Markforged is focused on delivering high quality, high performance 3D printers that build strong parts.  From composite structures to metal 3D printing, Markforged products are designed to meet your needs.  For composite parts, two plastics are available: tough nylon and Onyx (nylon with chopped carbon fiber).  For additional strength and depending on the model, a second extruder embeds a continuous fiber.  The fiber choices include: carbon fiber, Kevlar, fiberglass, and high strength high temperature fiberglass.  Markforged also delivers metal 3D printing, initially in stainless steel with several other metals in beta testing.

Differentiators:

• Strong Parts (Composites and Metal)
• Embedded Continuous Fiber
• Excellent Surface Finish

Price Range

$3,500 – $99,500

Since its founding in 2002, EnvisionTEC has pioneered multiple technologies to deliver industrial grade 3D printers for a broad spectrum of markets.  While EnvisionTEC is best known for its leading positions in the orthodontic, jewelry, and hearing aid markets, their offering is directly applicable to aerospace, automotive, biofabrication, and consumer markets, to name a few.  With six distinct 3D printing technologies, they are perhaps most noted for their methods that us UV photo cured resins.  With proprietary methods that include gray scaling and pixel shifting, EnvisionTEC  delivers the best surface finish and part accuracy in the industry.  According to the 2017 Wohlers Report, EnvisionTEC was the third largest 3D printer manufacturer in the world for 2016.

Differentiators:

• Superior Surface Finish
• High Accuracy
• Multiple Materials

Price Range

$13,000 – $300,000

Headquartered in the U.S., Formlabs was founded in 2011 out of MIT and now employs over 400 people with offices in Germany, Japan, and China.  As the flagship product, the Form 2 leverages stereolithography (SLA) technology to bring very affordable, industrial quality 3D printing to the desktop.  The Fuse 1 is on the horizon and is based on selective laser sintering (SLS) technology.  In addition to developing high quality 3D printers, Formlabs also develops high performance materials, a key ingredient to every 3D printing success.

Differentiators:

• Excellent Surface Finish
• Accuracy
• Affordable

Price

$3,500

MakerBot was founded in 2009 and has sold 100,000+ 3D printers, more than any other manufacturer in the world.  Their current offering includes four models, and they are the market leaders in the education segment.  The Mini+, Replicator+ and Z18 print PLA and Tough PLA, a material with physical properties that resemble ABS but print with ease just like PLA.   With the Smart Extruder+, MakerBot has taken 3D printing to a new level of reliability while also providing automatic detection of the end of the filament and the capability to replace spools during a build and then resume.  The fourth model, the Replicator 2x, has two extruders and can print PLA and ABS.  With the second extruder, one can print in a part with a second color or print dissolvable supports.

Differentiators:

• Simple User Interface
• Optimized for PLA and Tough PLA
• Thingiverse – one of the largest repositories of 3D printable models

Price Range

$1,299 – $6,499

Fusion3 was founded in 2013 with a strong commitment to design and manufacture affordable, reliable, highly capable industrial 3D printers.  The F410 has a large build platform and is well-suited for both commercial and education market segments.  This unit comes with a 0.4 mm dia. nozzle with 0.6 and 0.8 mm nozzles available optionally.  This flexibility meets a broad spectrum of needs from fine detail to increased capacity for faster printing with a slight reduction in surface quality.  Fusion3’s commitment to quality and reliability is backed by an industry-leading 2-year warranty.  By design, Fusion3 does not make or sell filament for their 3D printers but instead they believe that owners should have the flexibility to choose the right material for their own needs.

Differentiators:

• Multiple Materials Available
• Heated Build Platform
• Out-of-Filament Detection
• 2 Year Warranty

Price

$4,599

Located in Southern California, Airwolf 3D manufactures 3D printers with large, heated build platforms, enclosed build chambers, and direct drive extruders, and these units can run over 40 materials.  The auto-leveling feature occurs at the start of each build, ad it requires no user involvement whatsoever.  Packed with features, these 3D printers are designed to meet the needs of both the commercial and education markets.  The largest of their offering is the AXIOM 20, which can build parts up to 12.5 x 12 x 20 inches high.

Differentiators:

• 40+ Materials Available
• Heated Build Platform
• Auto-leveling of Build Platform
• Dual Extrusion Available

Price Range

$3,195 – $9,995

Headquartered in Ireland, Mcor Technologies is on a mission is to make full color 3D printing broadly available to all who have the need.  This is primarily accomplished by using paper as the build material and by leveraging well-establish 2D inkjet color printing technology.  The Mcor ARKe is the world’s first full color, desktop 3D printer, and it is available at a fraction of the price of the first generation machines.  This is truly a unique offering in the 3D printing market, providing what Mcor believes is the lowest cost of ownership for a full color 3D printer.  Using paper and a water-based adhesive to bond the layers makes this one of the safest and ecologically friendly 3D printers on the market.

Differentiators:

• Full Color (2 million+ colors available)
• Uses paper for the build material (low cost and eco-friendly)
• Low operating cost

Price Range

$17,995 – $55,000

The Geomagic Capture is a high performance scanner at an affordable price point.  The optional Industrial Pack includes a tripod and turntable, which enhances productivity.  The Capture Mini (not shown) is suited for smaller objects with even better accuracy.  While these scanners enable Geomagic to provide a complete solution from within, Geomagic’s robust suite of software applications can also control a number of third party scanners.  Geomagic’s Design X is ideally suited for reverse engineering, while Control X is focused on streamlining the QA/Inspection processes.  Geomagic is located in Cary, NC and was acquired by 3D Systems in 2013.

Differentiators:

• High Accuracy and Precision
• Designed for Reverse Engineering and QA/Inspection Applications
• Solidworks Plugin Available

Price

$13,000 (excludes software)

EinScan 3D scanners by Shining 3D provide incredible value by delivering high performance at competitive price points.  Two models are available: the EinScan-Pro and the EinScan-Pro+.  Optional features for both models include:  1) full color capability, and 2) a tripod/turntable package.  The EinScan-Pro+ has a larger field of view than the EinScan-Pro and an optional Rapid Registration Module is also available for the EinScan-Pro+.  This module allows the system to perform even better when scanning large objects (even large, flat objects) with few features.

Differentiators:

• High Accuracy and Precision at a Very Competitive Price
• Handheld or Fixed Modes
• Full Color (optional)
• Tripod and Turntable (optional)

Price Range

$4,000 – $6,900

The Sense 3D Scanner by 3D Systems provides incredible features at a ridiculously low price.  This model is a perfect addition for the family or classroom and can also meet the needs for some applications in the commercial market segment.  This unit is light and portable (small enough to fit in your backpack or laptop bag).  The included software provides STL and OBJ file formats, both of which are widely used in the 3D modeling and 3D printing industries.

Differentiators:

• Full Color
• Handheld
• Very Affordable Price

Price

$400