Another thing to note is that the Photon doesn’t connect directly to a computer: rather, you have to save your models to a USB flash drive (one’s included in the box), then plug that into the Photon and select the file you want to print. Still, this is easy to do, thanks to a 2.8in colour touchscreen – and the end results are stunning, especially for the price.

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The Qidi Tech X-Pro looks almost like a regular printer, save for its futuristic colour scheme. It’s neatly self-contained, compact enough to sit on your desk at home and easy to operate thanks to its 4.3in touchscreen. Key specs – Printing type: Dual-extruder FDM; Print materials: 1.75mm ABS, PLA, PETG; Nozzle diameter: 0.4mm; Print resolution: 0.1mm; Quoted printing speed: Not stated; Print volume (WDH): 230 x 150 x 150mm; Printer dimensions (WDH): 550 x 360 x 550mm; Interface: 4.3in colour touchscreen; Connectivity: Micro USB, Ethernet, Wi-FiThere are two main plastics used for this, namely polylactide (PLA) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). PLA tends to produce cleaner results, while ABS models are physically stronger; the difference isn’t huge, though, and most printers can use both. Many can also use filaments that are mixed with other materials, such as wood or copper. This lets you produce items with more aesthetically pleasing textures, and which may even be electrically conductive, if that’s useful to you.

Best possible settings for V2 : r/MPSelectMiniOwners - Reddit Best possible settings for V2 : r/MPSelectMiniOwners - Reddit

If you want to make a model out of more than one material (or in more than one colour) you can often pause the printer part-way through a print job, switch filaments, then resume printing. In this way you could, for example, print an object with a red bottom and a blue top. If you want to combine colours more intricately than this, you’ll need a printer with a dual extruder head, which can switch between two different filament feeds as it prints each layer. For the price you might be expecting an assemble-it-yourself-kit, but this 3D printer comes ready to roll right out of the box, so you can start turning out models in minutes. Though it only has a single extruder head, it’ll work with regular ABS and PLA, plus wood, copper, steel and bronze-filled filaments, so you can create items with a good range of different appearances and physical characteristics. It’s easy to use too, thanks to a large 3.7in colour LCD screen and intuitive control wheel. The print base is only 120mm square, and the maximum print height is 12cm, so it won’t do for big, ambitious projects, but on the plus side, the printer itself only has a footprint of 287 x 190mm, so it’ll won’t dominate your desk. You don’t necessarily even need to connect it to a computer, as the Select Mini V2 can print directly from an SD card – or you can use its built-in 2.4GHz Wi-Fi receiver to operate it remotely.The Digilab 3D45 isn’t cheap, but it comes from a respected brand and has numerous features to satisfy 3D printing devotees. For one, it can print models of up to 254 x 152 x 170mm in size, and its fully enclosed design emphasises safety and keeps the noise to a minimum. The main alternative to the FDM process is stereolithography (SLA): instead of plastic, this uses liquid resin which is hardened by exposure to a laser. SLA isn’t ideal for domestic use, as it produces unpleasant odours and the models need to be bathed in alcohol once the print process is complete – but the end results can look cleaner, with more fine detail than you’d get from a comparably priced FDM machine. Where can I get 3D models to print?