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

$9,975 – $300,000

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,
• Method family printers enable engineering performance materials
• Thingiverse – one of the largest repositories of 3D printable models

Price Range

$1,999 – $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 – $12,799