9+ Best 3D Printers Under $300 | Unrivaled Guide & Products Overview

Toy soldiers, flowers, buildings, and so on and so forth!  There are no limits with 3d printers except your own imagination.

This very particular type of printer is the evolution of traditional printers. Through three-dimensional modeling programs, they are able to reproduce any object using various materials.

The materials used for three-dimensional printing are numerous, ceramics can be used but also sugar and chocolate

Unconventional materials for a printer, don’t you think? 

The pastry sector, in fact, was among the first to use this new technology.

We have collected a selection of the best 3d printers  under 300 dollars on the market, we have highlighted all the specific features but … before starting, as usual, I leave you to the purchase guide, to shed some light on these innovative systems of Press.

Best 3D Printers Under 300 USD

3D printers allow access to impressive technology so that you can produce almost any component yourself. There are already millions of free 3D printing models on the internet. In addition, good to very good quality 3D printers are becoming more and more affordable and have already come in the price range of up to 300 dollars.

Best 3D Printers Under $ 300 | Comparison 2022

Prices and images pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on:

Best 3D Printers Under $ 300 | 2022 Products Overview

Unrivaled Guide on Best 3D Printers Under $ 300

How does a 3D printer work?

But the important question you need to ask yourself is: how does a 3D printer work? If on the one hand, the great diffusion on the territory took place thanks to the ease of use, it is even more true that it is necessary to understand well how it works to obtain the best possible result. Before approaching the 3D printer, the design of the object you intend to build is fundamental; through a computer and dedicated software, you will have to shape your creation in the smallest details, from length to depth, without neglecting the materials with which you want to realize your idea.

The most common software (you will find several, even free) allows you to save the project created in the Standard Triangulation Language To Layer (STL) format. This has the ability to divide the design into many graphic triangles, making it easier for the 3D printer to read the object. To understand the practical operation of this device it is important to imagine a 2D printer and the traditional printing of office documents and files. In fact, the real difference lies in the main head, the latter is identified with the extruder in a 3D printer, while with the ink in a 2D printer.

The extruder has the function of using the polymers of the materials, which through the filament heated to very high temperatures, allowing the composition and construction on a rigid plate of the project created in the software. As you can deduce, the extruder is the real fulcrum of a 3D printing, this in fact is essential to take care of the three printing phases:

1. transport of polymers from the tank to the heating phase;
2. state of the filaments up to fusion;
3. the filaments come out of the nozzle to compose the object.

The extruder is a mobile component of the 3D printer, consequently, it has degrees of freedom that constrain it both in horizontal and vertical movement. For this reason, it is important that, even for a cheap 3D printer, a product is identified with an excellent extruder.

Materials used in 3D printing

Once you understand how a 3D printer works, it is important to focus on what materials are used for printing. Every year, thanks to scientific and technological evolution, there are always new filaments that can be used for your 3D projects, depending on the needs and the desired final quality.

In all likelihood, however, you will never have heard of materials in powder, pellets, or granules; this is because they are not widely used due to a limited cost and availability. The most used materials for 3D printers are metallic materials and plastic materials.

Metallic materials

In the industrial field, metal prints are used, these use steel as the primary material, which is usually used to create silver-colored chrome plating on jewels. Artists and craftsmen use this 3D printing technique not only with steel but also with titanium, in order to improve the strength of the built objects.

Plastic materials

Metallic materials will have destabilized you a bit, their use is hardly approached to the world of cheap 3D printers but different is instead the discourse for plastic materials, ideal for having fun within the walls of the house. Usually, when you buy a 3D printer, there is a nylon filament spool in the package: here, this is indispensable for the Filament Deposition Manufacturing (FDM) process. With the use of nylon, the extruder has the task of melting the filament of the cartridge and then proceeding towards the construction through a layered composition process of the designed object.

This material is highly appreciated by those who 3D print because it guarantees good flexibility and resistance but above all, given the white color, it can be subsequently colored after printing. Another plastic material used for 3D prints is ABS, this suitable for the production of very resistant and rigid objects; through a heating phase at more than 250 ° C the filament is melted before it can be used.

ABS can be purchased in different colors, considerably speeding up the finishing process of the conceived project. In addition, in addition to the versatility in the choice of color, it also boasts characteristic recyclability: a not negligible element when it comes into contact with plastic materials and their disposal.

What to expect from an affordable 3D printer?

Print quality: although the quality of the new generations of economic 3D printers is always constantly improving, it is undeniable that an economic product must overlook the perfection of details. Some small burrs in the final result can still be improved through the use of small accessories for cleaning excess filaments. The advice is to equip yourself with a small kit for cleaning excess filaments.

Dedicated software: a cheap 3D printer bases much of its longevity and reliability on the software created by the community or by major companies for free. A high-end 3D printer has in 90% of cases a dedicated software on which to import and design your works, while a cheap 3D printer hardly guarantees the presence in the purchase bundle of software optimized for that model. A lighter, less professional approach to printing is to be expected. However, the presence on the market of completely free software capable of guaranteeing excellent results should be emphasized.

Weight: many companies producing 3D printers, in order to put cheap products on the market, invest little in the quality of the component materials of the printer itself. Lightweight structures with a low specific weight are a consequence of practical savings; don’t be scared when you pick up the printer and it will feel very light. For some, the lower weight is seen as a strength, capable of guaranteeing portability and manageability, for others, it is synonymous with low quality and little longevity.

How to choose a good 3D printer at a good price

As with all technological devices, 3D printers also have their price ranges. The cheapest range can be limited to a price range that varies from 150 dollars to 400 dollars and differs significantly from one model to another.

 So how to choose your 3D printer for under 300 dollars ? To understand this, the first real question you need to ask yourself is: what should I print?

It will seem obvious but it is instead essential in order to buy the ideal product for your needs. For example, if you just want to experience the world of 3D printing, it is advisable to spend as little as possible, so that you can closely verify the mechanics of operation and begin to familiarize yourself with graphics software.

If, on the other hand, you are a lover of action figures and useful objects for DIY, the advice is to choose a product with a very precise extruder and above all with a not too light structure, so as to guarantee greater longevity over time.