Print larger without surcharge: filament 3D printer with huge build space from €250

The 3D printer market is constantly evolving. In addition to improved technology and falling prices, the ever-increasing installation space for filament printers is particularly exciting. In the past, if you wanted to print large objects, you had to print them in several individual parts and then glue them together. Printers that also allow large printouts in one piece are much more convenient.

We define small FDM printers as devices with a maximum size of less than 20 × 20 × 20 cm. These printers are compact due to their construction and also fit on the desk or on the shelf. However, such printers often do without a heated print bed, which limits the choice of filament. If you want to process materials like ABS or PETG, you have to take a close look. When using PLA, on the other hand, this is not a problem.

Due to the short process paths, only low mechanical loads act on the individual components and the structure is often not very stable. An extreme example of this is the rickety Labists X1 (test report), which we cannot recommend despite the competitive price of less than 80 euros. Even with more massive models, the individual axles are often only attached to the frame on one side. This has no effect on the print result when using reasonable components, as we saw when testing the Wanhao Duplicator i3 Mini (test report) or the Davinci Mini w+ (test report).

If you only want to print small model construction parts, figures or the like, you can also achieve your goal with a small installation space – which then raises the question of whether a resin printer would not make more sense because of the higher accuracy. In addition, a look at the price comparison shows that this is not reflected in the purchase price of filament printers and that the small models are relatively expensive. For example, the Flashforge Finder 3D with an installation space of 140 × 140 × 140 mm currently costs €310. There are already significantly larger printers for the same price.

We define medium-sized FDM printers as devices with a build space of 20 × 20 × 20 cm up to 30 × 30 × 30 cm. This is the standard size and most printers are available in this category. These include, for example, the models we tested Anycubic Vyper (test report), Creality Ender 3 S1 Pro (test report) and our price-performance tip Anycubic Kobra 2 (test report), which are available from 289 euros. Slightly older devices, which do not have to be bad, are already available for less than 200 euros. A good example is the already mentioned Artillery Hornet (test report) with a building space of 22 x 22 x 250 cm from 159 euros. But not only the space for prints, but also the external dimensions of such devices are significantly larger and so you should clarify in advance where you want to and can set up the printer.

If you don’t want to tinker, you can also get ready-made devices in this size. These can be used immediately, but are more expensive. Printers of this size are usually more stable than smaller printers. Due to the longer travel distances, the loads are also greater and so the axles are usually connected to the frame at two points each. The most common design of such printers are the so-called bed pushers. Here the print bed moves along the y-axis, while the print head is responsible for movements along the x- and z-axes. Somewhat more stable, but more expensive and larger are the devices in the XY core design, such as the Qidi X-Plus (test report).

In addition to the larger space, the printers also offer very good value for money. If you have enough space available, you should always opt for the standard size instead of a mini printer.

The offers from German shops are usually more expensive than those from Chinese providers such as Banggood or Geekmaxi. These also usually send your goods directly from an EU country.

Since significantly more forces act on the components here, such large-capacity printers often use the so-called XY core design. Here, the print head moves along the x and y axes, while the printing platform and heated bed move exclusively along the z axis. Although this construction is more complex and requires more space, it is also more stable, which in turn benefits the print quality.

In terms of price and equipment, such XL printers are generally very exciting. However, you should think carefully in advance whether you actually have enough space available for it. The dimensions of such cars often reach 58 × 65 × 66 cm (Tronxy X5 SA Pro test report), which corresponds to about a large moving box.

There are also fully assembled printers with a large installation space, but they are rare and very expensive. The Qidi X-Max (test report) with a construction space of 30 × 25 × 30 cm is not yet a real XL printer, but it already costs over 1000 euros.

Resin printers usually offer the smallest print size. Although the costs for the equipment and the resin have fallen sharply, the printing costs are still significantly higher than with the FDM process. In addition, handling the resin is far more complex than using filament, which is why the devices are only really useful for a few applications. More on this in the guide UV resin or plastic filament: 3D printers in comparison.

After all, resin printers with a larger installation space have also been available for some time. For a better understanding: The first resin printers like the Elegoo Mars (test report) only offered an installation space of 12 x 9 x 16 cm. In the meantime, there are also significantly larger resin printers on the market, but the price differences to the standard sizes are enormous. The Anycubic Photon M3 with an installation space of 16 x 18 x 10 cm is listed from 239 euros. The Anycubic Photon M3 Max (test report), which is significantly larger with a print size of almost 30 x 30 x 16 cm, costs at least 863 euros.

There are currently just under 30 such printers listed in the price comparison. For comparison: There are currently more than 130 models of FDM printers. If you want to print large with resin, you currently have to invest significantly more.

The very high-resolution resin printers have the smallest installation space and the highest costs. Even cheap models are significantly more expensive than FDM printers when it comes to consumables and are therefore only interesting in exceptional cases. If you don’t use the printer exclusively for detailed miniatures, you should use a filament printer. If it is a resin printer, we recommend the inexpensive Creality Halot One (test report) or the relatively large Anycubic Mono X (test report).

In our opinion, if there is enough space available, it is always worth the small additional price compared to a large printer such as the Elegoo Neptune 3 Max (test report) for 350 euros. Extensive projects can also be implemented here without having to resort to glue.