 lb. which makes it very difficult to move it from a place to another.
Other considerations
The A8 printer certainly comes with few flaws. One of the major drawbacks is that it comes unassembled and it is supposed to be built from scratch which requires a lot of patience, knowledge and it consumes a lot of time.
On the other hand, getting the perfect print is also a pretty difficult task as it doesn’t offer an automatic bed leveling system and the bed calibration has to be done manually as it has been mentioned earlier.
Bottom Line
Although the A8 printer has certain flaws and drawbacks. The 3D printing experience is pretty aspiring. An A8 printer is a great option for the ones who aren’t willing to spend much and get the prints in good quality.
However, it’s important to remember that it requires a lot of time to upgrade and tweak the printer to get the best and well-optimized performance from the A8 printer. The printer can be a perfect starting point as it’s a budget-friendly printer.
Specs Recap
- Editor’s Score: 4/10
- Printing Speed:100mm/s
- Connectivity: SD Card
- Display: LCD screen
8. Tresbro Creality Cr-100
- One button printing
- Easy to use the touchpad
- Child-friendly appearance
- No heated bed
- No USB Connectivity
Performance
The CR-100 is a 3D printer manufactured by the Chinese company called Creality.
The printer has a cute design and is made child friendly keeping the small build volume. It indeed comes in an affordable price range but also has quite a small build compared to the other printers that focus towards children and education.
The performance of this printer is quite fascinating and this printer packs in plenty of amazing features as well. The most useful feature, especially when considering for children, features an automatic bed leveling which will, of course, save you from the trouble of messing and keeping those little fingers of the children away from getting harm. The CR-100 is quite easy to use i.e, plug-n-play printer which is good for both adults beginners and kids.
When there are children, safety is considered more important and Creality claims that its printer has a flame retardant fuselage and high-quality electrical equipment making it even safer and secure.
Although the printer doesn’t have any exposed wires, we aren’t sure of what exactly the company claimed.
However, apart from this, the printed model turns out to be pretty amazing. It’s smaller and it doesn’t mean that it’s less powerful. The printer is sturdy and all-metal construction with a heated bed which ensures high accuracy.
The best thing about this printer is that the printing materials supported are a lot more including the PLA, Soft Rubber, Wood, Copper and even ABS. The printer did a great job in printing the models.
We are pleasantly surprised by the quality of the prints it produced. The only problem we faced is while printing the model with the Wood type filament. In our tests taken twice to print the wooden object, it stopped in between the print. It’s hard to complain about the printer which is priced below $200.
Apart from the printing process, the printer has a fun appearance and it looks like a truck. If you have a kid, he must find it more exciting than a normal looking printer.
The printer is also colorful and comes in four different colors which are red, orange, blue, and yellow.
The printer design is a little on complex side, it becomes very hard to see prints from all the angles.
Connectivity
The CR-100 features touchpad and one-button printing. This printer is very simple to use as advertised.
You just need to use any of the slicers as the software to create a 3D design like we used Cura in the process, and print your first model.
The printer supports both TF card and SD card for storing and printing the model. Once you plug in the card and press the one-button, it starts printing your model. However, there is no print recovery but it does have a print pause option.
Portability
The printer is tiny in size and Creality markets this printer’s tiny size as a feature but when it comes to allowing you child to create whatever they want then it will definitely be limited by the very small build size.
The printer total size is 241 x 183 x 255 mm and a build volume is 100 x 100 x 80 mm. This makes the printer extremely portable and compact and if you don’t have a lot of extra room in your home then it is a feature. Moreover, the printer just weighs around 2.8kg.
To be honest, limiting the size of the printer means limiting the build space too, which obviously means smaller prints and less waiting for prints.
Other Considerations:
Upon testing this printer, we do find uncertainties in the product.
There is no built-in camera to monitor the model and also due to its design we aren’t able to check out the model while it’s printing from all angles clearly.
The best thing is that this printer comes with a removable magnetic bed which snaps on and off the build plate and just a gentle bend it released the prints. However, we do miss the heated bed.
The printer comes assembled and the extruder type we noted is single with a smaller nozzle size of 0.4mm.
Bottom Line
Coming to the conclusion, we really didn’t like the size of the printer but that’s fair when the price is noted.
It is really a great printer for your kid to print out little toys and few masterpieces of their favorite cartoon characters. The print model will turn out to be smaller. The printer also doesn’t offer more customizability and you are stuck with printing trinkets.
However, if you’re not very likely to invest a lot in the 3D printer and is fine with printing small trinkets and models simultaneously have fun with your kids learning and teaching them about design then this printer is a great choice.
Specs Recap
- Speed: 180mm/s (max)
- Connectivity:TF Card
- Filament Type:PLA
So here is my list of top 8 3d printers under $200 range. It was pretty hard to research and even I wasn’t able to find a lot of printers in this range. so I want slightly above price. I hope you didn’t mind.
Please reach out to me if you have any questions. I’d be happy to help.