Any
3D printer for sale is price-tagged. However, have you taken time to
wonder why each of them has a different price tag? The reason is quite simple –
3D printers come with different technologies, features, and sophistication
levels. This affects their retail costs as well as the quality and quantity of
their final printed parts. The cost of a 3D printer notwithstanding, one should
consider the intentions of purchasing a printer before choosing either of those
available in retail stores. The good news is that one can find a 3D printer for
any budget. It all depends on what he or she plans to do with that printer. The
following are some guidelines to determine the cost of a 3D printer for sale.
1. The
technology used
As
an additive technology, 3D printing uses CAD models to 3D print various
products. However, any 3D printer for sale could be customized to
operate based on a different technology. It is this technology that affects the
printer’s mechanisms, speed of printing, the type of printable materials, the
quality of final touches, and the cost of the final products. Some of these
technologies include Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM), Stereolithography (SLA),
Selective Laser Melting Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS), and Selective
Laser Sintering (SLS). These technologies result in different costs for 3D
printers for sale as they mean different print qualities. One can choose a 3D
printer for sale based on the technology preferred and the budget intended to
be invested.
2. Applicable
maintenance costs
Most
retailers conceal the maintenance requirements of the 3D printers listed for
sale in their stores. Consequently, buyers may buy printers without proper
information about the most vulnerable parts and how much their replacement
could cost. A good 3D printer for sale should be cheap to maintain and
its replaceable parts should be readily available. Therefore, buyers should
consider the cost of maintenance regardless of the printer’s retail price as a
way of minimizing maintenance costs.
In
conclusion, in as much as the 3D printer cost is a prerequisite to
buying a good printer, one should have a list of other indicators of the final
retail price before choosing the best 3D printer to buy. One should assess the
kind of job intended for the printer before investing in it. For instance, if
one wishes to give 3D printing a try before progressing into fully professional
3D printing, then the low-cost 3D printers such as Snapmaker 2.0 Modular 3D
Printer F350/F250 (retailing at $699) could be the most appropriate.
No comments:
Post a Comment