In this article we are discussing on various types of 3D printers for cosplay costume designing. Here we are using 3D modelling for printing awesome costumes. Before starting to shop around for a 3D printer, consider the basic following factors:

  • The type of model you will be making
  • What you intend to do with the model

Firstly you should know the kind of cosplay model you wish to create such as detailed gear, broach, button pin or a full set of armor. 3D printing has made the work of Cosplay designers easier. The various budget friendly 3D printers on the market can print high quality Cosplay costumes in record time. The best 3D printer for making Cosplay can be used to print anything; from your favourite sci-fi pistol to a full armor sets.

Cosplay models require big build volume. Smaller the build volume, the more the welds you will have to perform. Remember, welds are potential weak points on your models. Also durability is also an important factor to consider. The best filament to use for your project will depend on your requirement.

Related Read: How to print 3D objects at Home? A Guide to 3D Printing

There are tons of 3D printing machines available in the market with a variety of features, but here are the things to put into consideration when picking a 3D printer for Cosplay.

  • Type of Filament
  • Easy Usage
  • Technical Features
    • Print Resolution
    • Print Speed
    • Auto-levelling print bed

Best 3D Printers For Cosplay Costume Design


Creality CR-10s


The 5 Best 3D Printers For Cosplay Costume Design 13Creality CR-10s are made a lot of variant, improvement and modifications to the popular print Creality CR-10. Let’s see in detail what difference a small “s” can make. It also have linear pulley system included with a V profile+ precision pulley, running smoothly, and more wear resistant which effectively reduces noise while printing.

Technical specification

  • Printing Technology: FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling), single extruder
  • Build Volume: 300*300*400mm
  • Layer Resolution: 0.1 to 0.4mm
  • Filament Diameter: 1.75mm
  • Nozzle Diameter: 0.4mm, 0.3mm
  • Print Speed: 80 to 200mm/s
  • Printer weight: 10.3kg

Pros

  • Standard build volume that dwarfs most printers.
  • Easy and simple assemble makes it user friendly for beginners.
  • Simple design and few moving parts are easy to troubleshoot.
  • Removable glass print bed
  • It handles fine detailing very well
  • It offers a second rod for the z-axis, which improves the build quality
  • At the time of power failure, this model remembers where it left off and will resume printing.

Cons

  • A little to level the bed.
  • Print have a tough time sticking to glass bed.
  • The printing bed takes a longer time to heat up.

Verdict

The best budget friendly printer which is worth buying. It offers a filament sensor which is a bit clunky and annoying, but the purpose it serves is much good especially when printing the large prints this machine is capable of doing. It resumes print function at the time of power failure and saves your print to be continued once the power returns. Considering the overall features, this model is reliable and offers a good quality prints at an excellent price point.

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Dremel Digilab 3D20


The 5 Best 3D Printers For Cosplay Costume Design 14The Dremel Digilab 3D20 is an ideal builder. Dremel Digilab 3D 20 printer is Dremel’s most reliable low cost 3D printer for hobbyist, tinkerers and other users new to 3D printing. The simple design of the printer along with Dremel support team will help you succeed at 3D printing, even without prior experience. The 3D20 has a small size and a closed design that makes it looks like a microwave. Its tiny build platform will offer you a build volume of 230*150*140mm, which highlights the target demography of hobbyists and beginners.

Technical Specification

  • Filament Size: 1.75mm
  • Extruder: 1
  • Supported materials: PLA and ABS
  • Build volume: 230*150*140mm
  • Print speed: 80-120mm/s
  • Connectivity: USB, SD Card
  • Printer resolution: 100 microns

Pros

  • The 3D printer is designed to print with PLA filament on to a non-heated build plate that uses black build tape to help you print adhere to the build plate.
  • You can print with high quality models pre-loaded on the printer, which can be accessed through the 3.5 inch full colour touch screen.
  • Gcode files that you can use are Dremel Digilab 3D slicer, Cura, Craftware, Kisslicer, Simplify 3D, Slice 3r, Repetier and other programmes to load your print files.
  • It has got a 23.0cm*15.0cm*14.0cm build plate and 100 micron high resolution
  • It has a single extruder that can cope with temperatures of up to 230 degree centigrade

Cons

  • It does not have auto-calibration system, so you have to perform the bed-levelling manually.
  • It only supports Dremel’s PLA filament only.

Verdict

The Dremel Digilab 3D20 is a great choice of an entry level printer that any beginners look to have an amazing first time 3D printing adventure. It is easy to use and produce respectable printing results. If you are looking for a printer that offers consistent ant quality and ease of use, try the 3D 20 and experience and simplified process.

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Anycubic Mega Zero


The 5 Best 3D Printers For Cosplay Costume Design 15The Anycubic Mega Zero is one of a pair of budget printer manufactured by Anycubic. It is a budget friendly and a well-designed desktop FDM 3D printer ideal for entry level users. It is a good choice for educational and training purpose, as well as for everyday personal use. It also offers a double gear extrusion system for more torque.

Technical Specification

  • Printing technology: FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling)
  • Print Size: 220*220*250mm
  • Nozzle Diameter: 0.4mm
  • Print Speed: 20-100mm/s
  • Printer weight: 6.4kg
  • Printer size: 504*396*607mm
  • Layer resolution: 0.05-0.3mm

Pros

  • It offers a quick start due to the modular structure.
  • Quickly and easily locate the corners of the print platform during levelling and thus maximizes printing efficiency.
  • This printer offers a easiest way by jest pressing a key to resume your work after power failures and thus save your time and filament
  • It is having a bigger build volume of 220*220*250mm which is a great size at this price tag.
  • It has a high precision aluminium frame and closed loop design at the bottom which ensures a more stable structure.
  • Its dual Y axis improves the stability of platform
  • The new double gear extruder has strong torque which enables smoother extrusion.
  • Can be used for flexible filament.

