Best 3D Printers (2024) – CNET

Testing 3D printers is a thorough process. Printers often do not use the same materials or even the same process to create patterns. I test SLA, 3D printers that use resin and light to print, and FDM, printers that melt plastic onto a plate. Each has a unique methodology. The main qualifications I look at include:

• Hardware quality
• Easy setup
• Packaged software
• Appearance and accuracy of prints
• Repairability
• Company and community support

A key test print representing the (now old) CNET logo is used to evaluate how the printer bridges gaps, creates accurate shapes, and handles overhangs. It even has small towers that help measure how well the 3D printer handles temperature ranges.

When testing speed, we slice the pattern using the standard slicer that the machine comes with with its default settings and then compare the actual print duration to the slicer statement completion time. 3D printers often use different slicers, and these slicers can vary greatly depending on what they consider completion time.

Then we use PrusaSlicer to determine how much material the print should use and divide that number by the actual time it takes to print, which gives us a more accurate number for the speed in millimeters per second (mm/s) that the printer can run.

Each building plate must be heated to a certain temperature, so we use InfiRay Thermal Camera for Android to check how well they are doing. We set the build plate to 60 degrees Celsius—the most commonly used temperature for build plates—waited five minutes for the temperature to stabilize, and then measured it at six separate locations. We then took the average temperature to see how close the 3D printer was to the advertised temperature.

Resin testing requires different criteria, so I use Ameralab standard test: printing a small resin model that looks like a small city. This helps determine how accurate the printer is, how it handles small parts, and how well the UV exposure works at different points on the model.

Many other anecdotal test prints using different 3D models are also run on each printer to test the longevity of the parts and how well the machine handles different shapes.

For the other criteria, I researched the company to see how well it responds to customer support requests and how easy it is to order replacement parts and install them yourself. Kits (printers that come only semi-assembled) are rated on how long and difficult the assembly process is and how clear the instructions are.