Elements to look for when buying a 3D printer include the size of the machine, speed, accuracy, and very importantly, the type of 3D printing technology. This will affect the range of materials you can use and of course the cost of the hardware of the 3D printer itself. Therefore, you should first try to answer the following question: will using a 3D printer solve your real problem?
3D Printer Costs: FDM Printing Technology
If you're just looking to explore 3D printing technology and test your experimental projects, you can purchase a low-cost FDM desktop 3D printer, with an average price of $2,000-$50,000, which is basically what you need for your testing. Although these products do not sell in large quantities and do not print highly accurate parts, they can still help you familiarize yourself with 3D printing workflows at a low cost.
If you're looking for an FDM industrial-grade 3D printer for direct production use, you're looking at around $50,000-$300,000 or so. The reason for this price difference is that industrial-grade 3D printers are more accurate, have fewer errors, and print in a wider variety of sizes and materials.
3D Printer Cost: More Advanced Printing Technology
The price of 3D printers tends to increase as you use more sophisticated printing technology.The entry price for SLS 3D printers is around $50,000, so if you need to make complex products and want a shorter production time than with FDM 3D printers, then buying a 3D printer with this technology is a good option! .
So if you choose another 3D printing technology (e.g. Multijet, Colorjet, DMLS, etc.), consider that the cost of 3D printers goes up and is not affordable for everyone. It is recommended to purchase a 3D printer that is within a reasonable budget price based on the number of prints you predict you will need to make.
Cost of 3D printing materials
Different 3D printing technologies correspond to different available materials. The more advanced the 3D printer you use, the higher the cost of the material. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you choose your 3D printing technology based on the price of the 3D printing materials available. The price difference between many materials is high, so remember to factor in the cost of materials in your 3D printing costs.
3D printing material cost: thermoplastics
The cheapest materials you can get are those for FDM technology. Thermoplastics are the most widely used materials in 3D printing. This category contains different materials (PETG, PLA, ABS, etc.), but the price per kilogram does not exceed a hundred dollars. Then there are nylon powders for 3D printers with SLS technology. Nylon PA12, nylon PA11 / 12, nylon 3200 glass-filled, these polymers are available in different types, but the price remains the same overall.
Thermoplastics may be suitable for some prototyping applications, but the quality is not as good as what a professional scale machine can offer. Therefore, if you're printing a model of the final product or the product itself, it may be better to choose the options and techniques that a 3D printing service provider can offer than to use these materials on a low-detail machine.
3D Printing Material Costs: High-end Materials
The cost of 3D printing materials naturally goes up with the technical or precious nature of the material. The resins that can be used with Polyjet technology (VeroWhite, VeroClear) are more expensive than SLS polymers, and one of the reasons that justifies this difference is the small variety of materials available on the market.
Metals such as aluminum AlSi7Mg0,6 and 316L stainless steel used in SLM and DMLS technologies are starting to see a huge disparity from what was previously seen, as they cost thousands of dollars per kilogram.