Related Read: 10 Best Dual Extruder 3D Printers From $300 to $6000

Cons

  • No filament detection feature
  • The digital interface is not having touchscreen hence traditional scroll dial

Verdict

The Anycubic Mega Zero is one of the budget offers available at the current 3D printers market. This is an ideal option for entry level users and hobbyist. It is also better for both educational purpose and personal use including household items.

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Qidi Tech X-Maker


The 5 Best 3D Printers For Cosplay Costume Design 16Qidi Tech X- maker is a high end education 3D printer. Safe, simple and easy to operate. This printer have a special educational software for X-makers. This is a versatile 3D printer for homes, schools and libraries, as well as business and institutions looking for 3D printers for prototyping and production, provides superior print quality.

Technical Specification

  • Printing Technology: FDM ( Fused Deposition Modelling)
  • Build Volume: 6.69”*5.9”*6.29” (170*150*160mm)
  • Filament type: PLA, ABS, TPU, PETG
  • Filament Diameter: 1.75mm
  • Printing Extruder: 1
  • Layer thickness: 0.05mm-0.4mm

Pros

  • The printer has got two editions of slicing software: Educational and professional edition
  • The Adopt TMC 2209 driver chip provides a silent printing. The sound of operation is low to 50 decibels. So it saves power and protect your ears from damage.
  • It has got a 3.5 inch touch screen which makes it user friendly
  • The Wi-Fi printing will provide you real time printing stays, make it more intuitive and more precise and easy to operate.
  • It pull rod design filament spool holder will make the filament runs out more smoothly.
  • A movable extraction, curved metal plate that can be used repeatedly, it is more convenient to remove the model after printing. And meanwhile, it can minimize the damage of offsets to the build plate.

Cons

  • The build area is really small in comparison to other 3D printers with in the price range.
  • You cannot print with exotic filaments because the extruder to jam and the extruder isn’t easily swapped out either.
  • Had to find replacement parts and accessories for the Qidi Tech X maker

Related Read: The 5 Best 3D Printers for Miniatures ($200 to $1000)

Verdict

The Qidi Tech X maker printer is a moderately priced 3D printer that is easy to use right out of the box. It print quickly making it optimal for class room settings. The internal light and camera are great for monitoring the builds making sure they don’t fail. Even though the print area is small, it still prints decently with PLA and ABS filaments. The build quality, the simplified set up, the good resolution and the ease of use make the X maker a perfect choice for beginners.

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LulzBot Taz 6


LulzBot Taz 6 is much easy to use, reliable and has a large build size, this are some of the primary features that makes this printer unique from the rest. It has got a leviathan of 3D printer, equipped with almost double the print area. As the price value of the printer is more, but for people who want a dependable work horse with a large build volume, it is hard to take your eyes off this sleek; minimalistic machine.

Technical Specification

  • Print surface: heated glass bed with PEI film
  • Build Volume: 280*280*250mm
  • Printing speed: 200mm/s
  • Layer thickness: 0.050mm – 0.5mm
  • Filament Diameter: 3.00mm
  • OS Compatibility: Mac OS, Microsoft Windows, Linux
  • Warranty: 1 year

Pros

  • It has got a high accuracy with high speed. Industrial 3D printers with printing speed up to 300mm/s and high resolution of 10 microns.
  • Huge build size (280*280*250mm)
  • Reliable and consistent printing performance
  • Solid and sturdy design
  • Easy to use and set up
  • Auto calibration and self-cleaning nozzle
  • Open source
  • Untethered 3D printing
  • PEI print surface
  • The build plate is made of borosilicate glass covered with a PEI print surface- making bed adhesion with ABS essentially a known issue
  • It has an print bed area of 11.7*10.8 inches and prints can be up to 9.8 inches high

Cons

  • High price tag
  • Slightly noisy
  • Limited user control when untethered
  • Slow initial set up before print
  • Slicer issues (Cura Lulzbot Edition) with the printer

Related Read: The 5 Best 3D Printers Under $300 for Home Use

Verdict

The Luzbot TAZ 6 is a magnificent option for those in need of a printer that offers a tremendous build size and undoubted reliability. It offers untethered 3D printing via, SD Card. This printer is extremely beneficial for those that don’t have space or the means for a stationary computer dedicated to 3D printing.

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How to Buy 3D Printer for Cosplay Costume Design?


There are lots of 3D printers available in the market and hence choosing one is a confusing task. Thus after considering the basic factors such as the type of model you will be making and what you intend to do with the model, we also need to consider certain other factors

Type of Filament

The type of filament is an important factor while choosing a 3D printer. They are available in different filament colours and types to achieve the diverse characteristics of your cosplay. Metallic filaments are best suited for metallic finishes or glowing features. Exotic filaments for durable and more realistic prints. Thus the selection of filament need to be done as per our requirement.

Build Volume

Build volume is the capacity or size of the platform where you will be printing your cosplay. It is one among the most crucial feature for a 3D printer for cosplay since we are making wearable objects.  Therefore you need a relatively large build space for most of your costumes. A large print volume will allow you to print your cosplay in fewer parts, and fewer parts means that the object will only have fewer weak points.

Easy Usage

For every printer it seems to be complicated when used for the first time, but becomes easier with time and experience. But it always better to select a printer which is user friendly is well advisable for a new user.

Technical features

The most important technical feature that you should think about is its print resolution and print speed. Also auto levelling print bed to enhance a simplify the overall printing process. The maximum nozzle size and bed temperature is also critical part of what material you will be able to use.

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