Everyone knows that bigger 3d printers sell for more. But should they? I mean. little printers have much more detail and those are the things people pay money for. Not something that is “yoda” and actually looks like a blob. SHOULD LITTLE 3D PRINTERS BE WORTH MORE???
It’s a bit of a weird thing, isn’t it. The cost of materials to build a bigger printer is about the same… But your economy of scale for the larger printers is not as high, which is why it’s so difficult to find a heat bed that is sized to fit say, 300x300mm, not as many people have the room to spare for a big printer
Size of printing area and quality across that area are not the same. Making a big printer is not about just taking a small design and scaling it up. Precision on larger printers is not a linear proposition. It gets much harder the larger you go. Hence associated components do cost more.
Depends on the format of the printer, Cartesian printers scale linearly, but deltas do not.
@Ngarewyrd_Shurasae not really, deflection is a function of the length cubed. So the greater the horizontal span the section thickness of components for similar rigidity is non linear. Let alone issues with frame harmonics. Trust me… It is non trivial to scale up a printer without serious thought about component selection.
After building small scale and large scale printers from scratch, large scale printers require stronger engines to deal with the weight of the bed, etc. Also a larger heated bed requires a different approach…
Plus the shipping weight/size affects the price.
Also your question is a little misleading. When you ask if they should be worth more, do you mean cost or for individual users. Because honestly most of my prints fit on a 6" cubed bed. If they don’t, I move up to an 8" cubed. Failing that, my largest is 12" cubed.
There are many reasons why small printers are cheaper.
1: volume of sales is higher, more people want small printers so small printer makers can leverage volume to drive price down (counter to what econ 101 teaches)
2: because they are smaller they are easier to design, things like bed flatness and jerk are less apparent in small area and lighter masses.
3: materials are lighter, cheaper and easier to source,
4: smaller parts count.
5: because they are easier, and there is more demand, smaller printers have more sellers, making the price important.
So all in all the reasons why small printers are cheaper than large ones is nothing to do with specs, but everything to do with manufacturing.
Do you honestly think the price of these things is arbitrary?
Quality is the answer. Do you research before buying a 3D printer. Its not just about the print size, although that is a factor. Print speed and print quality should be part of the factor. I ended up getting Delta printer from SeeMeCNC.com. The Rostock Max v2. I have had this printer about a year and a half now. I have a few friends that have 3D printers from other manufacturers that are not Delta style printers. We compare materials and print qualities and speeds. The quality of our printers comes out to be fairly close but I have more control over the quality then they do. As for speed, a Delta style printer can equal or better the quality of a print in about half the time. Thats not to say the Delta printer has a better quality, just that it can reproduce the same quality in half the time. Each printer has its pros and cons. You need to decide what you want and how much to spend. I spent about $1k on my printer and would not change what I got. I know my printer and know how to make good prints from it. If you dont like the one you have get another one that fits you better. 3D printing is like having a pet, you train it to how you want it to act and if it wont, send it to the pound and get one that fits you better.
Smaller domestic printers just aren’t there yet. Technology needs to get more advanced before the vast majority start buying them. They need to stay cheap.