Trying to find a sub multi-thousand 3-D printer that’s worth purchasing is a real uphill battle these days, simply because there are so many different options available to pick and choose from, and all of them promising that they – and only they – are the best of the bunch.
Most 3-D printers available on the market today have been created with the average consumer in mind, and aren’t designed for the more serious 3-D printing in the easiest or those that are running a shop that needs to be able to rapidly prototype.
The LulzBot Mini is anything but that kind of machine, but still isn’t going to set you back nearly as much as any of the other professional-grade pieces of 3-D printing equipment out there on the market today. This is a consumer-priced 3-D printer that’s capable of professional results, and it has to be considered one of the very best 3-D printing options available on the market today.
Overview
The relatively compact, but with plenty of space for actually printing and creating, you are going to be mesmerized by the speed and efficiency that the LulzBot Mini can offer as far as printing projects are concerned.
Designed and engineered by the same people behind the larger and more professional/commercial-styled 3-D printers from this company, this is just a slightly reconfigured and slightly shrunken down printer that produces comparable results with a much smaller price tag.
The modular tool head system is fantastic, the ability to leverage multiple types of 3-D printing software is a plus, and the filament-style printing system is the way to go in the way of the future.
Standout Features
Let’s start with the auto-leveling bed that you are going to be able to maximize when you decide to go with this particular 3-D printer.
Unlike a lot of other 3-D printers at this price point, you shouldn’t have any trouble whatsoever leveling your project before every print to maximize the consistency and quality of the finished product. So many other 3-D printers of this size provide a variety of different leveling tools and solutions, but not many of them offer the kind of auto-leveling and self-leveling solution that the LulzBot Mini provides.
The printing volume of 152 mm x 152 mm x 158 mm is going to be more than enough for those that are looking to rapidly prototype smaller projects, and the ability to go as fine as 50 µ and as course as 500 µ opens up a lot of unique capabilities that most other solutions at this price point just can’t deliver.
Usability
Usability is a major bonus when you’re talking about the LulzBot Mini.
Not only is this 3-D printer ready to rock and roll almost right out of the box, but you’re also going to be able to use any kind of 3-D printing software that you’d like to run in conjunction with this technology. You do not have to tether your 3-D printer to your production computer, either, opening up a lot of extra capabilities and a lot of collaboration that simply wouldn’t have been possible with a tethered approach.
Open-source software for 3-D printing is included with this particular 3-D printer. It’s also very easy to use and still capable of producing more complex projects, though you may want to look in other directions to find 3-D printing software solutions that suit your needs right down to the ground.
The filament-style printing solution is effortless to refill and the modular head system is going to open up a lot of different types of projects that you may not have been able to produce otherwise.
Software
As we have highlighted above, you are going to be able to use multiple types of software with the LulzBot Mini and aren’t ever going to be limited to only using the software that ships with this 3-D printer itself.
Open source solutions are going to provide you with the most flexibility and adaptability, though they are user interfaces may not be quite as polished and their learning curve and support may be a little bit lacking.
On the other hand, it’s nice to know that you won’t have to fork over a small fortune in software licensing fees just to fire up your LulzBot Mini for the very first time and produce the kinds of projects that you are most excited about making in the first place.
Capacity
The printed volume of this 3-D printer is quite large for a desktop-style printer, offering you a 6” x 6” x 6.2” printing bed (as we have highlighted in the information above). This is plenty enough room to handle smaller-sized to midsized projects on a one-at-a-time basis. You aren’t going to be able to set up multiple print projects off of this 3-D printer the way you can with larger units, but that’s not the kind of printer that you’re looking at here, to begin with.
Form Factor
Incredibly compact, very lightweight, and with a small footprint, you don’t have to dedicate an entire chunk of your shop or office to this 3-D printer the way you have to with larger desktop-style units.
You’ll be able to effortlessly integrate this desktop 3-D printer into your workflow and your existing space without having to do too much jockeying around.
Final Verdict
There are plenty of different 3-D printers available on the market today, and a lot of them are very well made, designed, and well worth into that but if you’re looking for the best value for your money in the desktop 3-D printer space, you will have a really tough time finding anything on the market today that is going to be more impressive than the LulzBot Mini.
Is certainly one of the most popular 3-D printers available, one of the most reasonably priced, and the kind of 3-D printer that you will be able to utilize for years to come.
