Well, you aren't alone. The concept and practice of 3D printing has largely been in the commercial business realm, however within the past 5 years, advancements in scale into the DIY market has enabled nearly any one to get into 3D printing.
So, what are the keys to look for? It all depends on what you want to accomplish with 3D printing, and what the size of your budget is.
Pricing starts from ~$200 for the very basic, assembly required printers with small print surface space. These printer ranges are great for novices, and individuals whom aren't after the finest resolution, build space or speed, while not "breaking the bank."
Monoprice Select Mini V2 ($220)
The next jump up is around 50% pricier around $300-500. In this catagory you'll get the the best of both worlds, build plate size, multiple different filament types (Wood, Carbon Fiber, PETG,Copper, and more), and speed. These printers have great resoultion, and will give pretty much any DIY'er enough range to print anything they CAD design or obtain from 3D print databases like Thingiverse.
These printers are the best value for the money and are ones I'd recommend for even a first time user:
Finally the upper end. I chose to cap the price at $2,500, and the prices range all the way to $10,00 and beyond for professional/commercial printing businesses. These are the ultimate with the latest extruder/programming technologies and can print wide ranges of materials with speed. Stereo-lithograph methods are the finest in resolution and speed, although the equipment/resins costs are high currently.
Makerbot Replicator 2 ($2,500)
There you go! I personally would recommend the Creality CR-10 for a first printer..it is what I personally have kept and worked with and have gotten great results. Tough to beat any of them though.
What are your thoughts on 3D printing or experiences with these, or any 3D printers for that matter?
Happy Printing!
