3D Hubs has just released their new list of top-rated 3D printers.
The community 3D printing service is in a good position to objectively develop such ratings, as they have simply compiled the ratings provided by print buyers over the past year. These are independently provided by buyers who have no particular interest – or perhaps even awareness of – 3D Hubs’ top printers list.
When a print job passes through 3D Hubs’ network, the buyers are asked to rate the work. They provide information on the responsiveness of the printer operator, print quality and more factors.
They can also observe reliability as print jobs occasionally fail on all equipment.
3D Hubs is able to correlate these ratings with their database of equipment as provided by their network of 3D print operators. Then, combining this information with publicly available information such as machine type and typical cost.
Then it’s a matter of arithmetic and sorting to arrive at their final top rated machines list. Oh, and presenting it in an easy to use manner as well.
3D Hubs has chopped their ratings into several interesting categories that resonate strongly with my understanding of how 3D printers are actually used and purchased these days:
Prosumer: Powerful machines with plenty of features that attract enthusiasts and professionals
Workhorse: Highly reliable machines that can expect to run continuously for long periods without problems
Budget: Machines that provide good reliability and quality, but with more emphasis on lower pricing
Plug ’n Play: Desktop 3D printers designed for ease of use as the primary feature, suitable for education and personal use
SLS: Commercial equipment capable of producing strong nylon parts
3D Hubs simply re-weighted the evaluation factors to arrive at sorted lists for each category, maintaining the independent voice of their customers.
And who won? You’ll have to check out the full list, but I think Ultimaker, Makergear, Prusa, CraftBot and EOS will be quite happy with the results.
While you can see the full results at the list below,
Via 3D Hubs
