What 3D printers do you “currently” recommend?

What 3D printers do you “currently” recommend?

It gets harder to recommend a specific 3D printer every year. That’s not because the quality of 3D printers is falling or the cost is increasing—exactly the opposite. The average 3D printer is very good quality, reasonably simple to use, and very affordable.

So, I’ll mention the printer features that I think are most valuable and the printers I have experience with that possess those features.

Key features:

Lots of customer support: You can get a really inexpensive 3D printer from China, and it will produce a very nice print. Unfortunately, you won’t have much help if you run into problems. You may also be surprised at how hard it is to make sense of the assembly manual, user manual, or QuickStart guide that comes with the printer because they haven’t put much effort into the translation from Chinese. Look for a manufacturer who goes out of their way to support their printers 24/7 with live chat and a phone number if you need to talk to someone.
Larger print/build surface: If you want to print a typical keyguard, you’ll need a printer that can print something at least 250 mm wide, and 300 mm wide is even better.
Direct Feed extruder: FDM printers utilize two different methods for delivering plastic filament to the heated extruder (direct feed vs. Bowden tube). Printers with direct feed mechanisms are better at printing flexible filaments.
Silent Stepper Drivers and Fans: Without going into any detail about what a stepper driver is, let it be said that some printers produce a loud whine when they print. That whine can come from the stepper drivers inside the electronics, or they can come from the fans that cool the extruder and the print – or both! These printers can be quite annoying unless placed in a separate room, well away from people’s ears. It’s possible now to find printers that are almost silent.
Rapid Warm-up: If the printer can send alternating current (A/C) directly to the print surface, it will heat up faster and be ready to print much sooner. The hotter the print surface needs to be, the more time you’ll save—as in 10 minutes or more.

The two printers I’m currently (Feb. 24, 2024) using and recommending are the Artillery Sidewinder X2 and the Prusa MK4:


Artillery Sidewinder X2: $399 Build Surface: 300 mm x 300 mm	Prusa MK4: $799 (kit), $1099 (assembled) Build Surface: 250 mm x 210 mm

The Prusa MK4 is the highest quality, non-commercial 3D printer and has been for some time. Prusa has amazing customer service and support. The printer also has some great features that make printing easy – the most prominent is a removable, flexible build plate that makes it easy to detach the print once finished. You can purchase the Prusa in kit form or fully assembled. I recommend you purchase the kit – not just for the cost savings. Once you’ve assembled the kit, you’ll be much more confident maintaining the printer going forward because you’ll know it inside and out. This video shows Stephan and CNC Kitchen reviewing the MK4.

If you’re going to be printing items that are smaller than a keyguard – like our Bliss Tactile Symbols – you can’t go wrong with the Prusa Mini 3D printer:

The printer has a print surface that is 180 mm by 180 mm. It does have a Bowden tube for delivering filament to the hot end but you’ll be doing most of your printing with PLA rather than a flexible filament. My guess is that it does a reasonable job of printing TPU as well. The printer can be purchased in kit form for $349 and in “almost completely assembled” form for $399. In this case, I’d suggest you just pay the extra $40 and save yourself the rest of the assembly.

Here are some other printers that I have no experience with but look promising and have a 300 mm x 300 mm print surface:

Here are some smaller printers that I have no experience with but have gotten good press:

One feature you don’t need is “multi-color printing.” Don’t spend money on this feature or the additional equipment required to provide it. The technology needs much more time and development before it’s ready for general use. The Prusa printer picture above shows two filament roles, but one of the roles is “staged” for later use (which I find to be really useful). You can achieve many of the multi-color effects you want by swapping filament colors at key points in the 3D printing process.

DON’T get an SLA/MSLA printer…

You may have heard of SLA printers, which use liquid resins rather than plastic filament to build objects and can produce very detailed objects.

All of that is true.

If you want to produce highly detailed miniatures – think Dungeons and Dragons tokens – then a resin printer might be a good choice. But they’re rarely appropriate for building assistive technology. The printed object is relatively fragile and limited in size. These printers are also a real pain to use. Michael at Teaching Tech describes the process here. He knows what he’s doing, but it still sounds scary!

Is it really worth the extra money to get a Prusa?

I’ve surveyed several people for their opinion on a printer to recommend to “non-technical” people. Every single one has said, without any hesitation, a Prusa. Along with the reliability and support I’ve mentioned above, I’d like to add how much Prusa goes out of their way to make things easy that would otherwise be a challenge with another printer. I often use multiple colors in my prints to make them more personal or usable. I also insert things like RFID tags and nuts into the prints. This video shows how Prusa makes these things straightforward to do. Joseph Prusa may have a bit of an ego – but he’s earned it… And you never have to talk to him!

A report from the trenches

Jennifer Schubring is an SLP with lots of experience in 3D-printing keyguards. She documented her journey and 3D-printer recommendations in this blog post: 3D Printing Keyguards – An Epic Journey.

A review of the current state of 3D printers from a person of trust

Michael at Teaching Tech created a video describing the “current” state of the 3D printer market as well as its recent history (which was somewhat disappointing). Give it a listen. I don’t disagree materially with anything he says – though I’ve always been a “function over form” person, so I don’t need a “modern-looking” printer. And, while I’ll definitely use a touch screen if presented with one, I’d rather have a user interface that is logically organized.

Here’s an even more recent comparison of the best “bed slinger” printers in 2024 from Angus at Maker’s Muse.

What filaments do you recommend?

How do I obtain 3D-printed devices if I don’t have a 3D printer?

3D-printing caveats…

Is 3D-printing safe?

Where should I look for things to print?

How can I start designing my own 3D objects?