Having a 3D printer at home is a great way to fix everyday objects that break. You can easily print designs to replace broken parts, that might be discontinued or hard to find. Having the 3D printer makes it easy. It opens up a world of opportunities.

How To Select A 3D Printer

When getting a 3D printer, there are some aspects you should consider. First off, you need to consider your printing volume. Do you need to print small objects? Large Objects? You should get a printer that can meet your demands.

Next, you want to consider the type of printing filament you want to use. Not all printers support all types of filament, so this is a very important consideration to make. The results of your printing project will differ depending on the different types of filament you use.

Features are also very important to consider. For instance, some 3D printers come with heated build plates (preferred), and some do not. Additionally, some printers come pre-assembled and others require that you put them together. 

Our Favorite 3D Printers Under $250

Monoprice Mini Delta 3D Printer

The Monoprice Delta 3D printer is one of the cheapest assembled 3D printers on the market. It has a ton of great features for the price. It also comes with a heated bed and handles both PLA and ABS filament.

It’s not a high volume printer, but the footprint of the printer is nice, allowing you to easily fit it on almost any sized workbench. All in all, a lot of bang for very little buck.

Monoprice Select Mini 3D Printer v2

The Monoprice Select Mini v2 is an Amazon.com best-seller. It’s actually the perfect printer for anyone that is just getting started with 3D printing. You can pull it out of the box and basically start printing right away. It’s that simple to use.

It comes fully assembled and is pre-calibrated by the factory ahead of time. Pre-calibration is very rare printer for its price range.

TEVO Michelangelo Desktop 3D Printer

The TEVO Michelangelo is a small desktop 3D printer with a printing volume of 150 x 150 x 150mm. 

It’s great because it comes in an all-in-one piece, fully-assembled all-aluminum frame, and you can start printing straight out of the box. The one drawback is that this printer doesn’t come with a heated bed, so you can only use PLA and TPU filament. 

It’s got a fast travel speed, precise zero positioning, and temperature-controlled cooling fans.

Creality Ender-3 3D Printer

The Creality Ender has a pretty good printing volume of 220 x 220 x 250mm. It allows you to achieve high-quality prints in an easy way. This printer comes as a pre-assembled kit and the assembling process is not difficult at all.

This printer features a heated build plate and it is compatible with flexible filament. One great extra feature that is usually only available in more expensive printers is that it can recover and resume a print after losing power. The Creality Ender-3 is definitely a great choice for both beginners and for experienced users.

Geeetch A10 Printer

This printer is actually an Amazon’s Choice 3D printer. The Geeetech A10 is a very good, low-cost 3D printer. It is very close to the Creality Ender 3 in its design and features. The Geeetech A10 is easy to assemble with only 3 main parts to put together, so even a novice can get this printer up and running relatively easily.

This cost-effective desktop 3D printer is packed with features such as a high-adhesion build platform, a filament detector, and a “resume print” function. With a large build size and sturdy build (220x220x260m), the Geeetech A10 is a great 3D printer for beginners.

Anet A8 3D Printer Kit

The ANET A8 3D is a complete DIY kit. This means nothing comes assembled. This machine is not easy, but you’ll learn a lot by assembling the printer yourself. There’s no better way to learn about 3D printers than building your own. If you aren’t looking for a challenge, this is probably not the right printer for you.

One nice thing about this printer is you can always add more features and improvements. You’ll find a huge community of users who have done incredible upgrades to their Anet A8 printers.

This is definitely a great 3D printer for hobbyists who already have some knowledge about 3D printing. 

There Are Lots Of Great Choices Out There

All these 3D printers have great features given their prices. The perfect 3D printer for you will greatly depend on your needs. So, make sure you take into account the types of projects you want to do and the volumes you are interested in. 

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